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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.
pic.twitter.com/rHACNQ2Bxm
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.