Italy shorten rotation, take care of business over Philippines to reach Second Round

MANILA (Philippines) - Italy bounced back from their disappointing loss to Dominican Republic and knocked off Philippines 90-83 to reach the Second Round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.

The Italians have secured a top-16 spot for the 10th time in 10 World Cup appearances after taking second place in Group A with a 2-1 record and Philippines finished last in the group with a 0-3 mark and became the first host team since Colombia in 1982 to lose their first three games in the tournament.

Italy's win in front of 11,821 fans at the Manila Araneta Coliseum improved their all-time record against the Asians to 5-1, having won the last five games following a 32-14 loss in the 1936 Olympics. Italy also beat Philippines 108-62 in the First Round at the 2019 World Cup.

Game Highlights:

Turning Point: The game was tight until midway through the second quarter when the Europeans took control of the contest. Italy reeled off a 12-3 surge to build a 42-31 lead.

The home side got the margin down to seven points a few times but could never really put a dent into the lead. A 10-3 surge spanning the third and fourth quarters pushed the gap to 80-63. Philippines tried to make things interesting and trimmed the deficit to 7 points inside the final 2 minutes.  But they could not finish the comeback.

TCL Player of the Game: Six Italians scored in double figures and while Simone Fontecchio led the way with 18 points, Marco Spissu did a great job directing the Italians and also hitting some big shots to win the TCL Player of the Game award. The guard poured in 13 points including 4 three-pointers and also picked up 9 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals.

Stats Don't Lie: Italian coach Gianmarco Pozzecco drastically cut his rotation, playing only 8 players more than 1:18 minutes and three Italians did not play at all. The Europeans shot 52 percent on two-pointers, knocked down 17 three-pointers and converted 15-of-17 free throws (88 percent) while committing only 11 turnovers. And Italy produced a 21-10 advantage in points off turnovers as the hosts lost 14 balls.

Bottom Line: Italy now move onto the Second Round where they will face off against the top two teams from Group B in hopes of reaching the Quarter-Finals. Philippines for their part are relegated to the Classification 17-32 and will play their final two games against the bottom two teams from Group B and hope to do enough to at least book a ticket to the 2024 Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.

They Said: I am happy because this was not an easy group for us. Those guys have won 11 of the last 12 gams. I really love them. And that is basketball. I don’t like to talk about travelling and system. Just love." - Italy coach Gianmarco Pozzecco

"We just came here to win the game. That was the most important thing. We knew that from the loss two days ago to Dominican Republic that the only way to advance from the group was to win this game. We won today so we are really happy. Now we need to recover because in two days we have another important game. We want to keep dreaming so let's get it." - Italy guard Marco Spissu

"We have to start from zero after every loss and after every win. We did our job today. Now we need to get some rest and think about the next games. We scored on the good shots that we took. The shooting percentages were high, that's why we were able to open a big cushion." -  Italy forward Luigi Datome

"We wanted to win this game and we won. We knew it would not be easy playing in front of the host country in this amazing arena. Every time they got the ball in their hands they screamed - not after the basket but before even. It was not easy but now we have the monkey off our backs. We know there will be tough games ahead but if you want to reach the Quarter-Finals you have to beat the best. We are ready because we know who we are." - Italy power forward Giampaolo Ricci

"Very proud of the effort of our players. What a way to fight coming off those two painful losses and to still show up tonight and give it our all against a top-10 team in the world. I couldn't ask for more. We just came up short but we continue to fight. That's all we can do." - Philippines coach Chot Reyes

"It was a tough game but I think we competed. I think we competed in all three games. We came out here and gave our best effort. We are trying to figure out these games and get wins." - Philippines guard Jordan Clarkson

"It was a tough one. We got Italy on their best game of the tournament. But it was bound to happen. They are a top-10 team in the world. You always expect the best from them. Unfortunately it came against us." - Philippines guard Kiefer Ravena

Press Conference:

FIBA