Italbasket comes close to achieving a feat against Spain

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Azzurri relent only in overtime against European champions

Gianmarco Pozzecco’s Italy was defeated 88-84 by European champion Spain at the end of a thrilling game valid for the world qualifiers played at the Vitrifrigo Arena in Pesaro.

The Azzurri played on an equal footing with the European champions throughout the match, dreaming of the feat in the last quarter, when they found themselves just seconds away from victory after a triple by Spissu, who signed the overtaking on the Iberians, 68-67. Jaime Fernandez made the counter-take with a shot from the arc, but Mannion found the two points of 70-70 that took the challenge to overtime.

In extra time Italy tried to take the lead with Mannion’s triple, but the Iberians went back ahead thanks to a resounding Jaime Fernandez (top scorer of the match with 28 points), then found the final stretch.

Thanks to this victory, Scariolo’s Spain leads the group with 13 points, while Italy is second at 12. The Azzurri consoled themselves with a great performance, in which Mannion (20 points for him), Spissu and Biligha especially stood out.

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