page_title: Italy men's national basketball team
section_title: The Early Years (1926–39)
hierarchical_section_title: Italy men's national basketball team / History / The Early Years (1926–39)
caption_attribution_description: English: EuroBasket 1939 opening ceremony in fully-packed Kaunas Sports Hall.
context_page_description: The Italy national basketball team represents Italy in men's international basketball tournaments. They are administered by the Italian Basketball Federation.
  Italy has qualified for 37 EuroBasket tournaments, winning two gold medals, four silver medals, and four bronze medals as achievements. While Italy has made nine trips to the World Cup the closest they have come to winning a medal was in 1970 and 1978, where they finished fourth. They had success at the Summer Olympics in 12 attempts, winning two silver medals.
  Currently, Italy is ranked 12th in the FIBA World Rankings.
context_section_description: The first match of the Italian national basketball team was played on 4 April 1926 in Milan, and it ended with a victory over France 23–17.
  Italy's first participation in the Olympic Games was at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, placing seventh out of twenty-one teams. At the EuroBasket 1937 Italy placed second behind Lithuania, after being beaten by just one point in the final game. The silver medal was repeated at EuroBasket 1946.
caption: The Italian squad in 1939.
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