#Spain2014 Roundup: Day Six

Fortune finally smiled on the Philippines on Day Six of the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain, as Gilas Pilipinas held on to beat Senegal in overtime. Meanwhile, Team USA, Greece, and Spain all remained unbeaten going to the next round even as Slovenia was handed its first loss by Lithuania. 

Triumph and tears were all around as group play ended in #Spain2014.

Game recaps (adapted from FIBA.com):
Group A:
BRAZIL over EGYPT, 128-65
Box Scores 
Brazil thrashed Egypt to wrap up second place in its group and face continental rival Argentina in the next round. Leandro Barbosa led the way for the Brazilians with 22 points, 5 assists, and 4 steals, while Anderson Varejao netted 15 markers and 10 rebounds. Amir Gendy was Egypt’s best player with 14 points and 5 boards.


FRANCE over IRAN, 81-76
Box Scores 
France advanced in third place after a tough victory over FIBA Asia champion Iran. Team Melli held a 10-point advantage after one quarter, but then squandered this and played catch-up till the end. Hamed Haddadi’s 22 points and 15 rebounds for Iran went down the drain as the West Asian powerhouse misses the bus to the next round. France, meanwhile, set a Round of 16 date with Croatia thanks to the efforts of Thomas Heurtel and Evan Fournier, who paired up for 28 points.

SPAIN over SERBIA, 89-73
Box Scores 
Spain rolled to over Serbia with Pau Gasol pouring in 20 points and 4 rebounds. The home squad enjoyed a fast start, scoring 34 points in the first period and then cruising the rest of the way. Things got testy at several points in this game, but the Spaniards still prevailed. Juan Carlos Navarro dropped 15 points for Spain while Ricky Rubio filled the sheet with 12 markers, 7 steals, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds. Nemanja Bjelica had 19 markers and 10 boards for the Serbs.

Miroslav Raduljica tries to defend Marc Gasol in the post.

Group B:
PHILIPPINES over SENEGAL, 81-79 (OT)
Box Scores 
Gilas Pilipinas led big early, fell behind late, rallied in overtime, and finally notched a win in the World Cup, scraping by the Senegalese. Even with star center Andray Blatche fouling out in the extra period, the Pinoys still finished with a victory after big baskets from Jimmy Alapag and a solid performance from young center June Mar Fajardo. Alapag hit the marginal free throws in overtime to cement Gilas’s win. The veteran playmaker finished with 18 points, 4 assists, and 3 triples, while Fajardo, showing grit in the paint, ended up with 15 points and 9 rebounds, playing 32 minutes off the bench. Blatche had an 18-point, 14-rebound double-double for the victors, while Gorgui Dieng paced the Senegalese with 13 markers, 14 caroms, and 3 blocks. Teammate Xane Dalmeida handed out 14 assists for the African side, which still advanced to the Round of 16.

Jimmy Alapag raises his hands in victory as he ends his international career.

June Mar Fajardo feels really good after playing his best against Senegal.

CROATIA over PUERTO RICO, 103-82
Box Scores 
Croatia had a nervous affair, but they still pulled away from Puerto Rico, who got ousted from contention. Bojan Bogdanovic had 23 points for Croatia, who ended up in second place behind Greece and will face France in the next round. Dario Saric also did well, dropping 15 markers and grabbing 4 rebounds, while JJ Barea and Alex Franklin led the Puerto Rican side with 20 and 13 points respectively.

GREECE over ARGENTINA, 79-71
Box Scores 
The Greeks got 16 points and 15 rebounds from Ioannis Bourousis and held off Argentina to finish first, while Julio Lamas’s side ended up in third due to its loss to Croatia earlier in the tourney. Team Hellas led from early on in this one and never looked back, underscoring their dominance and depth. NBAer Nick Calathes had a breakout game here, scoring 18 points on 8/12 FG shooting, while Georgios Printezis continued to be solid with 15 markers and 4 boards. Not surprisingly, Luis Scola paced the Argentines with 17 points in 31 minutes.


Group C:
NEW ZEALAND over FINLAND, 67-65
Box Scores 
New Zealand opened up a 20-point advantage over Finland but then had to hold on for dear life at the end. Petteri Koponen, Finland's best player in the tournament, had a chance to tie the game in the endgame, but his mid-range jump shot was short and the New Zealanders won. Isaac Fotu, 20, who has emerged as one of the competition's brightest stars, had 18 points to lead the Tall Blacks to their second victory. The Kiwis were then assured of their place in the next round when the United States overcame Ukraine.

USA over UKRAINE, 95-71
Box Scores 
After a shaky start, the Americans recovered in the second frame and proceeded to dominate the Ukranians on their way to win #5 and the top-seed from Group C. Kyrie Irving was impressive here, scoring 11 points on top of 6 assists, 4 steals, and 3 rebounds in a superb all-around effort. He, however, limped off the court in the second half after landing hard on his left hip. James Harden also contributed heavily with 17 markers on 7/12 FG shooting, while Kenneth Faried tallied 10 points and 8 boards. Slava Kravtsov and Pooh Jeter led the way for the Ukranians with a combined 28 markers. Sadly, Ukraine got the boot because of a tiebreaker despite having the same record as New Zealand and the Dominican Republic.

TURKEY over DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, 77-64
Box Scores 
Turkey and the Dominican Republic, who both gained spots in the Round of 16 with New Zealand's victory, battled for second place in the nightcap and the former cruised to a big triumph. Oguz Savas led a balanced attack with 15 points for the winners. Francisco Garcia, who was rested last night against Team USA, led the Dominicans with 18 markers. The Dominican Republic, New Zealand and Ukraine each had 2-3 records but the Dominicans and Tall Blacks finished third and fourth on tie-breakers, with Ukraine falling to fifth.

Omer Asik continues to do well for the Turks.

Group D:
ANGOLA over AUSTRALIA, 91-83
Box Scores 
Australia lost early in the day to Angola as the Africans claimed their second win of the tournament behind Yanick Moreira's impressive 38 points and 15 rebounds. The result, however, could not prevent the 2013 AfroBasket winners from finishing fifth as Mexico prevailed in their own match to advance. Angola battled back from a 13-point halftime deficit, outscoring the Aussies big time in the second half to be victorious. Eduardo Mingas tallied 16 points, 9 boards, and 3 steals to backstop Moreira’s efforts, while Chris Goulding paced the Boomers with 22 markers.

MEXICO over KOREA, 87-71
Box Scores 
Mexico rested Gustavo Ayon in this game, but they still hammered out a blowout win over the Koreans. The Asian side was outrebounded, 44-19, here and also got outgunned as the Mexicans shot 51% from the floor. Hector Hernandez led the way with 16 points and 11 boards, while Marco Ramos and Francisco Cruz added 14 and 13 markers respectively. Oh Se-Keun was the best Korean on the floor with 13 points on 6/8 FG shooting. 

Hector Hernandez is ecstatic after hitting a halfcourt buzzer-beating three.

LITHUANIA over SLOVENIA, 67-64
Box Scores 
Slovenia absorbed its first loss in the tournament as Lithuania was led by Jonas Valanciunas’s 12 points.  Darjus Lavrinovic contributed 11 points and 8 rebounds as the Eurobasket 2013 bridesmaids finished atop Group D and will face the Kiwis in the next round. This was a low-scoring affair that saw the Lithuanians battle back in the second half and limit Slovenia to only 2 points in the final frame. Slovenian stars Goran Dragic and Domen Lorbek struggled with a combined 11/28 FG shooting performance.
  

Images are from FIBA.com.


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