FIBA World Cup 2014 – Day 2 Round-up

By Bradley Gains on September 1, 2014

The second day of the FIBA World Cup 2014 provided more entertainmment in an action-packed schedule which saw 8 teams make it two wins out of two on Sunday.

Here’s a re-cap of the day’s action:

Group A:

Arguably the game of the day up first in Group A as the European champions France recorded their first win with a thrilling 74-73 success over Serbia. France trailed by 7 at half-time but battled back to get their campaign kick-started. Miroslav Raduljica had a game-high 21 points but Joffrey Lauvergne led his side to victory with 19. Brazil were the first team in Group A to two wins after a comfortable 79-50 victory over Iran despite losing the opening quarter. Alex Garcia top scored with just 12 points as the points were spread across the team with all 12 players on the scoreboard. In the final game, hosts Spain put in a strong showing to ease past Egypt 91-54 boosted by the return of Serge Ibaka, who finished with 18 points and 8 rebounds.

Group B:

After making hard work of their tournament opener, Croatia again faced a tough battle after edging past Argentina 90-85 to maintain their 100% start. A strong third quarter made the game safe despite Argentina’s best efforts to fight back in the final period. 2010 leading scorer Luis Scola’s 30 points were in vain as Croat trio Krunoslav Simon, Bojan Bogdanovic and Dario Saric combined for 50 in the win. Playing in just their 4th-ever FIBA World Cup, Senegal recorded their first win since 1998 after recovering from a slow start to defeat Puerto Rico 82-75. Gorgui Dieng again starred for his country with 18 points and 13 rebounds while Mouhammad Faye top scored with 20 to counter Renaldo Balkman’s 21. Greece were next to make it 2/2 with an 82-70 triumph against the Philippines despite Andray Blatche’s 21-14 double-double. Georgios Printezis led his side to victory with a game-high 25 points.

Group C:

The Dominican Republic got their first win of the tournament with a 76-63 victory over New Zealand thanks in large to Francisco Garcia’s 29 point haul on 5/7 shooting from deep. Finland recovered from their opening day thrashing at the hands of the USA by earning their first win after beating Ukraine 81-76. Shawn Huff led the way with 23 points to hold on to the win despite Ukraine’s late charge. USA completed the day’s action with a 98-77 win over Turkey in a repeat of the 2010 final but the defending champions didn’t have it all their own way. Turkey frustrated their opponents and deservedly went into half-time with a 5-point lead. However, USA battled back and powered home in the second half led by Kenneth Faried’s 22 points and 8 rebounds display.

Group D:

Australia got into the winning column with an emphatic 89-55 victory against Korea paced by 17 points from Joe Ingles with the Boomerangs another side to have all 12 players scoring. Slovenia won their second straight game after outscoring Mexico in every quarter on their way to an 89-68 victory. The Dragic’s Zoran and Goran combined for 40 points with Gustavo Ayon leading his side with 23 points. The group finale saw Lithuania continue their winning start by beating Angola 75-62 with just two players in double figures.

Game of the day. The tense encounter between European powerhouses France and Serbia. Highlights below.

Day 3 schedule: Croatia (2-0) v Senegal (1-1), Iran (0-2) v Serbia (1-1), Argentina (1-1) v Philippines (0-2), France (1-1) v Egypt (0-2), Puerto Rico (0-2) v Greece (2-0), Brazil (2-0) v Spain (2-0).

Watch the action unfold on Livebasketball.tv

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