Italy wins in Georgia and goes to World Cup. Mannion sent off

Pozzecco’s Azzurri won 85-84 over Georgia after a very tight game: top scorer Spissu

Gianmarco Pozzecco’s Italy has qualified for the basketball World Cup, which will be held a year from now in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines. At the end of a very tight game, the Azzurri beat Georgia 85-84 in Tbilisi, clinching the second pass in Group L, after Spain. Top scorers for our Spissu and Tessitori with 15 points, not enough Shengelia (15) for the hosts.

Italy, almost always in front before the long halftime, loses the lighthouse Mannion at the beginning of the second quarter, ejected for added fouls (technical and unsportsmanlike conduct), and suffers even though it closes at +3 at halftime. In the second half Georgia grows and the game becomes a neck-and-neck affair: in the last quarter Shengelia and Berishvili bring the Georgians to +5, but Pozzecco’s lineup with triples by Spissu and Paiola recovers and overtakes.

Heart-stopping final: with 30 seconds to the buzzer Azzurri at +6 but again Shengelia and Berishvili bring the hosts back to -1, Pajola misses from the lunette but Shengelia is stopped at the last action, and Italy conquers the qualification to the World Championships.

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