ISTANBUL (Türkiye) - Italy's magical ride at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 rose to another level by downing hosts Türkiye 90-63 to reach the Final and a date with six-time reigning champions United States.
Italy have long forgotten their slow start of two straight losses and continue to make history, first reaching the Quarter-Finals for the first time, then the Semi-Finals for the first time and now the title game. Italy finished ninth in their only previous appearance in 2014.
Italy have secured their fourth podium finish at a youth World Cup, having finished second at the FIBA U19 Basketbal World Cup in 1991 and 2017 and taken third place in 1987.
Türkiye were hoping to clinch their second appearance in the Final after having lost to United States in 2016. Now they must beat New Zealand in the Third-Place Game for a medal.
Turning point
Italy had jumped ahead 28-17 in the early moments of the second quarter and had silenced the Sinan Erdem Dome crowd of 1,575 fans. Türkiye scored five quick points and the home fans woke up. But Italy did not let Türkiye back into the game and were ahead 42-26 at halftime. And Giuseppe Mangone's team remained poised and kept the home side from a comeback.
Game hero
Mattia Ceccato came off the Italy bench and played a huge factor on the game, scoring 17 points to go along with 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. In addition, the guard played tough defense on Türkiye star guard Kaan Onat, who was held to 10 points - 11.2 points below his average coming into the game.
Stats don't lie
Italy did not allow Türkiye to get easy points with just 9 turnovers while winning the points off turnovers category 26-10. They also grabbed 13 offensive rebounds to just 9 for the home side. And Italy's tough defense held Türkiye to just 35.9 percent shooting for the game including 23.5 percent on three-pointers.
They said:
"Of course we are happy, no doubt. We did something unbelievable, especially after the first two games. We won the dream to play the Final against a monster team. You know the power of the United States, but for us tomorrow will be a special day. But we will fight." - Italy head coach Giuseppe Mangone.
Top Highlight
Other results
Classification 5-8 - Lithuania will play for fifth place after beating Canada 106-104 in overtime. The Europeans lost a 14-point lead in the third quarter but needed to go to overtime to win. Ignas Urbonas scored 22 points, Arturas Butajevas had 16 points and 19 rebounds and Dovydas Buika collected 19 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Jordan Charles scored 32 points in the loss. - Puerto Rico are just one victory from securing their third top-five finish in three tournaments as they defeated Spain 65-58. Rognny Santiago scored 15 points and Felipe Quinones had 13 points and 5 assists for Puerto Rico, who were fifth in 2014 and third in 2018.
Classification 9-12 - Argentina have secured their best placing since 2014 by beating Egypt 90-72. The South Americans, who finished 10th in the event 10 years ago, were led by Felipe Minzer with 23 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. - France remained on a mission to finish their tournament on a high note with a 91-43 blowout of Germany. Title contenders France, who were bounced by Puerto Rico in the Round of 16, gave up just 4 points in the first quarter. Jonas Boulefaa scored 20 points as France's top weapon.
Classification 13-16 - China advanced to the game for 13th place with a dominant 85-66 victory over Philippines. Yuezhou Li scored 24 points with 12 rebounds and 4 assists to pace five Chinese players in double figures with Wenwei He adding 17 points. - Guinea picked up their second victory in their first appearance in the U17 World Cup with a 98-78 win over Australia. The Africans built a 15-point first quarter lead and never really were threatened with Abdouramane Toure scoring 36 points with 10 rebounds and 4 blocks and Arafan Diane added 20 points and 9 rebounds. Australia, who had never failed to reach the Quarter-Finals, will play for 15th place.
Schedule for Sunday, July 7
Final Italy v USA
3rd Place Game: Türkiye v New Zealand
Classification 5-6 Puerto Rico v Lithuania
Classification 7-8 Spain v Canada
Classification 9-10 France v Argentina
Classification 11-12 Germany v Egypt
Classification 13-14 Guinea v China
Classification 15-16 Australia v Philippines
FIBA