Serbia took a huge step in the direction of EuroBasket 2009 qualification while driving a nail into the coffin of Italy on Saturday.

Dusan Ivkovic's Serbians won over the Azzurri 72-52 to improve to 4-1 in Group A while dropping Carlo Recalcati's team to 1-4.

Milos Vujanic led a balanced attack for the Blues with 13 points with Dusko Savanovic the only other Serb to finish in double figures with 12.

Nenad Krstic scored six points in an 11-0 run to start the game for Serbia, with a Vujanic three-ball capping the early spurt.

Italy managed to claw the deficit back to 13-9, Giuseppe Poeta pouring in six of those points for the Italians.

They would get no closer.

A Vujanic lay-up made it 21-11 for Serbia at the end of the first quarter and they poured in the first six points of the second frame for a 27-11 advantage.

Ivkovic's team was in command the rest of the way.

The lead ballooned to 24 points in the third quarter for Serbia as they cruised in the second half.

Serbia out-rebounded Italy 46-24, and they also held the Azzurri to just 37.5% (15 of 40) shooting inside the arc.

After that early burst of points, Krstic didn't score for Serbia but he finished as the team's leading rebounder with nine.

Italy began the summer as one of the favorites to advance from Group A to the EuroBasket in Poland but now they will do well just to make it to next summer's Additional Qualifying Tournament.

More defeats could see them drop into Division B, something that would be quite a development for a side that just four years ago won a silver medal at the Olympics.