{"id":58016,"date":"2023-08-28T22:49:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-28T22:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/08\/28\/from-sorry-a-to-rock-solid-us-impress-amid-fiba-world-cup-carnage\/"},"modified":"2023-08-28T22:49:00","modified_gmt":"2023-08-28T22:49:00","slug":"from-sorry-a-to-rock-solid-us-impress-amid-fiba-world-cup-carnage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/08\/28\/from-sorry-a-to-rock-solid-us-impress-amid-fiba-world-cup-carnage\/","title":{"rendered":"From \u2018sorry a**\u2019 to rock solid: US impress amid FIBA World Cup carnage"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The United States gathered momentum with a win over Greece at the Basketball World Cup, while there were historic first victories for debutants South Sudan and Cape Verde.<\/p>\n

Defending champions Spain, Serbia and a Luka Doncic-inspired Slovenia picked up their second wins of the tournament, while New Zealand and Cote d\u2019Ivoire got off the mark.<\/p>\n

The United States faced a Greece side missing Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo in their second game in Manila, and they wasted little time in showing their quality in a 109-81 win.<\/p>\n

FIBA Basketball World Cup | Watch the Australian Boomers vs Japan 9PM AEST Tuesday FREE & LIVE with ESPN on Kayo Freebies. | Stream every Australian Boomers and Team USA game plus the Quarter Finals, Semi Finals and Final FREE & LIVE with ESPN on Kayo Freebies. Join now, no credit card required ><\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cOur thought process every game is to wear the opponent down,\u201d said head coach Steve Kerr.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re 12-deep on our roster and we\u2019re just trying to stay solid on every possession and really put pressure on the opponent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Austin Reaves led the United States in scoring with 15 points, followed by Jalen Brunson and Anthony Edwards with 13 each.<\/p>\n

The Americans were rewarded with impressive performances throughout the lineup, with the hard-working Josh Hart pulling down 11 rebounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has the ability to do things on the court as every other NBA player does, but he takes pride in always doing the little things on a nightly basis,\u201d Brunson said of Hart, his teammate with the New York Knicks.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe brings that toughness, that effort, and he\u2019s a different man. He goes out there and he\u2019s relentless.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was another impressive performance from the Americans, who drew some criticism for sending an understrength team to the tournament \u2014 former NBA player Gilbert Arenas calling it a \u2018sorry-ass\u2019 roster.<\/p>\n

But Kerr\u2019s team has so far looked solid in a tournament where there are no guarantees \u2014 evidenced by France\u2019s shock exit in the group stage <\/a>and China\u2019s loss to minnows .<\/p>\n

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US’s Tyres Haliburton (2L) dunks the ball during the FIBA Basketball World Cup group C match between US and Greece at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay city, suburban Manila on August 28, 2023. (Photo by Ted ALJIBE \/ AFP)<\/span>Source: AFP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Antetokounmpo withdrew from Greece\u2019s squad on the eve of the tournament, saying he was not ready to play after undergoing knee surgery last month.<\/p>\n

The Greeks can still advance to the next round if they win their final group game against New Zealand, who beat Jordan 95-87 in overtime earlier in the day.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we want to have a posibility to win the game against New Zealand, we\u2019ve got to be more physical,\u201d said Greece head coach Dimitris Itoudis.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor them and for us, it\u2019s a final.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/amp-ima-video><\/p>\n

Goorjian rages as Germany beat Boomers | 01:18<\/p>\n

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HISTORIC WINS<\/b><\/p>\n

Spain also made it two wins out of two, beating Brazil 96-78, while elsewhere in Group G, Cote d\u2019Ivoire beat Iran 71-69.<\/p>\n

In Group B, debutants South Sudan stunned China 89-69 for their first ever World Cup win.<\/p>\n

The world\u2019s number 62-ranked team scored 15 three-pointers on the way to victory in Manila, putting them right in the mix for a place in the next round.<\/p>\n

South Sudan head coach Royal Ivey said his players \u201cstuck to the game plan from the opening tip to the closing horn\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were resilient, persistent, they had laser-like focus, they followed the game plan and competed at the highest level,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey played with emotion, they played with fight, they played with fire. We competed all 40 minutes and we came out with the victory.\u201d<\/p>\n

The result left China needing to beat Puerto Rico in their final group game on Wednesday and hoping that other results go their way to avoid a first-round exit.<\/p>\n

China head coach Aleksandar Djordjevic accused his players of lacking \u201caggressiveness\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn moments of difficulty, you have to find your spirit to respond on the floor,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt cannot be everything on paper — you have to find it. Those moments are making winning teams.\u201d Serbia beat Puerto Rico 94-77 to stay in control at the top of Group B. In Group F, Cape Verde also pulled off their first World Cup win, beating Venezuela 81-75.<\/p>\n

The smallest country ever to appear at the World Cup were down by 10 points early in the fourth quarter but took the lead with 57 seconds remaining.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a historical moment for us,\u201d said Cape Verde head coach Emanuel Trovoada.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a small nation with a big heart.\u201d Elsewhere in Group F, Doncic scored 34 points and had 10 rebounds and 6 assists as Slovenia beat Georgia 88-67.amk\/lb<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The United States gathered momentum with a win over Greece at the Basketball World Cup, while there were historic first victories for debutants South Sudan and Cape Verde. Defending champions Spain, Serbia and a Luka Doncic-inspired Slovenia picked up their second wins of the tournament, while New Zealand and Cote d\u2019Ivoire got off the mark. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":58017,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6807],"tags":[151,2228,29074,1800,1963,1641,1736,29073,3281,29038,6033,15622,29078,29080,29079,29075,29072,1429,23982,3311,4232,27386,2225,20099,6032,2071,29076,25003,2733,1960,167,1533,2449,1809,1728,6068,26897,1711,6666,6058,2457,2902,4127,8366,29077,1792,13309,3150],"class_list":{"0":"post-58016","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leagues-cups","8":"tag-africa","9":"tag-agence-france-presse","10":"tag-aleksandar-djordjevic","11":"tag-america","12":"tag-anthony-edwards","13":"tag-asia","14":"tag-australia-and-new-zealand","15":"tag-australian-boomers","16":"tag-basketball-world","17":"tag-battling-squad","18":"tag-brian-goorjian","19":"tag-cape-verde","20":"tag-china-head-coach","21":"tag-credit-card","22":"tag-divoire-beat","23":"tag-dimitris-itoudis","24":"tag-emanuel-trovoada","25":"tag-europe","26":"tag-final-group-game","27":"tag-game-plan","28":"tag-germany","29":"tag-gilbert-arenas","30":"tag-head-coach","31":"tag-impressive-performances","32":"tag-kayo-freebies","33":"tag-knee-surgery","34":"tag-laser-like-focus","35":"tag-manila","36":"tag-milwaukee-bucks","37":"tag-new-york-knicks","38":"tag-new-zealand","39":"tag-north-america","40":"tag-northern-africa","41":"tag-northern-america","42":"tag-oceania","43":"tag-philippines","44":"tag-puerto-rico","45":"tag-semi-finals","46":"tag-south-sudan","47":"tag-south-eastern-asia","48":"tag-southern-europe","49":"tag-spain","50":"tag-staff-writers","51":"tag-steve-kerr","52":"tag-understrength-team","53":"tag-united-states-of-america","54":"tag-western-africa-sub-saharan-africa","55":"tag-western-europe"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58016"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58016\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}