Italy stifle Dominican Republic to earn Olympic shot in OQT Final

BELGRADE (Serbia) - Led by Simone Fontecchio, Italy beat the Dominican Republic by 79-59 in the first Semi-Finals in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade. That win gives the "Azzuri" team a spot in the Sunday Final and a chance to get earn their spot in the 12-team Men's Basketball Tournament at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Thanks to a fantastic third quarter, the European squad secured playing in the very last game in Serbia's capital. Italy gets first over twenty points lead in with the 2:44 left in the third quarter (64-44) and never looked back.

Turning point: 17-0 run in the third quarter was decisive for the game's final result. The Italians allowed the Dominican team only 8 points in that quarter while scoring 24.

Game heroes: Simone Fontecchio played another tremendous offensive game in the traditional white-and-blue Italian national team jersey, scoring 17 points without a miss from the three-point line (3-from-3). He added 5 rebounds and 3 assists and had +/- 24. Stefano Tonut also chipped in 14 points and 3 dimes.

Stats don't lie: Meo Sacchetti's squad played some very team-oriented basketball,  as evidenced by 21 assists. They also came to play with a proper defensive mindset, controlling the paint with good defensive rebounding (31) and 5 blocked shots.  

They said: "We did an excellent job in defense today, stoped their penetration and one-on-one game. Also, we protected the paint well, didn't let them get many offensive rebounds. We had a terrific third quarter, made some shots, and take that game away from them. We are looking forward to the Finals, and we will see who we play with." Simone Fontecchio, Italy forward.