Nikola Jokic leads Serbia to a huge comeback win over Fontecchio's Italy / News - Basketnews.com

Nikola Jokic helped Serbia erase a 15-point deficit with a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds. Simone Fontecchio's 25 points were not enough to get a W for Italy.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Serbia kicked off the friendly tournament in Hamburg (DBB Supercup 2022) by delivering a big comeback and a narrow victory.

Led by Nikola Jokic, Serbia erased a 15-point deficit and edged out Italy, 90-86 (24-23, 20-30, 21-19, 21-13, 25-14).

Serbia will meet Germany in the first-place game, while Italy will face the Czech Republic for the third spot tomorrow.

Italy spurted 11-0 at the start of the second quarter and ran away from their opponents by 13 points (41-28). The trio of Fontecchio, Melli, and Mannion guided Italy to the double-digit lead.

Italy created a 15-point advantage (70-55) in the third quarter but Serbia got things going in the last period. Nikola Jokic was draining one shot after another while Serbia made a 16-6 run to retake the lead (81-80).

Jokic did not stop and Serbia finished the job with a crucial 6-1 push.

The NBA regular-season MVP finished the match with a double-double, posting 18 points (4/7 2PT, 1/3 3PT, 7/7 FT), 10 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Simone Fontecchio had 25 points (3/4 2PT, 5/8 3PT, 4/4 FT), 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 3 steals for the losing squad.

Italian star Danilo Gallinari missed the game due to sprained ankle while on the other side of the court, Serbia played without Nemanja Nedovic, who suffered a muscle hematoma during the last friendly game against Slovenia on Wednesday.

Serbia: Nikola Jokic 18 (10 REB, 5 AST), Vladimir Lucic 15, Vasilije Micic 15, Nikola Milutinov 15.

Italy: Simone Fontecchio 25, Nicolo Melli 17 (7 REB), Nico Mannion 16, Stefano Tonut 12.

Thank you for reading us! Help us even more.