The knockout stage of the FIBA World Cup began on Tuesday, with a pair of quarterfinals matchups. It started with Team Serbia thoroughly outplaying the red-hot Lithuanians in an 87-68 win, punching its ticket to the medal round.
Next, the United States ran away with a 100-62 blowout win over Italy, guaranteeing a spot in the semifinal and a better ranking than its disappointing seventh-place finish in the last World Cup.
Here’s everything you need to know from Day 11 of the FIBA World Cup:
THE RESULTS
Serbia def. Lithuania 87-68
USA def. Italy 100-63
MAIN TALKING POINTS
Serbia out-shoots and out-works Lithuania
Lithuania had all the momentum in the world after defeating the heavily-favoured United States on Sunday to claim the No. 1 seed in its group and a perfect 5-0 record, but that meant a matchup with the experienced Serbians in the quarterfinals.
And while the Lithuanians came into the game as the hottest shooting and best rebounding team in the tournament, they learned that the FIBA World Cup is all about timing, saving their worst performance for last as they dropped a dud to Serbia, 87-68, losing a must-win game and falling out of the tournament.
Lithuania came out firing, hitting 5-of-6 three-pointers to start the game and leading after the first quarter, 25-24. It looked like a repeat of the team’s past two performances against Greece — when the Lithuanians shot 12-of-16 from deep in the second half — and the United States, when they started the game 9-of-9 from beyond the arc. But things would quickly come to a screeching halt, as Lithuania shot just 4-of-22 (18.2 per cent) from deep the rest of the game.
Meanwhile, the Serbians ratcheted up their defence in the second quarter onwards, forcing four turnovers and holding the Lithuanians to just 13 points in the frame.
In fact, after allowing 25 points in the opening quarter, Serbia held Lithuania to 17 points or fewer in each of the next three quarters. Serbia pressured the Lithuanian ball handlers the length of the court in order to disrupt their offensive flow and stop them from getting into their actions, while regularly trapping and double-teaming the ball to force 15 turnovers that led to 21 points, including 17 on the fast break.
Bogdan Bogdanovic led the way once again for the Serbians, scoring 18 of his 21 points in the first half, while also collecting four rebounds, three assists, two steals and zero turnovers. Then Stefan Jovic and Filip Petrusev took the Serbians home, each knocking down a pair of three-pointers in the second half and combined for 28 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in the win.
The Serbians played to their pace, converting in transition and moving the ball quickly from side to side in the half court, assisting on 24 of their 33 made baskets as they shot 55 per cent from the field and 41 per cent from three.
Serbia will move on to play the winner of Canada-Slovenia on Friday. After losing in the finals of the 2014 World Cup, 2016 Olympics and 2017 EuroBasket, the Serbians are hungry to finally win gold. Plus, if Canada wins its quarterfinal matchup, Serbia will book its spot in the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Americans bounce back to cruise past Italy
After losing to the aforementioned Lithuanians a couple of days earlier in an eye-opening game where they got thoroughly out-rebounded and out-shot, Team USA bounced back with a 100-63 blowout win over Italy.
The Americans had a good game plan, pressuring the Italians the length of the court as they took them out of their offensive rhythm and forced turnovers. Meanwhile, the United States took full advantage of its length and athleticism, winning the rebounding battle 51-33, second-chance points 11-3, blocks 6-2, all while forcing 15 turnovers for 30 fast-break points.
While the United States got off to a slow start once again, with starting center Jaren Jackson Jr. picking up two fouls less than 2:30 into the game, the bench group came in midway through the first quarter and went on a 14-6 run, ballooning a 10-8 lead to 24-14 by the end of the quarter.
Tyrese Haliburton changed the pace of the game, running the court in transition and setting up his teammates for wide-open shots as he continues to be the best playmaker on Team USA, finishing with 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting from three, five assists and three steals.
