BOCAUE, Bulacan – Italy kicked off its FIBA World Cup quest in Group A with a victory as they kept a scrappy Angola team at bay, 81-67, at the Philippine Arena here Friday.
With the game going down the wire with about five minutes left in the final quarter, Giampaolo Ricci hit a big 3-pointer to give the Italians the space they need, 72-64.
The game then turned into a free throw shootout down the stretch.
After Nicolo Melli split his charities to give Italy a 75-65 lead, a Jilson Bango layup cut the margin to single digits.
Angola also had an opportunity to further cut the lead, but a bad pass led to a Simone Fontecchio layup, which iced the game for Italy, 77-67, with two minutes remaining.
Italy was poised to a breakout fourth quarter, as they hiked their lead to eight early in the final canto after a big putback dunk by Gabriele Procida.
But the smallest player in the court, 5-foot-6 Childe Dundao, hit a huge triple for Angola to cut the lead to five, 65-60.
The two teams exchanged points until Ricci's trey put the game out of reach.
Layups by Stefano Tonut and Marco Spissu set the final score, a win that came before a crowd of 21,214.
The Italians’ ball movement was in full display throughout the game, as they tallied 22 assists for their 25 field goals.
Their 3-point shooting, however, was cold, as they were able to make just five of their 31 attempts for a 16% clip.