FIBA World Cup 2014 – Day 6 Round-up, Last 16 Set

By Bradley Gains on September 5, 2014

The last 16 of the FIBA World Cup has been set as the preliminary round came to an end on Thursday with the final few teams securing their place in the next stage.

Here’s a re-cap of the day’s action:

Group A:

Brazil improved to a 4-1 record after crushing Egypt 128-65 in their final group game. Leandro Barbosa led six players in double figures with 22 points as the Brazilians twice racked up 37 points in a single quarter. In a final game decider, France rallied from a 10-point deficit after the opening frame to see off Iran with an 81-76 victory despite Samad Nikkhah-Bahrami and Hamed Haddadi combining for 45 points. Spain then made it five out of five with a comfortable 89-73 win over Serbia paced by Pau Gasol’s 22 points.

Group B:

The Philippines bowed out of the tournament with their first win after a huge 24-5 second quarter helped them to a 91-78 win against Senegal. Andray Blatche again starred with 18 points and 14 rebounds while Xane D’Almeida dished out 14 assists in the defeat. Croatia secured their place in the next round with a convincing 103-82 success over Puerto Rico. Bojan Bogdanovic had 22 points with the result proving enough to elevate the European side into second. The last game saw Greece remain perfect with a 79-71 victory against Argentina after withstanding a late fightback. Ioannis Bourousis was key in the win finishing with a big 16-15 double-double.

Group C:

With only USA guaranteed a place in the last 16, there was lots to play for in the last three games in the group. New Zealand got the ball rolling with a slender 67-65 win against Finland despite leading by as many as 18 in the first half. USA maintained their unbeaten start by denying Ukraine with a 95-71 victory having trailed by five after one quarter. James Harden top scored with 17 points and Ukraine would miss out on qualification. Turkey booked the final spot through with an important 77-64 win over the Dominican Republic using a strong second quarter display as a solid platform. Francisco Garcia returned after being rested v the USA but his 18 points were not enough to carry his team through.

Group D:

Angola kept their hopes of advancing alive after beating Australia 91-83 in the day’s opener. The Boomers were assured of their spot in the next round and took the precaution of resting Aron Baynes and Joe Ingles. Angola were powered to victory by Yanick Moreira’s dominant 38 points and 15 rebounds. They were to be left heart-broken, though, as Mexico stole the final place with an 87-71 win against Korea even without the services of captain Gustavo Ayon. In the final game, Lithuania overturned a 7-point deficit heading into the final quarter to win the fourth 12-2 to beat Slovenia 67-64 and claim top spot. Slovenia were scoreless for over 9 minutes in the final period to blow their chances of a win which would have seen both themselves and Lithuania avoid the USA until the semi-finals.

Two games of the day. In a must-win game, EuroBasket 2013 champions France had to work hard to beat Iran while Lithuania defeated Slovenia for top spot in Group D. Highlights below.

Last 16 in full: Spain v Senegal, Croatia v France, Greece v Serbia, Brazil v Argentina, USA v Mexico, Slovenia v Dominican Republic, Lithuania v New Zealand, Turkey v Australia.

*Top half played in Madrid, bottom half played in Barcelona.

Day 7 (Saturday) schedule: USA v MEX, CRO v FRA, DOM v SLO, ESP v SEN

Watch the action unfold on Livebasketball.tv

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