Italy wins Albert Schweitzer Tournament 2014

After a 31-year-long drought the U18 team from Italy took home the Albert Schweitzer Tournament trophy once again after beating the U.S.A. team, 86-73. This is their fourth Albert Schweitzer Tournament title since it started 56 years ago.

The first quarter of the game was filled both nervousness and anticipation from both camps. The American team blasted off with 26 points and built an early four-point lead. They were able to extend their lead to 10 in the second period, but the Italians came back at them and reeled it back down to a six-point lead at the end of the first half, 35-41. In the third, Italy’s Federico Mussini came to life and ignited his team’s offense as they proceeded to take over the game via 12-0 rally. Not to be outdone, team USA tied up the game with less than a minute in the period at 59 apiece. The final quarter saw each team step up their defensive pressure and the game would fall into the hands of the better group who could score under stress. Turnovers stacked up for the American side and the Italian team did their best to capitalize.

The future of Italian hoops is looking very bright, thanks mainly to the crowing jewel of their U18 squad, Federico Mussini, who carried his carried his team with 20 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Teammates Diego Flaccadori and Daniel Donzelli added 19 and 17 points respectively.

The USA team was led by the tournament’s M.V.P., Ethan Happ who finished with 20 points and 11 boards. Mike Williams scored 17.