PIRAEUS (Greece) - Italy edged an intense and dramatic Quarter-Finals struggle with Türkiye 76-74 in overtime to reach the last four of FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2025 in Piraeus. The victory ended a 30-year wait for Italy to reach this stage, having done so back in 1995 when they went on to take silver.
Turning point
Italy were trailing by 9 points in the third quarter and the game was drifting away. But they reacted with a sparkling 17-4 run to change the feel of the game. Then when put under pressure by having to play overtime - after late heroics from Sevgi Uzun - when they looked like they should have won in regulation, Italy made a number of clutch plays through Lorela Cubaj and Cecilia Zandalasini.
TCL Player of the Game
Lorela Cubaj made three big buckets in crunch time when Italy had not scored in three minutes and finished the contest with 16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and a block.
Stats don't lie
Italy dropped a massive 46 points in the paint and that helped them shoot almost 54 percent from two-point range which was fundamental to their success.
Bottom Line
Italy were asked plenty of questions by Türkiye and answered them all to move to a flawless 4-0. They could have crumbled when they made the turnover that handed their opponents the chance to force overtime through a buzzer-beater from Sevgi Uzun. But they showed great toughness mentally to bounce back and get it done.
Türkiye struggled to move the ball like they had done in previous games and their decision-making at times was not at the usual level. Uzun was the cool head in their camp but outside of this, they struggled when the heat was turned up. They can still be proud and have a job to do as they fight for a ticket to the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 Qualifying Tournaments.
They said
"I am very happy, but this game was very difficult. The next game I think we have to do less mistakes. The girls helped each other a lot and I am proud and excited at what will be next." Andrea Capobianco, Italy coach "We never gave up - including in overtime and when we were not scoring. Everyone gave something for the win. We are proud and now we can get a medal and that is the next step for us." Costanza Verona, Italy guard
FIBA