LIMASSOL (Cyprus) - Italy collected their first victory of the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 after fighting off a strong effort from Georgia in a 78-62 success to avoid being another upset victim.
After an opening loss to Greece, Italy remained perfect in history against Georgia with a 6-0 record, including in the Group Phase of FIBA EuroBasket 2017. The Georgians came into the game on a high after surprising reigning champions Spain in their opener.
Turning Point
Spurred on by some great support from their fans, Georgia were hanging until the end of the third quarter. Italy then pulled away with Gianmarco Pozzecco's team reeling off a 16-0 run to go from up three points to a 66-47 advantage.
TCL Player of the Game
Saliou Niang showed he could rise to the moment as the 21-year-old turned the game around with his energy on both ends. He led the Italians with 15 points including two three-pointers and some highflying moments. Niang, who had 11 points in the opening game also grabbed one rebound.
Simone Fontecchio shrugged off his nightmare opening game to score 14 points while also tallying 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Georgia's Goga Bitadze led all scorers with 22 points.
Stats Don't Lie
Italy committed only three turnovers in the second half. Georgia converted only 11 of 19 free throws for 58 percent and Italy held Georgia to just 14 percent on three-pointers (3/21) - their lowest in a game at EuroBasket.
Bottom Line
With a victory in hand, Italy will look to make it back-to-back wins on Sunday as they square off against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Georgia were unable to collect a second win and now face a difficult challenge versus Greece as they hope their win over Spain was not for naught. The Georgians have never won their second game of a EuroBasket.
They Said
"I don't know how we played, and to be honest, I don't care. But I am sure that they played hard. Everything we asked of them they did it. They are really perfect players and I love coaching them." - Gianmarco Pozzecco, Italy
"We tried to share the ball a little bit more and be a little more focused on offense and don't rush too much. At the beginning, we were rushing things a little too much. We just have to stay composed and know what we need to do on offense." - Simone Fontecchio, Italy
"It was a big game and they were playing with a lot of energy. They were a good team and we knew that. We just really had to respect them and keep fighting and do the best we can." - Darius Thompson, Italy
"We know what our goal is. And after two games we are 1-1. We will go all the way with everything we have." - Aleksandar Dzikic, Georgia
"We feel bad, especially because we lost by this many points. At the end of the day, we are a very resilient team. We fought in the game. There were long stretches of very good basketball, showing togetherness. We were even winning this game in the third quarter. They had a great streak of a lot of points and we couldn't catch them. But I want to thank the guys for fighting until the last season." - Beka Burjanadze, Georgia
For more quotes, tune in to the official post-game press conference!
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