ITALY found the right time to catch fire as it stunned hosts Serbia, 102-95, to rule the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall on Sunday (Monday, Manila time).
Golden State Warriors guard Nico Mannion unfurled 24 points and four assists to help the Azzurri make it to the Olympics for the first time since 2004 in Athens, where it bagged the silver medal.
The win wouldn't be possible if not for the deadly sniping of Tournament MVP Achille Polonara, who waxed hot as he drilled six of his eight triples for a double-double of 22 points and 12 rebounds with two dimes, and two steals as the Italians shot 14-of-34 from rainbow country.
That blazing shooting touch allowed Italy to break free from Serbia early on and take a 57-45 halftime lead, which grew to a 24-point advantage, 73-49, after a three from Alessandro Pajola at the 4:24 mark of the third period.
Rio silver medalists out of Tokyo Olympics
Not even Serbia's 32-point fourth quarter could help it recover as the tournament favorites ran out of time and bumped the silver medalists from the 2016 Rio Olympics out of contention.
Simone Fontecchio added 21 points and eight rebounds, as Stefano Tonut had 15 points, four boards, and four assists in the huge win for Italy.
Serbia leaned on Danilo Andjusic, who garnered 27 points built on seven treys, on top of three rebounds and two assists as the raucous crowd in Belgrade was stunned and fell silent as the buzzer sounded.
Filip Petrusev had 22 points and five rebounds, as Ognjen Dobric had 17 points, four assists, and three boards to make up for the subpar showing from Boban Marjanovic, who only played nine minutes in the finale.
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