Oklahoma City Thunder forward Danilo Gallinari and Italy had a dominant start Saturday to their FIBA World Cup campaign.
Gallinari helped Italy win 108-62 against the Philippines, scoring 16 points and shooting 4-of-5 from the three-point line. Gallinari also finished with four assists and two steals.
Earlier in August, Gallinari had an emergency appendectomy surgery, per Erik Horne of The Oklahoman.
As one of Italy’s two active NBA players, Gallinari is primed to be one of the team’s best players. San Antonio Spurs guard Marco Belinelli is also playing for Italy. Belinelli scored nine points and shot 4-of-6 from the field.
Italy and Serbia are presumably the best two teams in Group D, with Serbia boasting Denver Nuggets All-Star Nikola Jokic. Serbia also has Dallas Mavericks center Boban Marjanovic, along with Sacramento Kings players Bogdan Bogdanovic and Nemanja Bjelica.
Italy will play Angola on Monday at 3:30 a.m. EST in its second game of group play.
