Italy made the FIBA World Cup quarterfinals for the first time since 1998 after beating Puerto Rico 73-57 here on Sunday, joining Serbia, Latvia and Canada to complete the final eight, reported Xinhua.
The United States, Lithuania, Germany and Slovenia had already secured their berths in the quarters after the second matchday of the second round.
The Group I clash between Italy and Puerto Rico was their eighth meeting at a World Cup. The Azzurri had won the previous six, with their most recent encounter taking place in the second round of the 2019 tournament.
Italy used a 15-0 run early in the game to build an 11-point lead. The Europeans moved up 30-20 midway through the second quarter, but Puerto Rico remained within touching distance and took a 43-41 lead with over four minutes remaining in the third quarter. Italy pulled away again with a 16-4 spurt to race ahead 59-47 with eight minutes to go, and Puerto Rico were unable to respond.
"I love my players. They are amazing. I have 12 lions on the court, and they love each other. They are really focused on what they are doing. I asked them before the game if they want to continue, and they showed me on the court. And that is desire," said Italy coach Gianmarco Pozzecco.
Serbia followed Italy into the quarterfinals in a later fixture, as the European powerhouses eased past the Dominican Republic 112-79.
Latvia became the first team from Group L to progress to the quarterfinals after they crushed Brazil 104-84, with Andrejs Grazulis contributing 24 points on 11-of-15 shooting, five assists and three rebounds for Latvia.
Another ticket from the group went to Canada, who edged defending champions Spain 88-85.
In a Group J blockbuster, the U.S. suffered their first defeat in the 2023 World Cup, falling to Lithuania 110-104.
It was the toughest battle that Steve Kerr's side had faced so far this tournament, as the European side's consecutive three pointers earned them a 54-37 lead after the first half.
However, the U.S. staged a third-quarter show to cut the deficit within 10 points and headed into the last quarter trailing 71-65.
Both sides played out an intensive fourth quarter where the Lithuanians held their nerve to keep the U.S. at bay.
Anthony Edwards' game-high 35 points were not enough to secure a win for the U.S., while New Orleans Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas was named man of the match after pocketing 12 points and seven rebounds.
Having been eliminated on Friday, Montenegro finished their second round with a victory as they held off a late comeback to beat Greece 73-69.
In another highly-anticipated fixture in Group K, Germany snapped Slovenia's unbeaten run with a comfortable 100-71 drubbing.
Germany had five players scoring in double digits. Dennis Schroder provided 24 points and 10 assists, outshining Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic, who got 23 points.
Elsewhere, Australia rank third in Group K after seeing off Georgia 100-84.
The quarterfinals will kick off on Tuesday when Italy take on the U.S. and Serbia meet Lithuania, while the Germany-Latvia and Slovenia-Canada clashes will take place on Wednesday.
- FIBA
- WC
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
