FIBA World Cup: Spain brushes aside Serbia, as Nikola Jokic tossed

BEIJING—Spain secured a fifth successive win in the FIBA World Cup with an impressive 81-69 defeat of Serbia and Argentina matched that with a 91-65 rout of Poland on Sunday.

All four sides had booked their quarterfinal spots with a match to spare and the results mean that Spain will face Poland and Serbia lock horns with Argentina for places in the semifinals.

France plays Australia on Monday for top spot in their pool with both teams already through to the last eight.

Also on Monday, holders the United States meets Brazil and the Czech Republic plays Greece with all four sides in that group still in contention to reach the knockout rounds.

Serbia, which won its opening four games by an average margin of 41 points, looked set to continue the streak after racing into a 20-11 lead late in the first quarter.

An energetic Spanish roster then ground Serbia's offense to a halt and hit a barrage of 3-pointers at the other end to carve out a 42-37 advantage at halftime.

Serbia's Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic was ejected early in the second half for a double technical foul after loud dissent and Spain capitalized on his absence as their lead soared to 63-42.

A late Serbian fightback fell short as a smaller but more agile Spanish team kept collecting offensive rebounds and restricted its rivals to three successful shots from 3-point range from 19 attempts.

"The Spaniards rocked us with their tough defense and ripped our game plan to shreds," Serbia captain Miroslav Raduljica told the Balkan nation's RTS television.

"Their scouts did a great job and we couldn't find a way to turn things around."

Sacramento Kings forward Nemanja Bjelica added: "It was an exceptionally poor performance and we need to regroup quickly."

Ricky Rubio led Spain with 19 points, forward Victor Claver added 14 and Marc Gasol chipped in with 11, cancelling out a valiant solo effort by Serbia guard Bogdan Bogdanovic who had 26 points and 10 rebounds.

The Argentines, meanwhile, ripped into Poland with a flurry of fastbreaks and clinical long-range shooting as forward Marcos Delia nailed 10 of his 12 points in the first quarter.

Their 39-year old forward Luis Scola again rolled back the years as he finished with a game-high 21 points, while Delia scored 12 and Nicolas Brussino added 10. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

FIBA World Cup: Poland pulls shocker

Poland are shock quarter-finalists at the World Cup but the team have even grander ambitions -- proving once and for all that theirs is a basketball country.

Under their well-travelled American coach Mike Taylor, the Poles are one of the stories of the tournament in China, or "the new kids on the block" as he put it.

They are back at the World Cup after a 52-year hiatus but are doing much more than merely making up the numbers.

Poland defeated the hosts in overtime in a cauldron-like atmosphere in Beijing in the first round and on Friday made it a scarcely believable four wins in a row with the scalp of old foe Russia.

Argentina's victory over Venezuela hours later confirmed Poland's unlikely place in the last eight.

"It means everything," said Taylor, 47, whose varied coaching career has spanned NBA development teams, posts in Britain and Germany, and a position with the Czech team.

"The country can take self-confidence from the performance of these players. We can compete, we can do it," Taylor said after Poland dismissed Russia 79-74 thanks to a fourth-quarter blast.

"We hope these guys can inspire the next generation."

Name-checking the likes of Serbia, who look easily good enough to topple World Cup holders the United States, Taylor said that there was "tremendous competition" in Europe.

"Other teams have had more achievements and success," he said.

"What we are trying to do is to establish that Poland can do it too."

Taylor's unheralded men are making headlines back home.

News of their win over Russia, coming back from six points behind after the first quarter, even saw a political gathering in Warsaw interrupted by cheers.

Maciej Zielinski, a former player with the national team, called it "an unimaginable event."

"I do not know what I can compare it to -- when we last experienced such a thing," he told Polish media.

Rocky road

In charge since 2014, Taylor may now be greeted with national acclaim when Poland eventually fly home, but it was not long ago that he faced calls for his head.

Two years ago, Poland won only one of five matches at the EuroBasket championship.

Fast forward and he and his men are talking about a potentially pivotal moment for basketball in the country of nearly 40 million people.

"We waited 52 years for this," said Aleksander "Olek" Balcerowski, whose father Marcin stars for Poland's wheelchair basketball team.

The 7ft 1in (215cm) center is the youngest player in the tournament in China at age 18, held up as a symbol of Poland's brighter future.

"We worked so hard to come here to show that Poland can ball," he told the website of governing body FIBA.

"And that's it, we are here to show that Poland is a basketball country."

Poland's last appearance in the Basketball World Cup was in 1967 in Uruguay, where they finished fifth.

The 2019 vintage will end the second group phase against Argentina on Sunday, before taking their already confirmed place in the last eight.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

FIBA World Cup: Iran gains crucial win vs Angola in race for Olympic berth

BEIJING—Iran pulled away in the fourth quarter to seize a crucial 71-62 triumph over Angola in the classification phase of the 2019 FIBA World Cup on Friday at Wukesong Arena here.

