By Alex Molina / info@eurohoops.net
After losing against Iceland in the first round, Italy needed a win.
And Luca Banchi got his first one as the head coach of the Italian national team after defeating Lithuania 81–82.
After being the hero against Great Britain, Ignas Sargiunas was the highest scorer for the hosts, finishing the game with 18 points.
Gabriele Procida had a very good game, scoring 24 points. Stefano Tonut (16 p.) and Nico Mannion (15 p.) were also vital for the Italian victory.
Despite dominating the first half and having a ten-point lead in the third quarter (54–49), the hosts couldn’t avoid losing control of the game.
A 10–0 run gave Italy their first and largest lead of the game, but everything was decided in the last minute.
Once again, Lithuania was involved in a nail-biting ending, but this time it was Velicka who shone, putting his team ahead 81–80 with a three-pointer.
But Italy had its say, and Nico Mannion scored a very easy layup to put the 81–82 on the scoreboard — the last basket of the game, as the buzzer-beater from Velicka to win it for Lithuania did not go in.