Italy has given its fans a memorable World Cup, coming close to pulling off a heist, not once, but twice this week. On Sunday, Cecilia Zandalasini almost made the game-tying shot against the USA in what could have been a historic upset, and on Wednesday, the Italians completed a 26-point comeback against Australia in the quarterfinal qualification match, only to lose the tie and eventually miss one final layup by a whisker with only 4 seconds left on the clock. Rightly so, fans still can’t get over this heartbreaking moment.
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“Basketball can be brutal 💔,” was the caption of the post by FIBA WWC that had a clip of Francesca Pasa missing the final layup. Those four words aptly captured the mood of fans.
The qualifying matchup for the quarterfinals turned out to be an absolute spectacle. Italy took Australia to the absolute brink in an epic test of nerve. The Opals had dictated terms for long stretches, opening up a commanding 26-point cushion in the third quarter before the Italians unleashed a relentless fourth-quarter rally to knot the score in the final minutes.
Yet with momentum cascading the other way, Australia refused to fold, riding a clutch, breakout masterclass from Isobel Borlase to close out the victory and punch their ticket to the next round.
With just 1:09 remaining, Italy’s audacious comeback looked like it would cross the finish line. Costanza Verona created separation off the bounce, stepped back behind the arc, and buried a game-tying three-pointer to make it 77–77, putting an emphatic stamp on a blistering 10–0 Italian surge that began with 4:06 remaining.
Just when the collapse seemed complete, Australia dug in. With 24 seconds on the clock, Zitina Aokuso powered straight into the teeth of the Italian defense, converting a contested bucket at the rim to nudge the Opals back ahead, 79–77. At 82-80, Francesca Pasa had the opportunity to send the game into OT, but missed her contested layup by a whisker.
It will be a long time before Italy fans can forget about this close loss, and the game’s final possession remained a talking point long after the game had finished.
“😢😢😢…what a great game. Always hard to lose that way🥺,” one fan wrote in the comments section of FIBA’s IG post.
“Heartbreaking, but shoutout to Italy for making a game of it in the 4th quarter. In the end, Australia deserved the win. Congrats to them,” another fan added.
Without Australian captain Ezi Magbegor on the floor, who went down due to an injury in the first quarter, the Australians had to really dig in to get this result in their favor.
“Great game! Aussie played a great 3 quarters. Italy nearly pulled off a monumental comeback…. Nearly. Well done Opals 👏🏼,” another fan wrote.
Across those frantic closing minutes, Italy had played near-perfect basketball, generating 10 turnover-free points while Australia managed just six and gave away a costly possession. Australia regained its composure over the closing possessions, executing key defensive stops and converting at the line to secure the win.
“This is the tournament of missed layups. It’s insane,” one fan said, referring to Francesca Pasa’s shot that unfortunately did not go in.
“I have a heartbreak 💔 it should be an overtime atleast 😢,” another fan said.
“I just witnessed live the best and probably most brutal basketball game of my life. So proud of team Italy; I guess only the team and me believed in the comeback, and it almost happened. Congrats to team Australia, they did not make a single mistake in the first 3 quarters. Both teams really honored this beautiful game,” one fan remarked.
This game is a prime example of what the FIBA World Cup has to offer. The fans saw underdog Italy almost pull off a miracle comeback. However, their efforts have earned the respect of every basketball lover around the globe.
For the Australians, the task is now to get the best of Spain in the quarterfinal on Thursday with a depleted squad, as some of their key players are sidelined due to injury.