BERLIN – The Women's National Team made a winning debut at the FIBA Women's World Cup, which kicked off in Berlin and concludes on September 13: Italy defeated the Czech Republic 63-54 in an emotionally charged match due to the high stakes. The Azzurre trailed in the first half and then pulled away in the final. In the other Group D match, which pitted the United States against China, Team USA prevailed 94-61. The Women's National Team played its first World Championship game 11,772 days after June 12, 1994, the date of the eleventh-place match in Sydney against Japan.. The Azzurre's top scorer was Cecilia Zandalasini with 19 points, while Matilde Villa also scored in double figures with 14.
Coach Capobianco's words: “The match wasn't nice but we needed to win and I'm happy with how we reacted – said coach Capobianco "This team's strength is making themselves available when things aren't going well. We knew we'd have some problems in attack given our debut in a competition like this, but by defending well, we managed to run the field. I'm happy to see Matilde Villa play the way she knows how, and I'm happy to see how the team helped her come back.".
Verona, Villa, Zandalasini, Keys, and Cuba were the starting five chosen by coach Capobianco, and in the first three minutes the Azzurre struggled to get a grip on the game: the Czech Republic's bonsai-like lineup created a number of problems for our attack and found a couple of shots that gave Vorackova and her teammates a 9-5 lead. Pan's three-pointer brought us back to within one (12-11), but Pospisilova's shot from beyond the arc brought us back to within 17-11, and at the first intermission the score was within 3. Things didn't improve at the start of the second quarter and Vorackova's counterattack gave the Czechs a +8 lead (26-18): the Azzurre broke the deadlock with Madera's triple from the corner and then Villa and Zandalasini completed the lead at 26. The match remained balanced until the 32-31 half-time break, a minimal deficit at the end of a tense first half (60% from free throws, 3/11 from the arc) which saw Pospisilova in great evidence (11). The third quarter flew by quickly, with both teams trading passes and counter-passes without finding any significant breaks. The Azzurre squandered a couple of opportunities to extend their lead and were promptly punished by Pospisilova. The tension of the opening game didn't ease as the minutes passed, but Villa's triple at the end of the third quarter gave us a boost (50-45). Matilde once again pushed us to a maximum lead of 52-45, but Italy stood firm. The Czech Republic had no intention of giving up, and the game threatened to get back to a tie: Villa again gave us a double-digit lead with a three-point play to make it 57-47 with four minutes to go. The Azzurre tightened up on defense, didn't shine on offense, but they took the lead. An emotionally challenging debut, even more important was the victory (fip).
Czechia-Italy 54-63 (17-14, 15-17, 13-19, 9-13)
Czechia: Zeithammerova, Pospisilova* 21 (4/11, 4/5), Hanusova 5 (0/3, 1/2), Andelova 5 (1/1, 0/1), Stoupalova* 2 (1/2, 0/3), Malikova (0/3 from three), Vorackova* 12 (6/8, 0/2), Joklova* 7 (2/3, 0/1), Fucikova ne, Holesinska* 2 (0/2, 0/3), Kalna ne, Koucka. All: Ptackova
Italy: Keys* 2 (1/3, 0/2), Villa* 14 (5/11, 1/3), Pasa 2 (1/2, 0/2), Verona* 6 (3/4, 0/2), Zandalasini* 19 (5/11, 2/9), Pan 5 (1/3, 1/2), Cubaj* 5 (1/1), Madera 3 (1/2 three-pointers), Santucci 1 (0/1, 0/1), Fassina ne, Andrè 6 (3/3), Blasigh (0/1 three-pointers). All: Capobianco
Two-pointers Czechs 14/30, Italy 20/39; Three-pointers Czechs 5/20, Italy 5/24; Free throws Czechs 11/18, Italy 8/12. Rebounds Czechs 32 (Joklova 10), Italy 42 (Cubaj 9). Assists Czechs 12 (Vorackova 4), Italy 13 (Verona, Zandalasini 3).
