ITALY overhauled a 17-point deficit to defeat Serbia, 89-88, in the 32nd Aegean Acropolis Tournament in Greece.
Utah Jazz cager Simone Fontecchio tallied 13 points and six rebounds, while Matteo Spagnolo had 12 points for Italy. Achille Polonara, the team’s 6-foot-8 power forward who plays for domestic team Virtus Bologna, added 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Italy is grouped with the Philippines in the 2023 Fiba Basketball World Cup. They square off on August 29 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The Azzurri fell behind 28-11, according to the match report by fip.it, but slowly crawled their way back to steal the win from the No. 6-ranked team in the world.
“It's a preparation friendly but we are really very happy and proud to have fought against one of the strongest teams in Europe and in the world,” said Italy coach Gianmarco Pozzecco as quoted by fip.it of his team that is seeded 10th in the Fiba rankings.
Miami Heat player Nikola Jovic had 18 points and seven rebounds, while Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic added 14 points for Serbia, which will play in the Fiba Basketball World Cup without reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.
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