Powerhouse Italy continued its rise within the 2023 FIBA World Cup after heading off Puerto Rico, 73-57, to advance to the quarterfinal spherical on Sunday on the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Italy, who was coming off a giant win towards Serbia the opposite day, ended the second spherical with a 4-1 whereas Puerto Rico bowed out of competition after dropping to 3-2.
Giampaolo Ricci and Stefano Tonut every poured in 15 factors whereas Simone Fontecchio registered a double-double effort of 12 markers and 12 rebounds alongside one help and one steal.
After trailing for a lot of the first half, Puerto Rico minimize its deficit to simply three earlier than heading to the third interval, 39-36, with ever-reliable Tremont Waters main the best way.
They even took a 43-41 lead late within the third earlier than a buzzer-beater three-pointer from Alessandro Pajola despatched the Italians to a 51-47 cushion to finish the body.
It was all Italy within the payoff interval as Puerto Rico couldn’t trim its deficit to a single digit.
Waters paced Puerto Rico with 13 factors, 9 assists, two rebounds, and one steal whereas Jordan Howard chipped in 11 markers, 4 boards, and two dimes.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
