FOSHAN (China) - Italy marked their first FIBA Basketball World Cup appearance in more than a decade with a 108-62 demolition of Philippines in Group D action on Saturday in Foshan.

The Italians had last appeared in the tournament 13 years ago in Japan, where they finished ninth, but they looked in total control of their World Cup destiny.

Danilo Gallinari was superb at both ends of the floor, finishing with 16 points on 4-of-5 three-point attempts, Luigi Datome added 17 to his account and Amedeo Della Valle came up with 17 off the bench to help Italy make a statement in the opening day of Group D.

As much as Andray Blatche tried to keep the Philippines in the game - with his sixth straight double-double (15 points and 10 rebounds) in World Cup competition - he lacked support. 

Turning Point: There wasn't one as the Italians led from start to finish and led by as many as 53 points. 

TCL Player of the Game: Luigi Datome was outstanding. He needed just over 16 minutes on the floor to hit all seven of his field goal attempts en route to a game-high 17 points. At the time of the game, the 2.03m (6ft 8in) forward stands as the only player to have converted all his shots in the tournament.

Stats Don't Lie: When you play sloppy basketball, don't hand the ball safely, and turn it over far too many times at a competition of this magnitude, you pay a heavy price, and that's exactly what happened to the Philippines.  

While the Italians remained composed throughout the game, Philippines couldn't help their cause turning the ball over a staggering 23 times. And to make matters worse, they struggled to score from beyond the arc, making only three of their 23 three-point attempts.

Bottom Line: Philippines and Italy aren't necessarily unfamiliar to each other. Prior to Saturday's meeting, the two sides faced off once at FIBA Basketball World Cup 1978 with the European side completing sealing 37-point margin (112-75). While Italy - a higher-ranked and better equipped team - stepped to the floor as favorite and took control of the game early on, Philippines looked unrecognizable from the team that claimed a 7-5 mark in the Asias Qualifiers.  

Five years ago, in Spain, Blatche finished with double-doubles in each of his games -  a record in that tournament - and on Saturday, he produced yet another double-double in 15 points and 10 rebounds. Despite the Philippines effort, the game totally belonged to Italians who outplayed Philippines at all aspects of the game. 

With the win, and following Serbia's triumph earlier in the day against Angola, the Italians boosted their chances of securing one of the two top spots of group D, which ensure a place in the next round. In the meantime, Philippines will need to come up on Monday with a re-invented game plan against Serbia in order to keep their World Cup aspirations alive. 

They said: "There will be nights like this. Just the experience of being out here - that's one positive thing. Moving on to the next games is important. We have to think of the next game after that. It's all about experience." - Philippines guard Kiefer Ravena

"It's always very good to start competitions like this the right way, especially with the great intensity offensively and defensively. It was important to establish our lead since the beginning. That's what we did, so we did a great job." - Italy forward Danilo Gallinari

FIBA