Italy held Dirk Nowitzki in check but couldn't have expected Johannes Herber to score 10 of his 15 points in the third quarter and lead Germany to a 67-58 victory as the 2005 silver medallists advanced to the 2007 EuroBasket quarter-finals.

Nowitzki had just 15 points - well under his average of 26 points - and 10 rebounds, but Germany received plenty of support from their bench players, who tallied 29 points.

		Dirk Nowitzki had only 15 points but his team-mates stepped up.

Jan Jagla came on to collect five points and 10 rebounds while Steffen Hamann had 10 points.

"We needed this win, we all played together. Sometimes things go your way when you work hard, you get your reward. I feel today I got my reward for the hard work I put in," said Herber, who had tallied 16 points in his first five games. "I made a few shots which helped my confidence and the team's confidence."

With the victory, Germany reached the quarter-finals for the fourth time in the last five EuroBasket competitions.

It also kept alive Nowitzki's dream of playing in the 2008 Olympics.

He has continually said he would retire from the national team should Germany not reach the Beijing Games next summer.

The 2003 bronze medallists Italy, who were out-rebounded 52-31 and held to just 32% shooting (18-of-56), leave Madrid with their heads down.

"It's a big disappointment for us," said Belinelli, who paced the Italians with 25 points.

"Rebounds have been a problem for us throughout the tournament. I think we lost this game because of that. We gave them more chances to score. My aim coming into this tournament was bringing Italy to the final eight. But I was unable to accomplish that. So it's very frustrating."

The early stages saw a see-saw affair until Bellinelli drained back-to-back three-pointers in the final moments of the first quarter to give Italy an 18-12 lead after one period.

Germany shut down the Italian offense and worked their way back into the game, evening things at 19-19 half-way through the second period.

Bauermann's troops didn't allow Italy to score a basket until Stefano Mancinelli's jumper 14 seconds before half-time.

The teams went into the locker-rooms dead-locked at 27-27.

With the game tied 33-33 with five minutes left in the third period and Nowitzki struggling, Herber took the load upon his shoulders and drained a three-pointer.

After a long two-point jumper, Herber then made a lay-up and another three-pointer to score 10 of Germany's final 13 points in pulling ahead 46-37 going into the fourth period.

Marco Mordente and Belinelli both hit three-pointers as Italy closed to within 48-45 with six minutes left in the game, but Nowitzki drained back-to-back treys to give Germany another seven-point cushion - 54-47.

Germany's lead was back down to 54-52 when Herber came up big again with his third long bomb of the night for a 57-52 advantage.

Italy tried to come back in the final minute but Nowitzki hit two foul shots with 33 seconds left and Pascall Roller drained four free throws in the final 16 seconds.

Germany meet world champions and hosts Spain in the quarter-finals.

Germany

Guard Johannas Herber: "We needed this win, we all played together. Sometimes things go your way when you work hard, you get your reward. I feel today I got my reward for the hard work I put in. I made a few shots which helped my confidence and the team's confidence."

On how Italy played: "Our defense was very good but you could definitely tell their offense was stalling at times. But our defense was much better than in the past couple of games."

On winning despite Dirk Nowitzki struggling: "It's encouraging. We need everyone to perform at their best level. We got that tonight and we need to keep doing that."

Looking ahead to Germany's quarter-final game against Spain: "We're just going to enjoy this one tonight and then we'll think about Spain."

Coach Dirk Bauermann: "We're extremely happy that we qualified to the quarter-finals against a very good Italian team. I was very proud how we bounced back against Slovenia but I knew we had that type of character, to re-group after such a bad loss."

"It wasn't a pretty game, both teams played great defense, and it was a tough group."

"Herber played a great game. He did a great job, on both ends, and fought hard. Its' good to see we can beat a team like Italy even in a night Dirk Nowitzki doesn't have a superstar performance."

"When you're in sports and play in this level you love and enjoy the challenge of this game. For me there's no bigger challenge in this tournament than facing Spain – world champions that host the event."

"We'll try to play at least as well defensively as we did tonight. They have a great coach and a great team, but in 40 minutes everything is possible. We're not afraid of anybody, but respect them. We'll try to win this game."

Italy

Marco Belinelli: "It's a big disappointment for us. Rebounds have been a problem for us throughout the tournament. I think we lost this game because of that. We gave them more chances to score. My aim coming into this tournament was bringing Italy to the last eight. But I was unable to accomplish that so it's very frustrating."

Coach Carlo Recalcati: "We suffered in every game under the basket. Our opponent took more rebounds than us but today it was worst than all the other games. We allowed them 23 rebounds more than us, and like that it's very difficult to win the game. The key was the rebounds and we didn't know to work in the right way to prevent that."

A place in the quarter-finals of EuroBasket 2007 - and possible qualification for the 2008 Olympics - rests in the balance today as Germany and Italy face off in Group F.

		Italy could use another fine display by Gigli

The winners will reach the last eight while the losers are left to contemplate what happened along the way, meaning that either the 2005 silver medallists Germany or 2003 bronze medallists Italy will book their flights home.

Last time out: Italy remained alive for the quarter-finals with a thrilling 84-75 over-time victory over Turkey. Germany must find a way to bounce back from an atrocious 77-47 loss to Slovenia.

Key match-up: Andrea Bargnani v Dirk Nowitzki. The NBA MVP will need to have a monster game as the Germans struggle to get scoring from other players. And Bargnani will likely be given the duties to try and slow him down.

X-factor: Against Turkey, Angelo Gigli had by far his best game of the tournament – perhaps even of his 25-game career with the Italian National Team - with 17 points and 12 points. Another performance like that could lead the Italians into the final eight.

Statistics: Germany made just 28% of their field goals against Slovenia while the Italians committed just three turnovers against Turkey - in 45 minutes of action.

Sounding off: "There's no excuse or explanation for (the Slovenia loss). Games like that, as bad as they are, I don't think they define who you are and what you are. What defines you is the ability to bounce back, and we will bounce back." - Germany coach Dirk Bauermann.