ITALY reached the quarterfinals of the Fiba Basketball World Cup for the first time in 25 years after defeating Puerto Rico, 73-57, on Sunday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Stefano Tonut and Giampaolo Ricci had 15 points apiece while Simone Fontecchio finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds as the Azzurri ended the second round with a 4-1 win-loss record.
The result of the second match of the day between Serbia and Dominican Republic will determine Italy's opponent in Group J in the knockout rounds, which would either be United States or Lithuania.
The win assured Italy of its best finish since placing sixth in 1998. The Azzurri ended up ninth in 2006, 10th in 2019 and failed to qualify in 2002, 2010 and 2014.
Puerto Rico's defeat hurt its chances of claiming one of the two Olympic berths for Americas with the United States already through to the quarterfinals and Canada,
Dominican Republic and Brazil are still playing on Sunday night in the hope of entering the next phase.
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