Italian shooting guard Gabriele Procida did not look out of place in his EuroLeague debut for ALBA Berlin in round one.
Procida amassed 12 points on 5/7 shooting in just 13 minutes as he helped the German side spoil Partizan Belgrade’s return to top-flight competition, 100-84.
And judging by his debut showing in the EuroLeague, there is more to come from the energetic young talent.
“Gabriele is a good kid, a hard worker. He’s very young. He’s learning quickly,” ALBA coach Israel Gonzalez said of Procida, who had two jaw-dropping dunks and also drained two three-pointers in that scoring haul.
“He has unbelievable physical talent. Now he has to work to win a spot in the team, to improve every day because he’s a big prospect but he has to work, work and work.”
Making his debut at just 17-years-old for Cantu, Procida has seen tremendous improvement to his overall game. Enough for him to be selected in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers and then traded to the Detroit Pistons.
Shortly thereafter, the Como native signed a three-year deal with ALBA Berlin to take his next steps at the professional level.
Procida made his international bow for Italy in the February 2021 FIBA international window and then moved to Virtus Bologna at the end of the 2021-22 season after Cantu were relegated.
The guard averaged 7.0 points in nearly 19 minutes last season.
Photo: EuroLeague
