Two weeks ago, our team faced the Italians in the World Cup qualifiers. Then, in a nominal home game held in Riga, the Ukrainians looked no worse than their opponents, but inexplicably managed to lose 89:97 and won by +11 during the match.

The current (more precisely, already yesterday) match also did not promise any sensations. On the contrary, the bookies thought so, confidently predicting the victory of the Italian team. Obviously, this was facilitated by the and subsequent defeat in Riga, where the Ukrainians lost to the Icelanders on the way. Also, the home stands factor should play an important role.

Photo – fiba.basketball

The first quarter confirmed these forecasts. Both teams scored points, but the hosts managed to do it better and every successful action was accompanied by the frenzied emotions of the fans. The Italians made a special bet on three-pointers that flew fairly regularly. What can not be said about free throws – such a terrible execution has not been seen for a long time. Part of our passivity resulted in the first quarter ending with a score of 11:16.

In the second match, Ainars Bagatskis took a timeout and tried to reach his players. “Respect your job” is perhaps the most censored statement from a coach I’ve ever heard. And apparently, he succeeded. The match was balanced and our three-pointers started coming in. Once again, Mikhailuk led his team forward that the Italians could not stop. An even game resulted in the score being 57:57 before the final quarter.

Photo – fiba.basketball

And in the last ten minutes, ours turned on the turbo mode. No one knew what to do with Sanon’s passages – Issuf regularly fell under someone else’s shield and earned points. Tkachenko regularly counterattacked and replaced spectacular dunks with three-pointers. Bliznyuk did not allow anything to be done in his basket, moreover, he had time to help the attack. Mikhailyuk continued to fascinate.

What about the Italians? As it turned out, their only hope was to shoot group shots from long range. To put it mildly, the European Championship tactic is like this. The hosts did not show anything special, and the Ukrainians lost the first minutes, perhaps, to themselves. With a score of 84:73 with 0.9 seconds left in the game, Bagatskis still found time to make fun of his opponent psychologically.

Photo – fiba.basketball

In principle, it was already clear that the Blue-Yellows would leave the group after two initial victories, but the third allowed it to be made official. Now, we will most likely play against teams from Poland or Israel representing group D in the 1/8 finals.

The Ukrainians will play their next match on September 6 against the Greek national team.

European Basketball Championship 2022. Group C

Ukraine – Italy – 84:73 (16:21, 22:21, 19:15, 27:16).

Ukraine: Bobrov (2 points + 3 rebounds + 2 assists), Bliznyuk (4+6+6), Gerun (5+4+1), Pustovy (8+2+0), Sanon (17+0+2), Sloth ( 3+11+1), Zotov, Mikhailyuk (25+4+3), Skapintsev, Sidorov (3+0+1), Tkachenko (17+5+0), Lukashov (0+0+2).

Italy: Baldasso, Biliga (0+1+0), Datome (3+1+1), Mannion (8+3+2), Melli (2+2+2), Payola, Polonara (17+7+2), Ricci (9+4+2), Spissa (11+1+3), Tessitori, Drowning (9+3+3), Fonteccio (14+6+2).

Referees: Luis Castillo (Spain), Martin Gorozov (Bulgaria), Zdravko Rutesic (Montenegro).

Sports complex “Forum di Assago” (Assago, Italy).

UKRAINE – ITALY. TEXT BROADCAST OF THE MATCH