ROME (Italy) - Coach Gianmarco Pozzecco has raised eyebrows by naming veteran Danilo Gallinari in the country's 30-man squad for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in San Juan.

Gallinari, 35, is one of the biggest talents ever in Italy, one that has had a long NBA career and last played for the country in European Qualifiers for last year's FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Before that, he made his Olympic bow for Italy in Tokyo and averaged 11.8 points per game.

In his 13th NBA season, Gallinari featured for the Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons and finally, the Milwaukee Bucks.

Gallinari, at the Tokyo Olympics a few years ago, is in the 30-man OQT squad for Italy

Numerous veterans named played for in Italy in their successful OQT campaign in 2021 in Belgrade and then Tokyo, at FIBA EuroBasket 2022 or at the World Cup in Manila, are on the 30-man list.

Among them are Marco Spissu, Nico Mannion, Awudu Abass, Stefano Tonut, Nicolo Melli, Amedeo Tessitori, Giampaolo Ricci, Achille Polonara, Mouhamet Diouf, Luca Severini Alejandro Pajola.

Numerous others have played for Italy during international windows.

Italy, who finished eighth at the World Cup, are in Group B at the OQT in San Juan with Puerto Rico and Bahrain. Lithuania, Côte d'Ivoire and Mexico are in Group A.

FIBA