João Pedro makes Kobe Bryant tribute in Cagliari draw

ROME (AP) — Basketball fanatic João Pedro made a tribute to Kobe Bryant after scoring Cagliari’s opening goal in a 2-2 draw with Parma in Serie A on Saturday.

After connecting from close range to give Cagliari a 1-0 lead, Pedro mimicked someone shooting a basketball then created the number 24 — Bryant’s jersey number — with his fingers.

Bryant, the NBA great, died last weekend in a helicopter crash with his 13-year-old daughter and seven others near Calabasas, California. He was 41.

Juraj Kucka equalized for Parma before the break and Pedro had a chance to score another goal but badly missed a penalty early in the second half. Teammate Giovanni Simeone restored Cagliari’s lead a minute later before Andrea Cornelius equalized for Parma in added time with a header.

Sixth-placed Cagliari and seventh-placed Parma remained level on points.

The fifth- and sixth-place finishers qualify for the Europa League.

Also, Bologna came from a goal down to beat Brescia 2-1 with a quick equalizer from Riccardo Orsolini and an 89th-minute score from Mattia Bani. Bologna has picked up 14 points from losing positions this season — most in the Italian league.