FIBA World Cup 2014 – Lithuania and USA Book Semi-Final Clash

By Bradley Gains on September 10, 2014

The first semi-final of the FIBA World Cup 2014 has been set as Lithuania and USA both won their quarter-finals on Tuesday.

Lithuania edged out European rivals Turkey 73-61 while the reigning World Champions USA crushed Slovenia in the second half on their way to a dominant 119-76 victory.

Here’s a re-cap of the first two quarter-finals:

Lithuania 73-61 Turkey

In a battle of the NBA bigs, it was Toronto’s Jonas Valanciunas who got the better of New Orleans’ Omer Asik after leading his side with a 12 point, 13 rebound double-double. Renaldas Seibutis top scored with a game-high 19 points containing 3/3 from downtown as Lithuania shot above 50% from 3-point range in 19 attempts. In comparison, Turkey struggled to find their rhythm and connected with just 3 of 18 shots from beyond the arc. Kerem Gonlum missed out on a double-double with 13 points and 9 rebounds while Asik added 11 and 10 as the runners-up from four years ago crashed out. Turkey had led by five at the end of the first but their opponents hit back with a strong second to take control. The game was evenly poised heading into the fourth before Lithuania powered clear to book their place in the semi-finals for the second consecutive tournament having won bronze in Turkey in 2010.

Slovenia 76-119 USA

USA made it seven wins out of seven as they continue the defence of their title in style. They didn’t have it all their own way in the opening half as the Slovenes made them work hard for a 49-42 advantage. Kenneth Faried continued his impressive tournament with 12 first-half points on his way to a 14-10 double-double. The US powered clear in the second half to sail past the century mark with a crushing 70-34 second half performance. Klay Thompson led six scorers in double figures with a 20 point haul as all 12 players got on the scoreboard. USA will once again face Lithuania in the semi-finals having beaten them by 15 points on their way to gold four years ago.

Wednesday schedule: Serbia v Brazil (5pm), Spain v France (9pm) UK times.

BT Sport will show live coverage of both the semi-finals and final as the FIBA World Cup draws to a close this coming weekend.

You can also watch the action unfold at Livebasketball.tv

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