Group B: ITALY-Nigeria 80-71
The most important victory of the Italian national basketball team in the last 17 years comes after a swing game – started downhill (+15 after a quarter), turned uphill and then definitively caught in a fourth period in which to make the difference was the desire, the heart, the determination, as well as the head of a group able to overcome any kind of difficulty. The face of Italbasket’s 80-71 success against Nigeria is that of Nicolò Melli – author of 15 points, best scorer of the challenge and leaders on both sides of the field. His plays change the match in the moment of maximum difficulty for the blues, who also collect 14 points from Mannion, 13 from Polonara and 12 from Fontecchio. A capital performance that allows Italy to conquer in this way the certainty of qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Olympic tournament, despite a 22-point Metu (with 6/7 from the arc) and 20 from Nwora.
The scenarios in view of the quarter-finals for Italy
It is only necessary to understand whether Italy will pass the round as the first or second force in Group B: it all depends on the result of the match between Australia and Germany (scheduled for today starting at 10.20).
ITALY IS FIRST IN THE SE GROUP: Germany wins by 17 points or less against Australia
ITALY IS SECOND IN THE SE GROUP: Germany wins by more than 17 points
ITALY IS SECOND IN THE SE GROUP: Australia wins against Germany
The appointment will then be on 1 August, immediately after the end of the match between Slovenia and Spain, when the quarter-final draw will be drawn: on the one hand the three first classified and the best second, on the other the two worst seconds and the two best thirds.
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