Red hot Belinelli lifts Italy past Finland and into Quarters

ISTANBUL (FIBA EuroBasket 2017) - Hot shooting from Italy star Marco Belinelli lifted his team into the Quarter-Finals with a 70-57 victory over Finland.

Belinelli had 14 points in the first half as Italy built a commanding 19-point lead at the long break. A gallant Finland kept fighting back, but were never close enough to seriously threaten.

It was a disappointing end for the Susijengi, who had won 4-of-5 during the Group Phase in front of their loud fans in Helsinki. Young Finland star Lauri Markkanen struggled to reproduce his Helsinki heroics scoring just 4 points on 2-of-6 shooting. 

Italy will play the winner of Hungary and Serbia in the Quarter-Finals. 

Turning point: Finland fought hard to get back from a major hole and got the margin to within single figures with under three minutes to play. With time running down on the shot clock, Italy's Daniel Hackett converted a running jumper to get the margin back up to double digits and stop Finland's momentum.  

Stats-don't-lie: Italy made their first 6 shots from beyond the arc but cooled off significantly after that, finishing at 9-of-28. However they still made four more than Finland - which was essentially the difference in the end - who shot just 5-of-18. 

Game hero: Marco Belinelli was lights out in the first half with 14 points from just 3 field attempts - all made three pointers. The 31-year-old made his first 5 threes and finished with 22 points from just 9 field goal attempts. 

They said: "It's a big win for us. We had some changes in the summer. I think we are playing with heart and discipline. The first half was very good offensively, the ball was moving around very fast. The second half they increased their pressure. We are very happy" - Italy coach Ettore Messina

FIBA