Serbia – Italy 76:78 (19:23, 23:17, 20:19, 14:19)
In the first match of the newly formed Group I, the Serbian national team played against Italy. In a game full of twists and turns, Italy emerged victorious with a score of 78:76. The clash against old rivals started with several missed opportunities on both sides, but Italy was the first team to find its offensive rhythm, taking a ten-point lead. However, through patient play, Serbian players closed the gap to -4 by the end of the first ten minutes and then took the lead in the second quarter. Italy made another surge and regained a five-point advantage. However, Serbia managed to close the first half with a lead of 42:40, with Captain Bogdanović making a three-pointer at the buzzer.
The start of the third quarter saw a tough game on both sides, with points coming from free throws and under the basket, thanks to Milutinov and Stefan Jović. The strong defense and competitiveness of the Serbian national team were rewarded with more points from Milutinov and a slam dunk from Dobrić, which gave Serbia a 13-point lead in the 25th minute of the match. Nikola Jović’s three-pointer quickly extended Serbia’s lead to a maximum of 16 points, but the Italian national team narrowed the gap to 62:59 by the end of the third quarter.
In the final quarter, the game became completely uncertain again, and with five minutes remaining, Italy held a three-point lead after a basket by Fontekio. In the last 40 seconds, Italy entered with a four-point lead, but Bogdanović reduced it to 76:78 from the free-throw line. Serbia managed to defend the last possession but couldn’t make the three-pointer for the win.
Serbia will play against the Dominican Republic on Sunday at 2:00 PM for a spot in the World Cup quarter-finals.
Coach of Serbia, Svetislav Pešić:
“The game against Italy was important for several reasons, but it’s good that we still control our destiny. It’s not terrible that we lost by two points, but it’s a great pity that we didn’t use the momentum to win tonight. It’s tough to play against Italy because of their experience, speed, and toughness; they’ve been playing together for a long time, and they showed it. As always, we have to win; now we have to beat the Dominican Republic. We have enough time to prepare and play that game, to regenerate mentally and physically. We need to analyze what we need to improve from this game to be the best in the game we approach as if it were the World Cup final.”
Ognjen Dobrić:
“We knew it would be a tough game. We had good moments, especially in the third quarter, but we lost momentum. They managed to regain the lead, we made a lot of mistakes, allowed them too many easy points, and made silly mistakes in offense. That cost us a better result. They were more focused than us. We had a good moment, but we didn’t continue with the same rhythm. They played tougher, smarter, and used their qualities to beat us.”