Simone Pianigiani will have a baptism of fire as coach of Italy.

On Saturday in Munich, the Italians were drawn in a very difficult qualifying group for EuroBasket 2011 in Lithuania.

The Azzurri will face Israel, Latvia, Finland and Montenegro with their first qualifier at home on August 2 against the Israelis.

Pianigiani, who has led Montepaschi Siena to the last three titles and guided the club to Lega A, Coppa Italia and Supercup treble last season, considered the difficult summer that his national side faces.

"The result of the draw has reinforced my thoughts that in this phase, we need to think more about ourselves rather than our rivals and be as ready as we can for the game on August 2," Pianigiani said.

"It's too early to do any predictions as only in the summer will we know the rosters of our rivals.

"In any case, it is a balanced and difficult group, probably the hardest."

The Italians, Israelis and Latvians are seasoned campaigners in EuroBaskets while Finland are an emerging nation that played very well in qualifying for EuroBasket 2009, even beating Italy in the Additional Qualifying Round.

Montenegro are newly promoted but could be the team to beat in Group A with their experienced coach Dusko Vujosevic, and outstanding players like center Nikola Pekovic of Panathinaikos.

"It is a complex group, where we will be practically one month travelling," Pianigiani said.

"That will also have to be part of our preparation.

"In any case, our rivals deserve all of our respect.

"The truth is that in Europe, it's no longer the case of finding teams that are one step behind. We need to look ahead and do the things as well as possible."

Italy basketball legend, Dino Meneghin, is the president of the country's basketball federation and he knows a hard summer awaits the Azzurri.

"For the men, Finland has never made life easy for us," Meneghin said.

"Israel and Latvia are teams that fight and run, Montenegro is strong."

Every second of every game will matter, Meneghin says, because the two best placed second-place teams will advance to the EuroBasket.

"For the men's qualifying, we will have to take into account the coefficient and the basket differentials, considering the formula that sees also the best two second teams progressing," he said.

"We cannot distract ourselves at any time.

"Even in case of defeat, something I hope will not happen, we will need to fight to limit the damage."

Meneghin said it's crucial that the federation leaves nothing to chance.

"We will need to take into account where to host our games," he said. "Comfort and (make it) easy to reach because tiredness will have a role in it when you play eight games in a few days."