June 29, 2006

ROME (AP) -- The mayor of Rome congratulated Andrea Bargnani on Thursday after he was selected by the Toronto Raptors as the NBA's No. 1 draft pick.

``The choice of Andrea Bargnani as No. 1 in the NBA draft is an historic event in the story of world basketball, which gives enormous prestige to the image of Italian sport and Italian basketball,'' Mayor Walter Veltroni said in a statement.

Veltroni also likened the 20-year-old Benetton Treviso forward with Italy soccer player Francesco Totti.

``He and Totti, today, are two of Italian sport's most recognized figures in the world and Rome cannot be other than proud of this,'' Veltroni said. ``All the city applauds Andrea and wishes him the very best.''