A star was born for Italian basketball on Wednesday night when Climamio Bologna youngster Stefano Mancinelli led the national team to victory over Serbia & Montenegro in the Efes Cup.

Italy trailed by 16 points at one stage but Mancinelli, who had 18 points on the night, spearheaded an Azzurri fightback and they ended up beating the world champions, 79-69.

"Mancinelli gave us what we needed," said Italy coach Carlo Recalcati.

"He gave us freshness."

Italy are not have one of the more glamorous sides in Europe. For example, they will not have an NBA player on the roster when EuroBasket 2005 gets underway on September 16.

But that, arguably, has been one of their strengths.

Italian players, who have faced more celebrated opponents have pulled together and won honours.

They beat the Tony Parker-led French in the bronze medal game at the last EuroBasket to qualify for the Olympics. Parker is the starting point guard for the NBA champions San Antonio Spurs.

At the Athens Games, the Italians won a shootout against Lithuania in the semi-final before losing to Argentina in the gold medal game.

After the win over Serbia & Montenegro, Recalcati added: "This victory is the mirror of our national team.

"We cannot do anything if we don't suffer."