Ryan Arcidiacono opens strong for Italy at Shenzhen Tournament

After breaking training camp in Italy, this Summer, Ryan Arcidiacono was sent with the Italy B National Team to the Shenzhen Tournament in China. The Pennsylvania native holds an Italian passport in addition to the USA, which allows him to compete for the Azzurri program.

In Shenzen, Italy B opened with a 77-73 overtime victory over Slovenia B, led by SF Awudu Abass with 28 points. Arcidiacono added 12 points for the Italians as well. Slovenia had opened with a lead in the first quarter and took a 36-29 advantage into half-time. The Italians clawed back in the fourth quarter to tie things up at 68 points, forcing overtime.

Their second-match against France, however, resulted in a 68-74 defeat, with Arcidiacono leading the Azzurri with 14 points in the contest. Again, the Azzurri began to come back from an early deficit, playing well in the second-half, but fell short after making just 58% of their free throw attempts.

Next up for the team is a game against China, which will take place on July 3rd. The team will play six more games in China, between July 5-7th and 10-12th, visiting Quijing City (Yunnan) and Chengdu before returning to Rome on July 15th.