By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Australia edged Italy, 86-83, in a tight contest held at Saitama Super Arena on Wednesday.
Jock Landale packed a team-high 18 points and seven rebounds for the winning side. Patty Mills and Joe Ingles delivered the late daggers.
Mills, 32, threw in 16 points, including four points in the final 32 seconds. His teammate Ingles posted a 14-point effort highlighted by a three-pointer for a seven-point lead with 2:38 remaining.
Landale along with Nick Kay firing 15 points and Aron Baynes finishing with 14 points made the difference inside. Apart from scoring, the bigs combined for 21 out of the 44 team rebounds. The 16 offensive boards created a 17-5 advantage in second-chance points.
“Tonight in the second half, as in the last game against Nigeria, the defense was the determining factor,” said head coach Brian Goorjian, “We just really locked them down in the fourth quarter and defended really well.”
A total of nine lead changes as neither side generated a double-digit difference shaped the closely contested game, arguably the most exciting so far in the Olympic Games.
Simone Fontecchio after pouring 20 points in the opener logged a game-high 22 points in the losing effort. Youngster Nico Mannion moved out of the starting unit but followed with 21 points and seven assists.
“Probably the key was that we missed a couple of defensive rebounds, after two of them they made shots and made a very important triple right back,” noted head coach Meo Sacchetti, “We played to our maximum, but it is not enough against a team like Australia.”
Australia up 2-0 in Group B heads to the preliminary round finale versus Germany. First place will be secured with a win, while a loss will land second or third place.
Italy forced to 1-1 can end up from first to fourth depending on the remaining fixture against Nigeria and the result of the other match.
Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL