Team USA beat Greece 109-81 on Monday night to advance to the second round of the 2023 FIBA World Cup. The dominant win saw all 12 U.S. players score at least four points.

Los Angeles LakersLakers’ guard Austin Reaves led the way for Team USA with 15 points, six assists, and five rebounds, while Jalen Brunson and Anthony Edwards each scored 13 points apiece. Georgios Papagiannis had 17 points for Greece, but only one other player Greek player managed to finish the game with double digits.

Team USA head coach Steve Kerr was pleased with the performance of his players and praised their effort after the game. 

“Really good effort from our guys,” Kerr told reporters. “Our thought process every game is to wear the opponent down. We’re just trying to stay solid on every possession and really put pressure on the opponent.”

Team USA is now sitting at the top of Group C and will remain there regardless of the outcome of Wednesday’s game against Jordan. Greece will play New Zealand for second place and have a chance to join the Americans in the second round.

In the second round, which also features a group format, Team USA and Greece/New Zealand will play Lithuania and Montenegro, who finished at the top in Group D. The best two teams will then advance to the knockout stage. 

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The Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue will be forgoing his summer vacation to try and help Team USA add another gold medal to its trophy room. The USA Basketball announced earlier this week that Lue joined its coaching staff ahead of the 2023 World Cup and will remain in his role through the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Lue joins Miami Heat’s Erik Spoelstra and Gonzaga’s Mark Few as assistants who will serve under Team USA’s head coach Steve Kerr. He will replace Phoenix Suns’ Monty Williams, who was forced to leave his duties due to “family obligation.”

“I am truly honored to represent our country and join this great group of coaches,” Lue said. “Coaching USA Basketball has always been a dream of mine.”

Team USA is entering the 2023 World Cup, which will be held in the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia in the summer, motivated to redeem itself after a poor performance in the last tournament. At FIBA World Cup 2019 in China, Team USA was eliminated in the quarter-finals and finished seventh.

 Tyronn Lue started his coaching career as an assistant with the Los Angeles Clippers and the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was named the Cavs’ head coach midway through 2015-16 following the firing of David Blatt, and led the franchise to its first NBA championship in the same season.

Lue would go on to make two more trips to the NBA Finals before being fired by Cleveland after a 0-6 start in 2018-19. He returned to coaching the following season as an assistant with the Clippers before taking on the head coaching job with the LA team after the departure of Doc Rivers.

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Spain won its second FIBA World Cup title after what was an emphatic 95-75 win over Argentina during Sunday’s gold medal game.

The winners got off to a flying start, taking a 14-2 lead over Argentina in the first quarter. While Argentina clawed their way back with 11 consecutive points, the Spanish regained control of the game by extending their lead to as much as 17 points in the second quarter.

The third quarter saw Spain build a significant 22-point lead, which proved more than enough to carry them through to the final buzzer.

Point guard Ricky Rubio proved crucial to Spain’s success, ending the game with 20 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Efforts such as these resulted in Rubio being named the most valuable player in this year’s edition of the tournament.

Also vital to Spain’s success was center Marc Gasol, who finished the game against Argentina with 14 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. Gasol also made history by becoming the second player in history to win both the NBA title and the FIBA World Cup in the same year alongside Lamar Odom. He also featured in the Spanish squad that won the FIBA World Cup back in 2006.

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The 2019 FIBA World Cup is coming to a close. After two shocking days where the main candidates for the gold medal, Serbia and the USA, were eliminated in the same day at the start of the quarter-finals. Spain, who won the World Cup back in 2006 will face 2004 Olympic gold medalist Argentina in this year’s final. 

After a fantastic match that went into two overtimes, Spain eliminated the biggest surprise of the tournament, Australia, who remained undefeated until the semi-finals, losing in a controversial match at the end. 

The game was close from the start until the end, with Spain being able to make the most of it in the two overtimes. The first period was won by one point in favor of Spain, while Australia overturned the result in the second half as their lead had risen to 11 points difference.

Patty Mills was the main figure in the Australian team but he missed a free throw that led the match into overtime. Spain emerged victorious and grabbed a 96-88 win with a lot of controversy at the end. 

Marc Gasol lead the Furies with 31 points while Ricky Rubio added 19 points and 12 assists behind his name. Patty Mills scored 32 in Australia’s greatest result in history. 

