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Nico Mannion continued his strong play at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday, leading Italy to an 80-71 win over Nigeria. The victory pushes Italy in the quarterfinals.
Mannion, the current Warrior and former Arizona guard, had 14 points—second-most on the team—to go along with four rebounds and an assist in 16 minutes. Mannion shot 4 for 12 from the field and 1 for 5 from 3. His lone 3 was a big one—a spot-up that put Italy up 76-69 with 29.9 seconds to play.
Nico Mannion certificó el pase de Italia a cuartos con este triple. Termina el juego con: 14pts, 4rbs, 1ast, 1stl en 4/12 FG, 1/5 3PT, 5/5 FT.
— GSW Spain (@Warriors_Spain) July 31, 2021
Sigue siendo decisivo partido tras partido con #Ita.
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Mannion is averaging 15 points, five assists and three rebounds per game on 45 percent shooting at the Olympics so far, emerging as one of Italy’s top talents. The 20-year-old had 21 points and 7 assists in a loss to Australia in Italy’s previous game.
Italy went 2-1 in group play. Australia, which rarely plays Josh Green, is also headed to the quarterfinals after going 3-0.
On the women’s side...
Shaina Pellington and Canada are 1-1 with a loss to Serbia (72-68) and a win over South Korea (74-53). Pellington had two points, one assists, one rebound, a steal and three fouls in 13 minutes against Serbia. She had one foul in three minutes vs. South Korea.
Ify Ibekwe and Nigeria are 0-2 with losses to the United States (81-72) and France (87-62). The former UA forward is averaging 7.0 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1 assist per game while shooting 3 for 15 from the field and 6 for 8 from the free throw line.