Greece vs. Italy Prediction on August 28, 2025

Match info

The main international basketball competition that’s contested by the senior men’s national teams in Europe, the FIBA EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is just about to launch its 42nd edition.

Like the previous 3 editions, the tournament will be co-hosted by multiple countries: Cyprus, Finland, Poland, and Latvia. The match we’ve chosen for our betting prediction will take place in the first-mentioned nation. On Thursday, August 28, the Spyros Kyprianou Athletic Center in Limassol, Cyprus, will host the Group C opening match within the Group phase between Greece, a narrow favorite by the odds of bookmakers offering basketball betting online, and Italy at 9:30 p.m. local time (Eastern European Summer Time – EEST).

Meeting statistics

Current form & playstyle: Greece

“Official Beloved” (Episimi Agapimeni) enters the matchup far from riding a wave of momentum, as the team coached by Vassilis Spanoulis hasn’t had an impressive warm-up performance, which ended with a heavy loss to France. However, in a nail-biter in Athens, they edged their next rival, Italy, 76–74 despite playing without star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, as well as Kostantinos Sloukas and Kostantinos Mitoglou. Greece overturned a 10-point second-quarter deficit behind a dominant third quarter and clutch plays by Tyler Dorsey and Kostantinos Papanikolaou, who combined for key contributions.

Greece’s playstyle is centered around physicality and aggressive perimeter defense. They’re adept at creating transition opportunities, relying on Antetokounmpo for inside presence and athletic guards like Dorsey to capitalize on fast breaks and late-game scenarios.

Current form & playstyle: Italy

“The Blues” (Gli Azzurri) approach Limassol with a 4–2 record from their pre-tournament slate, which can be considered respectable given their current objective quality. Even without Danilo Gallinari in Athens, Italy competed fiercely and demonstrated offensive cohesion against its first EuroBasket 2025 rival—especially through Simone Fontecchio’s 18-point showcase.

Gianmarco Pozzecco-commanded side tends to lean on fluid ball movement and perimeter shooting. They display balance in execution, often setting up mid-range creation for Fontecchio and efficient ball-sharing to break down defenses.

Head-to-head

Recently, Greece has held a slight edge, winning 4 of the last 5 duels. Historically, Greece won 10, lost 6. Overall, the rivalry is fairly balanced, marked by close contests where late-game execution often proves decisive.

Match analytics

Expect a tight, defensively-minded battle. Greece, as a narrow favorite, could be overvalued—given how evenly matched both sides have been, placing a small handicap (+) wager on Italy might offer good value.

Tip: Points Handicap – Italy (4) at 1.95 odds on Highbet.