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France defeated team USA 89-79 to progress to the FIBA World Cup semi-finals. This defeat brought an end to USA’s 58-match unbeaten streak in non-exhibition games when using a team comprised solely of NBA players.

Also brought to an end was team USA’s run of five straight major tournament wins.

Following the loss, USA team coach Gregg Popovich had this to say: “Any loss hurts, and in this situation, it hurts more. But life goes on. This is very important and we would have loved to have won … but we’re all grown, we all have families and lives and life goes on.”

The standout player for France was Rudy Gobert, who scored 21 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and even blocked three shots- two of which came in the game’s closing minutes.

Following his side’s victory, Gobert commented that “we came here to win gold. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. A lot of people counted us out, but we got the win… It doesn’t mean anything if you don’t win in the end,”

France will face Argentina in the semi-finals on Friday, while the USA will play Serbia in the classification rounds. The highest that team USA can now finish is in fifth place.

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Team USA has beaten Giannis’s Greece to advance in the quarter-finals at the 2019 FIBA World Cup. 

In the first period, Team USA had a 2-point lead and finished it with 19-17, keeping the lead until the very end, leaving the Greeks without a chance to cut the double-digit lead during the entire game. 

Current NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo was held at 15 points with 13 rebounds, followed by Fenerbahce’s Sloukas who scored 13 points, with the two being the only players in the Greek team who scored more than 10 points. On the winning side, Kemba Walker scored 15pts, while Donovan Mitchell had 10 pts and 3 assists. 

With this victory, the USA remains undefeated while the Greeks are in a difficult position after their shocking loss to Brazil a few days ago. This puts them in a position to play a must-win game against the Czech Republic, who have beaten Brazil by a surprising 22 points difference. The next match for Team USA is Brazil who are also in a problematic position like the Greeks because a loss will send the Cariocas back home. 

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On the first day of the second stage at the FIBA World Cup in China, former Euro champions Spain defeated Italy with a final result of 67-60. In a tough match with low points, Italy started the match by outscoring their rivals 15-5, forcing Scariolo to call his first time-out. After the short break, Italy made some changes and that backfired, as Spain made a 13-3 run, ending the first period with an 18-18 tie. 

In the second period, both of the team’s defenses were tough and the Italians won out with a narrow 12-13. After half-time, both teams started with a lot of misses from the field, with Spain making some shots and winning the 3^rd quarter with 20-17 score, making it harder for Italy as the pressure rose until the end, knowing that a loss would send the Azzuri home. In the last period, Spain scored only 2 points in the first 6 minutes, allowing Italy to take a 4-point lead which forced Spain’s coach to take a time-out. Like in the first half, Spain made a 10-0 run, taking back a 62-56 lead in the final 2 minutes. With this loss, Italy goes home, while Spain advances to the next round. 

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The Canadian FIBA World Cup team has officially been eliminated from the competition following a 92-69 loss to Lithuania on Tuesday. The Canadians found themselves placed into Group H, arguably the most difficult group in the competition. Apart from Lithuania, who is ranked 6th in the FIBA World Rankings, the Canadians also found themselves up against an Australian side who famously ended the USA’s 78-game winning streak with a 98-94 triumph.

Cory Joseph, point guard and captain of the Canadian National Team, clearly felt frustrated with the referee’s approach to the Lithuania game.

Joseph had this to say following his side’s loss: “If you could tell me where the foul is, let me know. I watched them. I don’t know. I don’t know what to tell you. That tall dude … now I’m not one to blame anybody and I never blame no-one. It’s on us at the end of the day. But that tall dude was horrible. I don’t care. I’m done with it. I don’t care… At the end of the day we lost the game. We didn’t do enough to win.”

The Canadians will play Senegal on Thursday 5 September in what will be their third and final World Cup fixture.

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It’s the same old story: another basketball player drops out of Team USA’s roster for FIBA World Cup. But this time, it was a player that actually wanted to play on the tournament.

Toronto Raptors’ point guard Kyle Lowry announced on Instagram on Monday that he is forced to drop out of the team due to a thumb injury. According to Lowry, he wasn’t cleared by the medical staff to take part in the competition.

Lowry was dealing with thumb issues since the playoffs and had to undergo surgery last month to fix the injury. He hoped he will be able to recover in time for the World Cup, but realized that he will have to spend additional time rehabilitating after meeting with his surgeon. 

