Serbia, Georgia, and Brazil won and advanced to the round of 16 of the Basketball World Cup on Wednesday.
Thanks to 25 points from 20-year-old Nikola Jovic, Serbia beat Sudan 115:83. Georgia defeated Venezuela 70-59 with 25 points by Tornike Shengelia, and Brazil edged Ivory Coast by a score of 89-77 with 24 goals and 12 assists by Yago Santos.
The USA, who reached the last game and had already qualified for the second round, defeated Jordan 110-62 and will meet Montenegro on Friday.
The teams that qualified before Wednesday are: Dominican Republic, Australia, Italy, Spain, United States, Canada, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, and Montenegro.
GROUP C
UNITED STATES 110, JORDAN 62
Another game, another celebration for the United States. But now the competition is getting tougher.
Anthony Edwards scored 22 points and the Americans ended an easy run in the group stage by beating Jordan 110-62 on Wednesday and moving up to 3-0 at the top of Group C.
“Staying aggressive and confident is something I do,” admitted Edwards. “It paid off today.”
Bobby Portis had 13 points for the United States, which led by 19 points after the first period and led 62-33 at halftime. Jaren Jackson contributed 12 and Jalen Brunson 10.
“It’s always fun when everyone is playing and contributing,” said coach Steve Kerr.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, the only player from Jordan with NBA experience, led his team with 20 points and seven rebounds. Jordan finished with a 0-3 record and will play in the qualifying round for teams that have not progressed from Thursday.
GROUP B
SERBIA 115, SOUTH SUDAN 83
In Manila, Jovic shot nine out of nine shots as Serbia (3-0) defeated South Sudan (1-2) to advance to the round of 16. Bogdan Bogdanovic contributed 23 points and nine assists.
Jovic. Bogdanovic scored 18 points in the first half, and Serbia improved to 30-20, gradually increasing the lead.
Peter Jok had 21 points for South Sudan, but Chicago Bulls guard Carlik Jones had just three points in 22 minutes.
GROUP F
GEORGIA 70, VENEZULA 59
In Okinawa, Shengelia had 25 points, and Goga Bitadze had 11 points and 11 rebounds as Georgia progressed.
Georgia, participating in a World Cup for the first time, led 42-23 at halftime, and Venezuela (0-3) scored just four goals in the second period.
Nestor Colmenares topped Venezuela’s scorers’ list with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while José Materán contributed 12. Both teams fought at the three-point line. Georgia scored 5 out of 23 and Venezuela 6 out of 25.
GROUP G
BRAZIL 89, IVORY COAST 77
In Jakarta, Yagos Santos scored 24 points and added 12 assists as Brazil (2-1) advanced to the second round, recovering from failing to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. Tim Soares added 15 points for the winner.
Brazil made 14 of 31 three-pointers.
Cedric Bah led Ivory Coast (1-2) with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