It was all Team USA from there on out, holding the Italians to just 63 points on 31 percent shooting, 18 percent from three in the game with their switch-happy defence, which they were able to deploy once small-ball center Paolo Banchero — who made enemies in Italy after choosing to play for Team USA instead of Italy — entered the game.
Offensively, it was Mikal Bridges who broke out for the Americas, getting the starting group rolling as he made shot after shot from the second quarter onwards, finishing with 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting. He knocked down 4-of-6 from three and also added seven rebounds and two steals.
After re-establishing themselves as tournament favourites, the United States will play the winner of Germany-Latvia in the semifinal on Friday. It will be the Americans’ biggest test yet given that they have been two of the best teams of the tournament so far.
PLAY OF THE DAY
While Team USA made things extremely tough on Italy’s lone NBA player, Simone Fontecchio, putting their best defenders on him and shading extra help his way, Fontecchio made the most out of a tough situation by first hitting this nasty step-back three over Austin Reaves:
And then getting up high for this monster block on Paolo Banchero:
MOMENT OF THE DAY
After a disappointing fifth-place finish in the last World Cup, the Serbians are back in the medal round after a massive win over Lithuania. Here they are celebrating with a committed group of travelling fans after the win:
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Our teammate who is still with us [after getting surgery to remove a kidney after being elbowed in the game against South Sudan], Borisa Simanic, he gave us amazing energy. We were nervous yesterday, moving to another hotel. I was especially nervous, because I was always losing to Lithuania in my young age. I was so nervous. And then I see the message from Borisa, he was saying, ‘Guys, I’m good, don’t worry. Let’s win tonight!’ For him just to think about us after everything that happened to him, he united us, and that’s an amazing guy. This is for him.” – Bogdan Bogdanovic, Team Serbia
“We always play with that swagger, I think just felt the energy off the jump, you know, and everybody felt it, the starters, the bench. And we just found each other. Earlier, I gave Ant[hony Edwards]a big shout out, and Ant could get 30 whenever he wants, easily, and just for him to be unselfish. And we talked to him and try to help him out just to find guys, and that’s what he did. And he’s probably the happiest dude in the locker room right now. So, shoutout to Ant for that… Once we saw Ant doing that and how happy he was, everybody kind of had that joy as well.” – Mikal Bridges, Team USA
“We know that the biggest advantage that we have is the depth on our roster and we can play really hard for five or six minutes and then bring another five guys in, and most teams can’t do that. And so we have to take advantage of the talent that we have. But more than anything, it was just these guys knowing it’s the quarterfinals — We have to play our very best if we want to win the gold medal, and they came out and did that tonight.” – Steve Kerr, Team USA head coach
THREE STARS OF THE DAY
1. Mikal Bridges, USA: Bridges had it going all game for the Americans, proving to be their best starter as he knocked down shot after shot and defended Fontecchio on the other side of the floor. The Brooklyn Nets wing finished with 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting, 4-of-6 from three, with seven rebounds and two steals.
2. Tyrese Haliburton, USA: Haliburton completely changed the momentum for the United States, coming off the bench midway through the first quarter and upping the pace and playmaking as he powered the U.S. to a 14-6 run, finishing with 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting from three, five assists and three steals.
3. Bogdan Bogdanovic, Serbia: While it was a full team effort that pushed Serbia over Lithuania, Bogdanovic was once again the team’s best player, finishing with 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting to go along with four rebounds, three assists and two steals. It marks his ninth 20+ point game since the start of the last 2019 World Cup — no other player has more than seven in that same span — as he became the 18th player to join the 400+ point club in World Cup games.
LOOKING AHEAD
Tomorrow will see the conclusion of the quarterfinal matchups, with Canada back in action versus Slovenia (8:30 a.m. ET / 5:30 a.m. PT) to conclude after Germany takes on Latvia (4:45 a.m. ET / 1:45 a.m. PT).
You can watch the remainder of the knockout games on Sportsnet and SN NOW.