Ageless guard Sammad Nikkhah Bahrami put up 21 points on 6-of-13 shooting to lift Iran to victory, boosting its hopes of finishing as the top Asian team in the World Cup.

It was Iran's first win of the tournament, after dropping all three of their assignments in Group C including a 73-65 setback to Spain.

Angola, which dealt the Philippines a heartbreaking 84-81 overtime defeat Wednesday night, was down, 48-45, entering the final quarter.

But Bahrami waxed hot from the perimeter, knocking down two 3-pointers to highlight an 11-4 run that gave the Iranians a 59-49 lead with 5:45 to go. Angola would get to within, 60-57, after a 3-pointer from Reggie Moore and another bucket by Divaldo Mbunga, but Iran responded with lay-ups from Hamed Hossein Zadeh and Aaron Geramipoor to regain control.

A 3-point play by Bahrami with 1:17 left gave them a 70-58 lead, and Angola would not threaten again.

Carlos Morais led Angola with 17 points.

Iran wraps up its World Cup campaign against the Philippines on Sunday night.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Team USA thrashes Dominican Republic

NEW YORK - The United States hammered the Dominican Republic 105-62 on Wednesday in a basketball World Cup tune-up at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The lopsided contest gave US coach Mike Krzyzewski a prime opportunity to tinker with his star-studded lineup.

He was without Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose, who was a late scratch after returning to the game for the first time in eight months on Saturday in an exhibition win over Brazil in Chicago.

Rose had missed most of the last NBA season after suffering a torn meniscus in his right knee on November 22. He had previously been sidelined by a torn ligament in his left knee.

Krzyzewski started much the same lineup as in the win over Brazil, with Stephen Curry, James Harden, Anthony Davis and Kenneth Faried all getting the starting nod, and Kyrie Irving in for Rose.

The United States were quick out of the gate, taking a 53-21 halftime lead. Harden scored 10 points while Curry delivered three assists and two three-pointers.

Off the bench, Klay Thompson also contributed 10 points with two three-pointers.

DeMarcus Cousins, nursing a bruised knee, also saw limited action but looked back to full mobility after taking a knock in practice last Thursday.

The United States was playing without stars Kevin Durant, who withdrew from the team recently saying he was too mentally drained for a World Cup campaign, and Paul George, who suffered a horrific broken leg in a training game in Las Vegas.

The FIBA World Cup -- previously known as the World Championships -- will be held August 30-September 14 in Spain.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Pacers, US star George suffers major leg injury

LAS VEGAS - Indiana Pacers star Paul George suffered a grisly lower right leg injury on Friday in a United States intra-squad scrimmage in preparation for the Basketball World Cup.

The injury was bad enough that the exhibition before fans at the Thomas and Mack Center was immediately halted and George was quickly hospitalized.

He later tweeted his thanks for the outpouring of concern he received.

"Thanks everybody for the love and support.. I'll be ok and be back better than ever!!!" he said.

Although he was upbeat, the reaction from those who saw the injury occur -- either first-hand or via video replays, showed just how shocking it was.

"It was difficult to watch the injury that Paul George sustained tonight while representing his country," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. "The thoughts and prayers of all of us at the NBA are with Paul and his family."

The Pacers small forward landed hard and his leg buckled horribly near the basket stanchion after he had fouled James Harden on a drive early in the fourth quarter of the contest.

Harden immediately doubled over in shock upon seeing the injury to his US team-mate and medical personnel, US coach Mike Krzyzewski and members of George's family attending the game moved to comfort the stricken player.

After George had been taken from the court with his leg in a splint, Krzyzewski announced that the contest would be halted.

"With the serious injury that we had and the fact that we stopped playing for a long period of time, and out of respect for Paul and his family, the scrimmage is done," he told the crowd.

USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo did not immediately confirm the exact nature of the injury, but said the organization's only concern at the moment was for the player.

"This is a very tough blow," a grim-faced Colangelo said at a news conference. "It's a tough situation for our entire organization, our coaches and players are very, very emotional."

Colangelo said decisions about the final US selection for the Basketball World Cup, to be held in Spain August 30-September 14, would take a back seat to making sure George was cared for properly.

"Our first concern, our primary concern, is Paul George," he said. "And so, as an organization, we're just going to let a little bit of time go by here before we address rosters or any of that stuff. It seems unimportant."

George, 24, has been an All-Star each of the last two years. He averaged 21.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 80 games last season for the Pacers, who lost to Miami in the Eastern Conference finals.

- 'Thoughts and prayers with Paul' -

Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird said the team was monitoring the situation.

"We are aware of the injury sustained by Paul George in Friday Night's Team USA game in Las Vegas and we are obviously greatly concerned," Bird said in a statement.

"At this time our thoughts and prayers are with Paul. We are still gathering details and will have an updated statement Saturday."

None of the players on the court with George spoke to the media.

However, Houston Rockets guard Harden was among George's NBA colleagues to use Twitter to wish the injured player well.

"Prayers go out to Paul George and his family!" Harden tweeted. "Keep ya head up G!"

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com