This was the kind of finish that leaves everyone annoyed, and not just because Italy lost 55-52 to the USA. Cecilia Zandalasini had the shot that could have tied it in the closing moments in Berlin, then came the disputed no-call, the missed three, the shouting at officials and the sort of late chaos that tells you a tight game has turned into a grievance.
And that is the uncomfortable truth here: Italy did enough to drag the USA into a real fight, only to come up short when the game was there to be seized. The Americans finished with foul-line scoring and interior offense, which is often how good teams close out ugly, tense games. It is not glamorous. It is not always pretty. But it gets the job done.
Zandalasini was the central figure, for better and worse. She finished with 14 points and seven rebounds in 27 minutes, and she was the one trying to force overtime with that late 3-pointer. Instead, the final possession became a flashpoint. After the no-call and the missed shot, she yelled at officials and had to be held back by staff members.
That reaction was ugly, but it also told the story of the evening. Italy had pushed the USA to the edge, and then one sequence — one whistle, one shot, one decision — became the whole night. In a one-possession game, people will obsess over the last play. That is unavoidable. What matters is that Italy were close enough to believe, and close enough to hurt.
Zandalasini apologizes, but the damage was done
Later in the postgame press conference, Zandalasini apologized for her reaction. She said, “I would like to apologize for the way I reacted,” and added that “It wasn’t sportsmanship at all.” She also apologized to the team and the referee, said, “When I wear this jersey, it’s just a different me I guess,” and admitted, “I feel embarrassed.”
That apology matters, because it shows she knew the line she had crossed. But it does not change the competitive reality. Italy were one shot away from dragging the USA into a far more dangerous ending, and instead they were left with frustration, a narrow loss, and the kind of dispute that will linger well beyond Sunday.
The USA got the result. Italy got the argument. And in a game decided 55-52, that is exactly the sort of ending nobody can easily forget.
