Massimo Bulleri has the opportunity to stand out this summer for an Italian side starved of big-game players.

Carlton Myers and Gregor Fucka have retired from the international game, while injuries are robbing Azzurri coach Carlo Recalcati of experienced guards Alessandro Abbio and Andrea Meneghin.

"Italy have based its past seven years' results with these players," Bulleri told PA International. "It is not easy to replace players like Fucka or Myers. We would be in denial if we said that we have not been affected, we have lost two great players."

Italy have good reason to believe that Bulleri, the Benetton Treviso point guard, can make a huge difference in their summer.

He was a significant factor in Italy’s successful qualifying campaign, averaging 11 points in the eight games that he played and also shooting a scintillating 45% from three-point land.

The demands will be considerably more difficult in the finals of the European Championships, though. In Group A with Italy are Slovenia, France and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

"We have to look ahead, we may not have the same quality as the past teams, but we do have the strength and the willingness to do well," he said.

"This team wants to go as far as possible but it is our primary aim is to qualify for the Olympics.

"It is not going to be easy, but we are not going with a fatalistic mentality, on the contrary, we have to play with the conviction that we can do well against any rival."

If they can safely negotiate their passage to the next stage, they will start running into sides like Serbia & Montenegro, Germany, Spain and Turkey.

The Azzurri have yet to show if they can truly compete with the giants in the game following the retirements of Myers and Fucka.

Myers and Fucka, as well as Abbio and Meneghin, were in the 1999 European Championship winning side.

They also played in the team which captured silver at the championships two years before that in Barcelona.

Italy know that Slovenia will be tough opponents. The two split their games in the qualifying round.

"I think Slovenia are our strongest rivals, we have already played against them in the qualifying round  and we know them well as many of their players are in Italy's Serie A," said Bulleri.

Italy are no different to the other teams taking part in the competition. Many sides have tired players after long domestic campaigns.

Italy, in fact, are not the only country moving into a new era without familiar faces. Serbia & Montenegro are without two of their biggest stars in Dejan Bodiroga and Dejan Tomasevic, unavailable after hard seasons in the Spanish ACB.

The two were instrumental in Serbia & Montenegro's World Championship success last summer in America.

"It has been a very busy season, it is crucial that we go to Sweden in the best possible form, I really want to do well," said Bulleri.

Recalcati is leaning heavily on Bulleri. He was voted last season's most valuable player in the Italian top flight by his peers, journalists and coaches.

Bulleri is unlikely to forget the sensational year in which he steered Benetton Treviso to a Scudetto and Coppa Italia double.

"It has been the best year of my career so far, unforgettable," he said.

In fact, it was Bulleri's heroics which lifted the Italian giants into the final of the Euroleague. With three minutes left to play against Siena in the semi-final and six points down, Bulleri scored Benetton's last seven points in a memorable 65-62 come-from-behind win. Benetton finished runners-up to European Champions Barcelona, with Bodiroga shining for the victors.

Bulleri made a good impression on his debut with the Azzurri back in November of 2000 when Italy defeated Olympic bronze medalists Lithuania. He scored 19 points in that game.

"My aim is to do well with the national team because I do want to honour these colours," Bulleri said.

As for Italy’s indifferent form so far in the build-up to Eurobasket 2003 - they won two of three games in a Bormio Tournament but lost to Greece earlier this week - Bulleri said: "It has been positive.

“We have been able to show the work that we have done in the past two weeks, to play against strong teams such as Lithuania and Turkey has been an important experience in preparation for the European Championships."

Bulleri, as well as Gianluca Basile, didn't play in the game against Greece because of injuries. They are both set to take part in the Strasbourg tournament this weekend.

The 25-year-old Bulleri, meanwhile, is picking Spain as the favourites to lift the title.

"I think Spain could be the team, they have a lot of experience, a strong team and two players from the NBA (Raul Lopez and Pau Gasol," he said.

But this tournament, most experts agree, is wide open.

"They will have to beat Serbia, and don't forget a powerful German team," Bulleri added.

From Cindy Garcia-Bennett, PA International, Rome