The US team was able to defeat Greece 109-81 in the second game of the Basketball World Cup, which will be played in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Japan, while Slovenia, with Luka Doncic, confidently defeated Georgia (88-67) with a performance on the point guard for the Dallas Mavericks.
After beating New Zealand with more problems than expected on their debut, Steve Kerr’s men faced what was a priori the most difficult game of the first period against Greece, who, despite the absence of Giannis Antetokoumpo, are a very strong side, as they showed against Jordan.
The game had a lot less history than expected thanks to the good American defense that prevented the Greeks from finding their rhythm. Only Nikolaos Rogkavopoulos at 14 and Georgios Papagiannis at 17 were in double figures, not enough to keep up with the American choral playing, which proved to be soaring over the forty minutes.
The other big stimulus of the day came from Luka Doncic’s Slovenia, which, after the performance of the first day, faced Georgia in the clash that would a priori decide first place in Group F.
Once again, the Dallas player showed his superiority in FIBA ​​basketball with a stellar performance (34 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists), easily beating the Georgians and securing their spot as the group’s first in the second period.
In the match that opened the day of Group B, South Sudan made history by claiming their first World Cup win. Royal Ivey’s men defeated Sasha Djorjevic’s Chinese thanks to the great performance of their star Carlik Jones, who moved up to 21 points after 35 points against Puerto Rico, beating the Asian team.
The Serbian team showed no mercy to Puerto Rico in the second group game and did not miss out on Nikola Jokic in the second game of the tournament. Against the Caribbean side, they put on their most choral version, led by Bogdan Bogdanovic and young Nikola Jovic, one of the values ​​of Serbia’s future, both with 17 points.
The other game in Group C saw Jordan and New Zealand remain in the championship. Despite the Oceanic favoritism, the Jordan team ceded to their star, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who scored 39 points, including a 3+1 that forced overtime. The former NBA’s stellar performance, however, was shattered as the Antipodes clearly dominated in overtime and secured the win.
The Cape Verde team, led by Real Madrid player Edy Tavares, claimed their first World Cup win despite the center’s poor performance; he was only able to score six points. However, the emergence of his brother Will with 20 points and Joao Gomes with 22 points allowed them to prevail against a Venezuela that, despite having faced Slovenia in their debut, was far from that level.
In the remaining game of the group in Spain, the Africans made up for the feelings of the first game and earned one last chance to advance to the second phase by defeating an Iranian team that had already left a bad image against Brazil. With this defeat, they confirmed their elimination, failing to meet those of Sergio Scariolo.
