MADRID, 28 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The United States team managed to defeat Greece (109-81) in their second match in the Basketball World Cup, which is held in Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan, while Luka Doncic’s Slovenia comfortably beat Georgia ( 88-67) with a display from the Dallas Mavericks point guard.
After beating New Zealand in their debut, with more problems than expected, Steve Kerr’s men faced the most difficult match, a priori, of the first phase against Greece, which despite not having Giannis Antetokoumpo presents a very powerful team, as they showed against Jordan.
The game had much less history than expected thanks to the good American defense, which prevented the Greeks from finding their rhythm. Only Nikolaos Rogkavopoulos, with 14, and Georgios Papagiannis, with 17, were able to post double figures, insufficient to compete with the American choral game, which was a roller during the forty minutes.
The other great incentive of the day was brought by Luka Doncic’s Slovenia, who after the exhibition of the first day faced Georgia in the duel in which, a priori, the first position in Group F would be decided.
Once again, the Dallas player showed his superiority in FIBA basketball with a stellar performance (34 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists) to easily overcome the Georgians and secure their place as first group to the second phase.
GROUP B. SOUTH SUDAN MAKES HISTORY (89-69) AND SERBIA CERTIFIES ITS PASS (94-77)
In the match that opened the day of Group B, South Sudan made history by achieving their first victory in a World Cup. Royal Ivey’s men beat Sasha Djorjevic’s China, thanks to the great performance of their star Carlik Jones, who after scoring 35 points against Puerto Rico, went up to 21 to beat the Asian team.
The Serbian team had no mercy on Puerto Rico in the second group game, and in their second game of the tournament they did not miss Nikola Jokic either. Against the Caribbean team they put on their most choral version, led by Bogdan Bogdanovic and the young Nikola Jovic, one of the values of the Serbian future, both with 17 points.
GROUP C. NEW ZEALAND WILL NOT BE SURPRISED BY JORDAN ‘KOBE’ (95-87)
In the other group C game, Jordan and New Zealand were at stake to stay alive in the championship. Despite the oceanic favouritism, the Jordanian team put themselves in the hands of their star Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who scored 39 points, including a 3+1 that forced overtime. However, the stellar performance of the former NBA came to nothing, because those from the antipodes were far superior in overtime to close the victory.
GROUP F. CABO VERDE GETS ITS FIRST VICTORY IN A WORLD CUP (81-75)
The Cape Verdean team, led by Real Madrid player Edy Tavares, achieved their first World Cup victory, despite the poor performance of the center, who could only score 6 points. However, the appearance of his brother Will, with 20 points, and Joao Gomes, with 22, allowed them to prevail against a Venezuela that, despite having competed against Slovenia in its debut, was far from that level.
GROUP G. IVORY COAST WINS ONE MORE LIFE AGAINST IRAN (71-69)
In the remaining match of the group in Spain, the Africans made good the feelings of the first match and earned a last chance to go to the second phase, beating an Iranian team that already left a bad image against Brazil and with this defeat certifies their elimination, in the absence of facing those of Sergio Scariolo.