It’s done for Italy, which got out of Puerto Rico (73-57) to join the quarterfinals of the basketball world. Depending on the result of the last game of their group I Serbia-Dominican Republic, Italy finished first or second, and will face the United States or Lithuania in the quarter-finals.
The Nazionale, trailing (43-41) in the 26th minute after experiencing an air gap at the start of the third quarter, then got back on track to break away six minutes from time (62-50), notably carried by the three-point skill of Giampaolo Ricci (15 pts), author of two award-winning shots after missing his first four.
Simone Fontecchio, the best Italian since the start of the competition, was further behind offensively (12 pts at 2/9 long distance), but he definitively sealed the victory with a three-point shot thirty seconds from time. siren and was valuable on the rebound (12).