The 32-team nature of the FIBA World Cup allows teams from regions such as Africa and Asia to participate despite being underdogs, leading to group stage games against basketball powerhouses in Europe and the Americas that can be uncompetitive. In fact, through two days of the FIBA World Cup, teams from Africa and Asia are a combined 0-11, but that doesn’t mean those games haven’t been entertaining.
After all, there are a record 55 NBA players spread across 27 teams in this tournament, and they showed out for their respective countries on Day 2 as basketball powerhouses Slovenia, Serbia, USA and Spain all took care of business against lower-ranked teams, giving the fans a memory they won’t forget anytime soon.
RESULTS
Puerto Rico 101, South Sudan 96 (OT) in Manila
Georgia 85, Cape Verde 60 in Okinawa
Greece 92, Jordan 71 in Manila
Brazil 100, Iran 59 in Jakarta
Slovenia 100, Venezuela 85 in Okinawa
Serbia 105, China 63 in Manila
USA 99, New Zealand 72 in Manila
Spain 94, Côte d’Ivoire 64 in Jakarta
MAIN TALKING POINTS
Serbia and Slovenia both dominate in debuts
Two former Yugoslavian nations, Slovenia and Serbia, looked every bit of the sixth and seventh-ranked teams in the world on Day 2, respectively, as they ran roughshod over Team Venezuela and Team China, winning by a combined 57 points.
The two teams won in similar ways, playing fundamental basketball as they moved the ball well and took advantage of the fact that they each have several players who can dribble, pass and shoot on the floor at once — players with years of experience playing together.
Plus, each of Serbia and Slovenia are built around their NBA players: Bogdan Bogdanovic for Serbia (with Nikola Jokic missing the tournament) and Luka Doncic for Slovenia, who both dominated their opening matchups, with Bogdonovic finishing with 14-4-3 in 23 minutes of action and Doncic putting up 37-7-6 in 31 minutes.
Team USA survive scare against New Zealand
The United States are heavily favoured to win this tournament, with a roster stacked full of 12 NBA players, including three All-Stars from last season. But they didn’t look any bit the dominant force many people expected in the early going of their opener against 26th-ranked New Zealand, falling into 9-2 and 14-4 holes in the first quarter. However, the bench gave USA the spark they needed, completely turning around the game when Tyrese Haliburton, Austin Reaves, Josh Hart and Paolo Banchero entered the game and went on a 12-4 run to close the first quarter. The rest was history.
Team USA went onto beat New Zealand 99-72 in front of a sold-out crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, with the American NBA players showing out. But it was Banchero who had a coming out party of sorts, finishing the game with 21 points, four rebounds and four blocks as the small-ball center to help Team USA avoid what would have been a humongous upset.
PLAY OF THE DAY
I’m going to go out on a limb and say everytime Luka Doncic plays for Slovenia in the World Cup, he is going to be in contention for the “Play of the Day” award. And that was certainly the case on Day 2, as Doncic led the way for Slovenia as he made slick pass after slick pass in between step-back threes and strong drives to the rim, including this no-look, behind-the-back pass to rolling teammate Mike Tobey that takes the cake:
MOMENT OF THE DAY
Across sports, the New Zealand national teams are known to do the ceremonial Haka dance ahead of games to challenge their opponents in international competition. But it’s not often that they get to do it in front of a sold out crowd against Team USA in the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, as Filipino fans not only got to see 12 of their favourite NBA stars in action for Team USA, but they also got to experience the Haka.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“My guys competed. They played hard. They played until the final whistle. We gotta get better from this. This is a learning experience. It’s our first game. You’re never up, you’re never down. You gotta keep it equilibrium and you gotta have composure. And this is a learning experience for us. We have to take the good with the good and the bad with the bad. There are no moral victories for us. We had that game and we gave it away.” -South Sudan head coach Royal Ivey
“I love watching these guys grow. But it’s not like they’re untested… We’ve got some young guys but we’ve got guys who can play and who have proven it, you know, in the NBA, in the NBA Playoffs. They’re fearless. I love watching them play and it’s been an absolute joy to coach them because of their eagerness to play together and to be selfless and to compete. So, it’s really been a lot of fun to coach them and I have great confidence in them.” -Team USA head coach Steve Kerr.
THREE STARS OF THE DAY
3. Carlik Jones, South Sudan: Jones could have been the hero for South Sudan, hitting a tough three-pointer with just 10 seconds left in regulation to send the game against Puerto Rico into the first overtime of the World Cup. However, despite the 6-foot-0 point guard racking up 35 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists and 4 steals in the match, South Sudan gave up a late lead and lost in overtime.
2. Paolo Banchero, USA: Banchero had his coming out party on the national stage with a huge performance for Team USA — a performance that they needed after getting off to a shaky start. Banchero finished the game with 21 points on 8-10 shooting 4 rebounds, and 4 blocks in just 19 minutes of action, beating out a host of talented bigs for small-ball five minutes with the second unit.
1. Luka Doncic, Slovenia: We have gotten so used to Doncic dominating on the international stage, but that doesn’t mean we should take a performance like this for granted. Doncic led the way for Slovenia with 37 points on 11-18 shooting, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and a block, doing everything in his power to help his nation get the all-important win.
LOOKING AHEAD
Day 3 of the FIBA World Cup starts off with a pair of intriguing games as Italy takes on the Dominican Republic in a clash of the two best teams from Group A (4:00 a.m. E.T.), before powerhouses Australia and Germany meet for a clash of Group E’s best (4:30 a.m. E.T.).
Next, Canada resumes their group play with what should be their easiest game of the tournament against 43rd-ranked Lebanon (5:45 a.m. E.T on Sportsnet.). The day then wraps up with a clash of France and Latvia (9:30 a.m. E.T.), a game with huge ramifications in Group H, as the winner will likely secure the No. 2 spot in the group behind Canada and move onto the next stage.
