Italy proved 48 hours is a long time in basketball by bouncing back from a heavy defeat to Spain and trouncing Serbia 64-43 in Ortona.

Playing with a sense of urgency from the opening tip, the Azzurre defense harassed the Serbian guards who had torn apart Russia on Saturday while Kathrin Ress led a terrific effort inside.

Serbia missed all eight of their shots from long range in the first half and Italy, who had a

		Ress led the inside attack for Italy with 10 points and four boards.

hard time taking care of the ball against Spain, turned it over just twice.

The Italians, who led by as many as 13 points in the second quarter, led 31-20 at half-time and Gianni Lambruschi's team used the great start as a launchpad for victory.

"The main difference today was that we played as a team, we didn't do that in our previous game," said Italian guard Francesca Zara.

"We really need this victory to have a chance to make it to the quarterfinals, that would mean so much for us, for Italian basketball, especially playing here in front of our home fans."

Ress and Laura Macchi scored six points apiece as Italy led 17-12 going into the second quarter.

The Serbians limited Italy to no points over the next four minutes but failed to take advantage.

Federica Ciampoli then buried Italy's first three to spark the Azzurre on a 14-8 run as they led by 11 at the break.

Italy forced Serbia to commit six turnovers at the start of the third quarter as they built a 39-22 lead.

With 4:50 remaing in the third quarter, Miljana Musovic hit Serbia's first three-ball of the game but Giorgia Sottana immediately answered with a three from the right corner.

Serbia went on a 9-2 run to cut the deficit 47-37 with eight minutes left to play but the Azzurre hit back with a 9-0 run with Francesca Modesca, scoring four points in that surge, to keep her team in control.

Modesca had a game-high 13 points while the Azzurre had three other players finishing double figures.

Serbia were just two of 21 (9.5%) from long range and were outrebounded 43-31.

"I want to congratulate Italy," said Serbian coach Jovica Antonic. "They played very aggressive today and we couldn't find a way to answer that, we had few options."

Serbia take on France in their last Group F qualifier on Wednesday while Italy meet Belarus.

Italy go into their clash against Serbia knowing victory is a must to maintain hopes of playing in the quarterfinals at the EuroBasket Women.

The Azzurre, after beating just Greece in their Group C campaign, carried no wins into the qualifying round and their defeat to Spain on Saturday has left them 0-3 in Group F and needing help from others to advance.

		Milica Dabovic did it all for Serbia against Russia, including hitting the game winning shot.

Italy’s frontcourt has struggled, particularly Dubravka Dacic, the 1.98m center who scored the first two buckets of the game against Spain and then disappeared.

She ended up playing just 11 minutes and against a quick Serbia team, Italy coach Gianni Lambruschi may opt for a smaller unit as he did when taking on Greece in Chieti.

The Serbians are sky high after upsetting European giants Russia.

Milica Dabovic picked a great time to snap out of her funk, pouring in a game-high 28 points and scoring the winning points with less than three seconds remaining with a lay-up in traffic.

In her previous three games, Dabovic had four, eight and zero points on five of 23 (21.7%) shooting from the floor overall.

“We are a team that can turn things around from one day to the next,” Dabovic said.

Hopefully for Serbia, they will not revert to the type of form that saw them crash to a 79-53 defeat just 72 hours before the upset of Russia.

Last Result: Serbia beat Russia 67-65 and Italy lost to Spain, 79-64.

Key Match-up: Dabovic of Serbia v Italy’s Giorgia Sottana. Dabovic was outstanding against Russia and if she can maintain that form, Serbia will be in the hunt for a medal. Sottana has been a spark for Italy off the bench and should get a lot of minutes against the Serbians in what promises to be an up-tempo game.

Key Stat: Serbia had 19 turnovers in their 79-53 defeat to Belarus and just four in their surprise victory over Russia.

X-Factor: Ivana Grubor has quietly enjoyed a solid EuroBasket for Serbia and the 1.84m power forward could have a big game against Italy.

Speaking Out: “Maybe Monday starts another championship. We have to go out there and leave everything on the court, play with passion and emotion. I hope we can win another game before the end of the championship and I think my team playing at home will want to win another game” – Italy coach Gianni Lambruschi