The door to the FIBA Basketball World Cup second round remains wide open for Italy.
But this time, the Italians, just like their rival host team Gilas Pilipinas, are desperate for survival when they march on the court for their last Group A assignment on Tuesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The world No. 10 Italy let the golden opportunity of advancing outright to the second-round slip away after allowing Karl-Anthony Towns and the Dominican Republic to recover from 12 points down with a scorching second half to absorb an 82-87 defeat last Sunday.
Italy, sporting a 1-1 win-loss record tied with Angola, is now in a must-win situation in an already complicated scenario.
In fact, a win does not totally assure the Italians of a ticket to the next round as they would still have to pray for the Dominican Republic to beat Angola.
A victory by Angola coupled with Italy’s win over Gilas would tie them at second spot. In this scenario, the team with the superior quotient will advance along with the Dominicans.
It gets even more complicated if Italy and Angola lose as they will be knotted in a three-way tie with the Filipinos with 1-2 slates.
For Italy team captain Luigi Datome, what they need to do now is to simply focus on the task at hand.
After all, the Italians are sure to face tough resistance against the Filipinos and their loud home fans who are expected to fill the 16,500-seater Cubao venue to the rafters.
“We’re gonna control what we can do on the court. One day’s rest is just the environment. We need to be focused on our job,” Datome said.
One thing the Italians need is to make their outside shots fall. Italy is just shooting 20 percent from the three-point area — the worst in the group.
Against the Dominicans, Italy sank seven treys in 29 attempts a bit better than its atrocious 5-of-31 in a win against Angola last Friday.
They also have to keep their emotions in check.
Italy saw its fiery coach Gianmarco Pozzecco sent off the court with 2:20 left in the second quarter after getting called for a second technical foul. The Italians at that time were still ahead, 37-31, but the complexion of the game completely changed when Pozzecco was tossed out.
The game went testy with Italy getting too physical as frustrations mounted.
But the Italians are moving forward from the loss. No need to cry over spilled milk.
They are now gearing up to do their part and let just fate decide the rest.
“A very important game to prepare (for). Prepare to move forward to the second round,” Datome said.
“Prepare but keep on believing in ourselves, of course, keep on trusting each other. And we know it’s gonna be hard (against Gilas) like it was hard (against the Dominican Republic), like it was hard two days ago. Nothing different.”
