The sprint goes to Italy: 82-81 on Lithuania's hardwood. The World Cup qualifying games are wide open. The victory was facilitated by a monstrous Procida: 18 points in the final quarter (out of 24 total), but Petrucelli's defense on Velicka on the final play was also decisive.
Neither Dinamo player, Vincini, nor Lithuanian Beliauskas, scored. Cagliari's Grant remained on the bench.
The game started off on an uphill slope for Banchi's team: 7-0 to the home team. Tonut helped launch the comeback, but the home team's turnovers and excessive offensive rebounds left the Azzurri trailing, though they were still in the game: -5.
After halftime, Italy defended better, especially in the paint, and got closer and got back into the game, taking the lead in the final quarter thanks to Procida's three-pointers and dunks. The Azzurri repeatedly led by five, but Lithuania didn't give up and even took the lead with a three-pointer by Velicka with 13 seconds left. Mannion scored on a drive to restore the lead, then Petrucelli tracked Velicka down, whose shot fell short. Victory.