Dominican Republic stuns Italy in heated World Cup affair

Dominican Republic turned things around in the second half to stun Italy, 87-82, in their heated clash on Sunday in the 2023 FIBA World Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Dominicans now near a sweep of Group A, where Gilas Pilipinas is included, with a 2-0 win-loss card while Italy slid to 1-1. 

Karl-Anthony Towns was in his usual self, dropping a double-double effort of 24 points and 11 rebound alongside five assists while Andres Feliz put up 24 markers as well as seven triples laced with five boards and five dimes.

Italy suffered a huge blow just before the second quarter ended as head coach Gianmarco Pozzecco was ejected from the game after sustaining his second technical foul with 2:20 left in the frame. He was earlier called for a technical foul with 42 ticks left in the opening period.

Prior to that, Italy led by as many as 12 points before Dominican Republic made some adjustments in the second half to swing the momentum to its side. But a layup from Marco Spissu made it just a five-point deficit for Italy after trailing by 17, 80-85, with half a minute left in the game.

Golden State Warriors' Lester Quiñones, who was scoreless all game long, shot two freebies to seal the game.

There was also a little commotion in the 2:43 mark of the fourth quarter when Italy's Achille Polonara was whistled for an unsportsmanlike foul on Towns.

Karl-Anthony Towns and the Dominican squad took down Gilas, 87-81, last Friday.

Gilas Pilipinas will face Angola tonight before the latter takes on the Dominicans on Tuesday.

READ MORE | FIBA World Cup Preview: A Serbian correspondent breaks down Gilas Pilipinas vs Angola

The top two teams of each group will advance to the second round of the tournament.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News