Welcome back: Italy end 25-year drought, beat Puerto Rico to reach first Quarters since 1998

MANILA (Philippines) - Italy ended a quarter-century drought by beating Puerto Rico a 73-57 to reach the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Quarter-Finals - their first top-eight showing since 1998. What better way to celebrate Luigi Datome's 200th game with the national team?

Giampaolo Riccia and Stefano Tonut paced four players in double figures with 15 points each for the Italians, who have never finished on the World Cup podium. The win also extended Italy's winning streak over Puerto Rico to 13-1, including the last 13 encounters - seven of which came in the World Cup. Puerto Rico, whose last Quarter-Finals showing came in 2002, beat Italy only once - at the 1963 World Cup.

Turning Point: Italy had a 15-0 run early in the game for an 11-point lead. The Europeans were up 30-20 but Puerto Rico remained in touching distance and took the lead 43-41. Italy opened a bit of space again with a 16-4 spurt to move up 59-47 with 8 minutes to go. Puerto Rico could never get back into the game.

TCL Player of the Game: Italy had a balanced effort and a number of players could have been picked for TCL Player of the Game, but the honor went to Giampaolo Ricci. The veteran came off the bench and scored 15 points - including two big three-pointers in Italy's decisive run. Ricci also picked up 3 rebounds and 1 block.

Stats Don't Lie: Italy out-rebounded Puerto Rico 48-29 including 19 offensive rebounds that resulted in a 22-3 advantage in second chance points. The Europeans also held Puerto Rico to just 37 percent shooting from the floor and 23 percent from long range and bottled up Tremont Waters to 13 points on 5-of-14 shooting and forced him into 7 turnovers.

Bottom Line: Italy fans have been waiting a quarter century and will finally play again in the Quarter-Finals of a World Cup - the first time since 1998. The Italians will face United States in the first knockout game. Puerto Rico head home having missed out on their first top-eight showing since 2002.

They Said: "I love my players. They are amazing. I have 12 lions on the court, and they love each other. They are really focused on what they are doing. I asked them before the game if they want to continue, and they showed me on the court. And that is desire. We played against a team that played really good tonight. They played really good in this World Cup." - Italy coach Gianmaco Pozzecco

"We are happy. We knew that this game was crucial for us. We dreamt about being in the top eight of the World Cup, and we realized that. We are just following what the coaching staff is saying. We fight for 40 minutes. Puerto Rico is a great team. They have a lot of talent on offense. It's a team win because we won the game on defense again. They only scored 57 points. That is a great point of emphasis of this game. We are happy and we keep dreaming." - Italy forward Giampaolo Ricci

"Good feeling to be in the top eight in the world. It was not an easy group. And we knew it would not be an easy game. But we played good and deserved to win. We created a lot of good shots. The ball didn't go in at the beginning but we kept shooting with confidence. The bigs kept us alive with a lot of offensive rebounds. At the end of the day I think we deserved the win." - Italy forward Luigi Datome

"All my respect to Italy. That team is solid and they did a great job tonight. We competed 100 percent. We competed to win this game and did everything that we could. At the end of the day open shots and second chance points made the difference. That is today but I am proud of my group, my team and all my coaches. I know that we learned so much from this game for the future and I know that we will be better." - Puerto Rico coach Nelson Colon.

"Tough fought game. Italy is a great team. We knew that coming in. They pulled away in the second half, mainly because of the rebounds and second chance points. We knew that was a spot where we were struggling. They really took advantage of that. Credit to them. They're a great team, very well coached, a lot of great players. I'm proud of how we fought. But we just came up a little short." - Puerto Rico guard Jordan Howard

Press Conference

FIBA