There is something about scoring ace Bojan Bogdanovic and Italian cuisine

TRIESTE (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers) - Croatia and Italy played three official games in Italy over the last two years. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 26 points in each of those duels.

It started off with a Group Phase game at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Turin in 2016. Bogdanovic struggled from the field, Croatia lost the game 67-60 at the hands of the host country, but Babo had a game-high 26 points, by some distance. Especially in such a low scoring affair.

He was even more impressive later in that same week. Croatia stunned the Italian crowd in the Final of the tournament, celebrating an 84-78 overtime win that booked their flight to Rio 2016. Bogdanovic was unstoppable once more, with 26 points, including going 12-of-13 from the charity stripe.

Bogdanovic led Croatia past Italy in 2016

And then came the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers. With their backs against the wall, Croatia needed something special from their all-time leading scorer in the national team. You guessed it - another 26-point performance for the 29-year-old! More than enough for a 78-72 win, keeping Croatia's World Cup hopes alive.

Italian coach Meo Sacchetti tried everything, but as evident over the last two plays of the clip above, even double-teaming did not help. Bogdanovic kept on finding open guys, finishing the game with 7 rebounds and 6 assists also to his name.

"Huge win in an amazing atmosphere, and we even heard our traveling fans singing," the Indiana Pacers shooting guard said to Sportske novosti. Red-and-white was seen all over the stands in Trieste on Thursday, the proximity of that location allowed a lot of fans to drive to Italy and get back to Croatia the same night.

Fans made the trip from Umag, Zagreb and other Croatian towns

Seeing the Azzurri on the other side seems to motivate Bogdanovic. He played his first game for the senior national team against Italy, scoring 15 points as a 21-year-old against Italy in Porec in 2010. He was on target again at FIBA EuroBasket 2013, when he had a team-high 18 points in the Second Round 76-68 win over Italy in Ljubljana.

Thursday's game was just another tasty meal Bogdanovic devoured in Italy.

"We had some holes in our game, at the beginning and the end, when they surprised us with their aggressive defense, but overall, we were in control all game long. For me, this was something completely different to what I play in the NBA, but I'm always feeling the pride when playing for Croatia," Bogdanovic said.

"WE MUST DEFEAT ROMANIA NOW. IF WE REPEAT THIS KIND OF PERFORMANCE, WE WILL HAVE OUR CHANCE."Bogdanovic

 Croatia are still not in the clear. The 2-3 team heads to Romania next, where they face yet another must-win game.

"We are not in a good spot but we want to reach not only the World Cup, but also the 2020 Olympics, and the road ahead is a long one. We must defeat Romania now. If we repeat this kind of performance, we will have our chance."

FIBA