MANILA, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) — The United States, Lithuania, Germany and Slovenia secured their berths within the quarterfinals of the 2023 FIBA World Cup after posting their fourth straight wins within the event on Friday.
The U.S. held off Montenegro 85-73 in Manila to enhance to 4-0 and safe a top-two end in Group J.
Bojan Dubljevic had a layup with three minutes and three seconds remaining to tug Montenegro inside 72-68, however the U.S. answered with a 7-1 run to make it 79-69 with 1:29 left.
Anthony Edwards had 17 factors and three rebounds to guide 5 Americans in double digits, whereas Nikola Vucevic completed with a game-high 18 factors and 16 rebounds for Montenegro, who outrebounded the United States 49-31.
“They got 22 offensive rebounds, they executed, tried to pound us inside, but I’m proud of our guys,” mentioned U.S. head coach Steve Kerr.
“It was not our night offensively, we’ll look at the tape, we didn’t move the ball well at all, that’s why we got into the trouble. These games are going to happen, you have to be able to fight through them.”
Also in Group J, Lithuania outscored Greece 28-9 within the fourth quarter to report a 92-67 win and be a part of the United States within the prime eight with an unbeaten 4-0 report. The United States and Lithuania will conflict on Sunday to vie for prime spot within the group.
Germany nailed 20 three-pointers in 35 makes an attempt on its option to a 100-73 win over Georgia in Okinawa, Japan to enhance to 4-0 in Group Okay. Maodo Lo shot 6-for-6 from past the arc to guide Germany with 18 factors, with Dennis Schroder including 16 factors and 7 assists.
Georgia stayed inside 43-41 at half-time, however Germany pulled away with a 27-16 run within the third quarter and by no means seemed again.
“They played much better in the second half, as everybody saw,” rued Georgia head coach Ilias Zouros.
“I don’t know what happened. We started with low intensity, we gave very easy shots, some three-point shots that gave them confidence. We didn’t function well in the second half.”
Later on Friday, Luka Doncic had 20 factors, seven rebounds and 6 assists and Mike Tobey added 18 factors, 12 rebounds and 5 assists to raise Slovenia over Australia 91-80. Germany and Slovenia will play towards one another on Sunday for prime spot in Group Okay.
Italy rallied from 16 factors all the way down to nip Serbia 78-76 and enhance to 3-1 in Group I. Trailing 60-44 late within the third quarter, Italy overtook the lead 65-64 with a 21-4 burst connecting the final two quarters and held on for the victory.
Simone Fontecchio notched 30 factors, seven rebounds and three assists for Italy.
“We are really happy about the win. We really did an amazing job as a team, especially in the third quarter down 16,” mentioned Fontecchio. “We never gave up. This simply shows the heart of this team, the will of this team. We just don’t give up. We don’t care if we are down 16. We don’t care how bad we are playing. We just keep playing, keep fighting until the end.”
In Group I’s different match, Puerto Rico beat Dominican Republic 102-97. Sharing a 3-1 win-loss report, Serbia, Dominican Republic, Italy and Puerto Rico will combat for the 2 quarterfinal tickets on supply within the final spherical of group play on Sunday.
In Group L, Latvia additionally got here from behind to beat Spain 74-69. After being 58-47 behind on the finish of the third quarter, the Latvians overpowered their opponents 27-11 within the fourth.
Elsewhere in Group L and in addition the final match of the day, Brazil surprised Canada 69-65 to snap the latter’s three-game successful streak.
The prime two finishers from every of the second spherical teams will advance to the quarterfinals of the 32-team event.