Eurobasket: stunning comeback of'Italy, beat Spain
An indomitable Italy rebounded and beat Spain in the fourth game of Group C of the European Basketball Championships: after a shock start, Gianmarco Pozzecco’s Azzurri reeled in and overcame Sergio Scariolo’s Iberians in the second half, earning their third consecutive victory in the competition after successes against Georgia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Italy, already qualified for the round of 16, now leads the group tied with Greece, which was defeated by surprise by Bosnia.
Italy’s disastrous start: the Azzurri miss everything in the first 7 minutes, 0/11 shooting, and find themselves down 0-13. The national team stays in the game thanks to Niang, and at the long halftime they are down by 6 lengths, 30-36. In the third quarter Diouf goes wild, the Azzurri catch up and overtake Spain at 30′, 49-47. In the last quarter, Spissu’s timely triple allows Pozzecco’s team to stretch, the Spaniards come back under in the final game but Spissu and Ricci secure the win.
Italy’s top scorers were Diouf, 14 points and 10 rebounds, Ricci (11) and Niang (10 and 10 rebounds). Also good were Fontecchio with 8 points and 9 rebounds, and Spissu in the decisive moments (7 points for him). Apprehension for Niang, who came out in the’last quarter due to an ankle pain that will be evaluated in the coming hours.
Top scorer of the match, Aldama with 19 points, was not enough for Spain. Now Scariolo’s team has to beat Greece in the last game of the group to be sure of qualifying: in case of success of the Iberians, Italy would finish first in the group.
