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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Italy drubs Puerto Rico for historic QF spot ; Serbia eliminates Dominicana

Italy drubs Puerto Rico for historic QF spot ; Serbia eliminates Dominicana

Published Sep 3, 2023 03:26 pm

At A Glance

  • Italy dominated Puerto Rico, 73-57, to end a 25-year absence in the Top 8 in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday, Sept. 3.
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Italy dominated Puerto Rico, 73-57, to end a 25-year absence in the Top 8 in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday, Sept. 3.

 

image (66).jpg
Simone Fontecchio celebrates afte Italy punches its first quarterfinals seat in 25 years (FIBA)

The Azzurri rode on a blistering 16-4 rally bridging the third and final frames, turning a 41-43 deficit into a 59-47 cushion that proved to be enough to top the Group I standings with a 4-1 record and advance to the quarterfinals of the global showpiece for the first time since 1998.

At the forefront of the attack was Giampaolo Ricci who provided the Italians a huge lift off the bench, sharing the scoring honors with Stefano Tonut with 15 points apiece.

Ricci’s points, however, were the loudest for the Azzurri, drilling two huge three-pointers during Italy’s telling run in the second half.

Simone Fontecchio, after firing 30 points in the gutsy 78-76 win over Serbia last time out, cooled down this time, although he wound up with a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Joining Italy in the final phase at the Mall of Asia Arena are the Serbians who sent the Dominican Republic reeling to the classification round with a 112-79 domination in the second game.

Bogdan Bogdanovic and the Eagles, after falling to the Azurri, vented their ire on the Dominicans with six players scoring in double figures.

Bogdanovic led the masterful performance for the Serbians with 20 points while Vanja Marinkovic and Nikola Multinov had 16 apiece.

Italy is now set to face USA in the quarterfinals while Serbia arranged a European showdown with Lithuania.

Related Tags

2023 FIBA World Cup
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