Senegal continued its miracle run while Argentina got the scare of a lifetime on Day Three of the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain. Greece also remained unbeaten after getting past Puerto Rico while Spain leaned on Pau Gasol to dispose of Brazil.
 |
| Group B is shaping up to be a wide open race, while Spain continues to dominate Group A in #Spain2014. |
Game recaps (adapted from FIBA.com):
Group A:
SPAIN over BRAZIL, 82-63
Spain marched into the Round of 16 at the FIBA Basketball World Cup and also sent out a loud message to defending champions USA with a resounding victory over Brazil. Spain, one of the biggest threats to the United States' bid to repeat as champions for the first time, exploded out of the gate and led, 30-14, by the end of the quarter and never turned back. Pau Gasol, the MVP of the 2006 FIBA World Championship, had 26 points and 9 rebounds for Spain.
 |
| Pau Gasol flashes fine form as Spain derails Brazil. |
FRANCE over EGYPT, 94-55
The French, winners of last year's EuroBasket, have bounced back from an opening night loss to Brazil with back-to-back wins. They raced into a 23-15 lead by the end of the first quarter against Egypt and then slammed the door shut in the second when they outscored the African team, 26-11. Vincent's Collet's side prevailed with Joffrey Lauvergne posting 12 points.
SERBIA over IRAN, 83-70
Serbia won, but they didn't have it easy at all, with the Iranians trailing just 42-38 at half-time. Aleksandar Djordjevic's team turned on the jets in the third quarter and opened up a 67-51 lead and won by double digits. Nemanja Bjelica had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Serbians. Hamed Haddadi paced the Asian side with 29 markers, 5 boards, and 4 steals.
Group B:
SENEGAL over CROATIA, 77-75
Senegal has been the surprise package of the tournament so far. The Afrobasket third-placers followed up their upset of Puerto Rico by sneaking past Croatia. Gorgui Dieng, one of the top players of the tournament so far, had 27 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks for the Senegalese. Dario Saric, meanwhile, missing six teeth, still did well wtith 15 markers, 6 boards, 4 dimes, and 3 swipes.
 |
| Gorgui Dieng has been the most efficient player of the World Cup so far. |
ARGENTINA over PHILIPPINES, 85-81
Argentina put its loss to Croatia behind them and defeated the Philippines in a very tight affair. Marcos Mata finished with 17 points and 9 rebounds for the winners. Argentina improved to 2-1 and the Philippines, despite another brave performance, fell to 0-3. Andray Blatche continued to be the main man for Gilas Pilipinas with 14 points and 15 boards, while Jimmy Alapag hit 5 treys on his way to 15 markers.
 |
| Andray Blatche and Jimmy Alapag put up another brave stand against the Argentines last night. |
GREECE over PUERTO RICO, 90-79
Greece won for the third straight night and condemned Puerto Rico to their its straight loss. Kostas Kaimakoglou had 9 points and 11 rebounds for the Greeks as they punched a ticket to the round of 16. Team Hellas shot 53% overall while limiting Puerto Rico to just 39%. Renaldo Balkman paced the losing side with 23 markers, 5 boards, and 4 dimes.
 |
| Kostas Papanikolaou is ecstatic after hitting a big shot against Puerto Rico. |
0 Comment