U16 Men Group D

Vittorio Nobile and Italy beat Bulgaria behind a fantastic last quarter.

Italy broke open a tight game with a 16-2 run in the fourth quarter to claim their first win of the U16 European Championship Men in Pardubice.

Italy were led by 26 points from Federico Di Prampero on 11-19 shooting.

Lorenzo Benvenuti added five blocks to a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Lorenzo Baldasso contributed 16 points to the win also.

Bulgaria's captain Aleksandar Vezenkov again played every minute in the loss and reached a double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Aleksandar Milov added 12 points.

In the first half, Italy used a 12-0 run to turn an early deficit into a lead, but Vezenkov drained a three-pointer with five seconds remaining to leave Italy one point ahead at the break, 41-40.

The Bulgarian team then scored the first nine points of the second half as they surged ahead, another late three-pointer (this time from Vassil Stoimenov) giving them a 59-56 lead going into the final quarter.

But Benvenuti and Di Prampero inspired the Italian team in the final period and they pulled away for a good victory.