Group A
Team USA performed another spectacular show, this time against the headstrong players of the Philippines. The Asian fans have to be proud of their undersized team, with endless acts of courage on the court. Nevertheless, the score was a self-explanatory 124-64. Newman and Ferguson showed impressive shooting skills.
Greece won 51-62 a difficult game against Angola. Papagiannis could play only 11 minutes due to problems with personal foul and that gave the African team a few more chances. Still, Greeks killed the game in the third quarter. Charalampopoulos had 15 points and 9 rebounds, while Silvio and Fernando combined for 31 points in a losing effort.
Group B
France proved to be strong one more time, against a Japanese team which has been slowly deflating since the first day. And once again, only Rui Hachimura stood up against the rival. The French coach gave some minutes to the reserve players, such as Ponsar and Denis, who did not disappoint. The final score was 51-96.
Surprisingly, Canada beat Australia 85-74 and gave France the first place of the group, despite the massive game of Humphries, who scored 41 points and grabbed 19 rebounds. Vasiljevic had a poor shooting percentage and 25 points by Jamal Murray and 18 by Washington gave Canada a good chance in the round of sixteen against Angola.
Group C
For the third time in a row, UAE got beaten up by their rival. This time, it was Puerto Rico who had a party on the court. 110-53, with18 points and 17 rebounds from Toro.
Italy and Spain played a strange game. The winner would get the “prize” to face Team USA in the quarter-finals, if they win the round of sixteen. Finally, thanks to La Torre and his 18 points, Italy got the big prize and will face China in next round, while Spain will have a tough game against Argentina.
Group D
China managed to finally win their first match in the World Championship. Egypt gave all their best in the previous match against Serbia, and this time they could not match the strength displayed by players like Hu and Fu, who set the final score 84-58.
Argentina and Serbia played a thriller to decide the leader of group D. Kenic led the European side with 18 points while Fjellerup did his best for Argentina with 15 points, which was not enough. Both teams played concerned about the significance of this game, and the low score was 57-60.
The round of 16 will be played entirely tomorrow, as follows:
USA – Japan
Greece – Australia
Angola – Canada
Philippines – France
Puerto Rico – Egypt
Italy – China
Spain – Argentina
UAE – Serbia
