FIBA World Cup 2014 – Day 5 Round-up

By Bradley Gains on September 4, 2014

The first round neared its conclusion on the 5th day of the FIBA World Cup on Wednesday as the four unbeaten teams remained perfect with six last 16 places still to be decided.

Here’s a re-cap of the day’s action:

Group A:

Iran recorded just their second ever World Cup win after defeating Egypt 88-73 to keep their hopes of going through alive. Samad Nikkhah Bahrami top scored with 24 points while Hamed Haddadi added 23 points and 15 rebounds. The next game was a topsy-turvy encounter between Serbia and Brazil. After trailing by 16 at half time, Serbia battled back to win the third 32-16 and take a four point lead into the fourth. However, Brazil hit back and went on to win 81-73 with a dominant final quarter. Marcus Vieira had 21 points while San Antonio’s Tiago Splitter added a 10-7-6 stat-line. The final game saw the latest encounter between two European powerhouses and Spain gave their home fans plenty to cheer about with a convincing 88-64 triumph with Marc and Pau Gasol combining for 32 points. France and Iran meet on Thursday to determine who goes through.

Group B:

Puerto Rico kept their faint hopes alive with a 77-73 success over the Philippines. JJ Barea had a game high 30 points while Andray Blatche’s 25 points and 14 rebounds were in vain. Argentina secured their spot in the last 16 with a crushing 91-46 win against Senegal thanks to 22 points from Luis Scola, although the result also put the African nation through. Croatia needed a victory to guarantee their progression but were unable to down the unbeaten Greece who improved to a 4-0 mark with a 76-65 success.

Group C:

In the most open group of the four, only USA have secured their place in the last 16 so far. New Zealand enhanced their chances with their first win, beating Ukraine 73-61 after 17 points from Kirk Penney. Turkey improved to a 2-2 record following a dramatic 77-73 overtime win against Finland. Omer Asik had 22 points as his side recovered from a 41-27 half time deficit to force the extra period after Cenk Akyol nailed a late three. USA crushed the Dominican Republic 106-71 to make it 4/4 with Kenneth Faried top scoring with 16 points.

Group D:

Australia booked their ticket into the next round after beating Mexico 70-62 for their third straight win. The Boomers powered clear in the third with a 26-13 quarter and were led by Aron Baynes’ 21 points to improve to 3-1. Slovenia maintained their perfect start with a 93-87 win over Angola having trailed heading into the final quarter. Lithuania bounced back from Tuesday’s defeat to go through with a 79-49 thrashing of Korea despite losing the opening quarter. Donatas Motiejunas starred with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists for the European side.

Game of the day. Another overtime thriller, this time between Turkey and Finland. Highlights below.

Day 6 schedule: Australia (3-1) v Angola (1-3), Senegal (2-2) v Philippines (0-4), Finland (1-3) v New Zealand (1-3), Brazil (3-1) v Egypt (0-4), Korea (0-4) v Mexico (1-3), Ukraine (2-2) v USA (4-0), Iran (1-3) v France (2-2), Croatia (2-2) v Puerto Rico (1-3), Lithuania (3-1) v Slovenia (4-0), Turkey (2-2) v Dominican Republic (2-2), Serbia (2-2) v Spain (4-0), Argentina (3-1) v Greece (4-0)

Watch the action unfold on Livebasketball.tv

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