Serbia beat Italy to climb second in World Cup qualifying group

Serbia defeated Italy 76-64 in Pesaro on Monday to claim its second win in the current international window, LRT reported.

Serbia led 20-19 after the first quarter and extended its advantage to 40-31 at halftime. Italy narrowed the gap in the third quarter, but Serbia pulled away again in the final period.

The result lifted Serbia to second place in Group J with six wins. Italy are third, while Lithuania are fourth.

Aleksa Avramovic led Serbia with 20 points in 34 minutes, along with three rebounds and three assists. Marko Guduric added 19 points, while Nikola Jokic scored eight points and collected eight rebounds.

Nico Mannion was Italy’s top scorer with 23 points, two rebounds and four assists.

The teams will play their next qualifying games on November 26. Serbia will travel to Lithuania, while Italy will face Turkey.