BOCAUE, Bulacan — Italy started cold before delivering a strong finishing kick to foil Angola, 81-67, in the opening salvo of the FIBA Basketball World Cup at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.
National Basketball Association player Simone Fontecchio led the attack for the Italians, who have been invincible in their international campaign despite the absence of prolific forward Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic.
Banchero, the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year who gained Italian citizenship in 2020, has been wooed to represent Italy in the international arena since he was 17.
But in a shocking twist, Banchero opted to play for the United States, prompting Italian Basketball Federation president Gianni Petrucci to brand his move as “betrayal.”
Still, even without Banchero, the Italians were impressive as they went undefeated in their buildup for this 32-nation spectacle, beating powerhouse countries like China, Serbia, Greece, Puerto Rico, New Zealand and Brazil.
But against the Angolans, who struggled in the World Cup warmups, the Italians started cold until the triumvirate of Fontecchio, Stefano Tonut and Giampaolo Ricci broke away midway through the payoff period to seal the victory.
Fontecchio, a 6-foot-7 forward for the Utah Jazz, nailed 19 points and five rebounds for the Italians, who were surprisingly sluggish from the three-point area with a dismal 6-of-31 three-point shooting for an ugly 16 percent.
The Italians, however, made it up from the two-point zone with 69 percent field goal (20-of-29) while holding the Angolans to only 14 percent from the rainbow area on 4-of-29 shooting.
Holding a dangerous 67-62 with 5:14 left in the fourth quarter, the Italians broke away with a 12-5 run capped by a layup by Tonut to take the game away with 1:21 left in the game, 79-67.
Italian head coach Gianmarco Pozzecco was glad to pluck their first win but regretted the way they played in the first three quarters.
“I have to congratulate coach (Angola head coach Pep) Claros and all of his staff and players. They played a real game. I have to apologize to my players because I was completely under stress,” said Pozzecco, whose wards tallied their third win over the Angolans in World Cup history — the first was in 1990 and the second was in 2019.
“I was negative and they felt that so I really want to apologize to them but definitely they did what they had to do.”
Italian forward Niccolo Melli admitted that they experienced some opening-day jitters, especially since they are one of the teams to beat for having a red-hot performance in their friendly series.
“It’s a good win because it’s the first game of the tournament. So there was a little bit of tension, we were a little bit nervous,” said Melli, who played for the New Orleans Pelicans and the Dallas Mavericks before returning to Europe to see action for Olympia Milano.
“But we broke the ice. It was a good win in the end. I think we played well but we just missed shots. They were very physical but we found a way to compete and stayed together throughout the game. We were up by nine and they came back and we went down. It was good that we stuck together.”
Childe Dundao led Angola with 19 points for the Angolans, who will be facing Gilas Pilipinas in a very crucial battle on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Filipinos are still colliding with the Dominican Republic at press time but whatever the outcome is, they are expected to go hard knowing that they have what it takes to shock the African powerhouse.
“Part of offense and defense is character,” Claros said, adding that they lacked mental toughness down the stretch.
“And no matter what the score is, you have to show character. I think we lacked strong character in the final minutes. When you face a team that is better than you, which we all know, recognize and accept. It’s clear that the only way to win is to give more. To play harder and to never give up.”
