Germany made it two wins from two after beating Italy 76-62 thanks to Dirk Nowitzki’s 21 points.
With the score at 56-55, Nowitzki buried a 15-footer with Stefano Mancinelli literally breathing down his neck to make it 58-55 and Robin Benzing stuck the dagger in a bit deeper by scoring to make it 60-55 to seal the Azzuri’s fate.
Italy are now 0/2 and will face an uphill battle to reach the second round.
Despite a spirited Latvian fight back against Serbia, they couldn’t shake-off a 23-7 first quarter start as the Serbs recorded a 92-77 success, remaining undefeated as well.
Nanad Krstic led all scorers with 23 points, while Rolands Freimanis had 19 for Latvia.
France also remain undefeated as Group B starts to take shape already, as they defeated a weak Israel side 85-68.
Israel though were far more spirited than in their first game against Germany, but France’s trio of Tony Parker, Joakim Noah and Nicholas Batum was simply too much to handle.
Parker hit 21 points, while Batum recorded six steals.