“I was hoping to be available in time to help my country in their quest for gold in this upcoming tournament,” – said Lowry in a statement. “I love playing for USAB, but I have to sit this one out and support the team from home.”

With Lowry out and Sacramento Kings’ Marvin Bagley deciding to pull his name out of the consideration, there are now 15 players left competing for the final 12 spots on the roster.

Team USA’s head coach Gregg Popovich will announce the final roster for FIBA World Cup 2019 on August 17th.

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While U.S. basketball players were never too passionate about World Cups and international competitions, their counterparts from other countries tend to take a different approach. The latest example for this is Milwaukee Bucks’ All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Although almost all big stars refused to play for Team USA on this year’s FIBAWorld Cup in China, Antetokounmpo gladly accepted the chance to play with Greece on this competition.

“I always feel something special when playing for the national team,” – Antetokounmpo told FIBA’s official site. “When you are starting the tournament and listening to the national anthem, the emotions can’t be described. After the first basket, the first plays, it is an amazing experience and every time I feel as proud as the first time. The feeling of winning with the national team is incredible, and I have said before that I will always be part of the team, as long as I am healthy like this summer.”

And not only that, but the 24-year-old forward would be even willing to trade his 2019 NBA MVP award if that meant winning the gold medal on the tournament with Greece.

“I would exchange the MVP title for the gold medal in China,” – he added.

With Giannis Antetokounmpo on their roster, Greece has established itself as one of the favorites for winning a medal on the tournament. This is especially a likely scenario given the fact that the United States is coming to the World Cup with one of their weakest rosters in decades.

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Team USA beat Greece 109-81 on Monday night to advance to the second round of the 2023 FIBA World Cup. The dominant win saw all 12 U.S. players score at least four points.

Los Angeles LakersLakers’ guard Austin Reaves led the way for Team USA with 15 points, six assists, and five rebounds, while Jalen Brunson and Anthony Edwards each scored 13 points apiece. Georgios Papagiannis had 17 points for Greece, but only one other player Greek player managed to finish the game with double digits.

Team USA head coach Steve Kerr was pleased with the performance of his players and praised their effort after the game. 

“Really good effort from our guys,” Kerr told reporters. “Our thought process every game is to wear the opponent down. We’re just trying to stay solid on every possession and really put pressure on the opponent.”

Team USA is now sitting at the top of Group C and will remain there regardless of the outcome of Wednesday’s game against Jordan. Greece will play New Zealand for second place and have a chance to join the Americans in the second round.

In the second round, which also features a group format, Team USA and Greece/New Zealand will play Lithuania and Montenegro, who finished at the top in Group D. The best two teams will then advance to the knockout stage. 

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The Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue will be forgoing his summer vacation to try and help Team USA add another gold medal to its trophy room. The USA Basketball announced earlier this week that Lue joined its coaching staff ahead of the 2023 World Cup and will remain in his role through the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Lue joins Miami Heat’s Erik Spoelstra and Gonzaga’s Mark Few as assistants who will serve under Team USA’s head coach Steve Kerr. He will replace Phoenix Suns’ Monty Williams, who was forced to leave his duties due to “family obligation.”

“I am truly honored to represent our country and join this great group of coaches,” Lue said. “Coaching USA Basketball has always been a dream of mine.”

Team USA is entering the 2023 World Cup, which will be held in the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia in the summer, motivated to redeem itself after a poor performance in the last tournament. At FIBA World Cup 2019 in China, Team USA was eliminated in the quarter-finals and finished seventh.

 Tyronn Lue started his coaching career as an assistant with the Los Angeles Clippers and the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was named the Cavs’ head coach midway through 2015-16 following the firing of David Blatt, and led the franchise to its first NBA championship in the same season.

Lue would go on to make two more trips to the NBA Finals before being fired by Cleveland after a 0-6 start in 2018-19. He returned to coaching the following season as an assistant with the Clippers before taking on the head coaching job with the LA team after the departure of Doc Rivers.

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Spain won its second FIBA World Cup title after what was an emphatic 95-75 win over Argentina during Sunday’s gold medal game.

The winners got off to a flying start, taking a 14-2 lead over Argentina in the first quarter. While Argentina clawed their way back with 11 consecutive points, the Spanish regained control of the game by extending their lead to as much as 17 points in the second quarter.

The third quarter saw Spain build a significant 22-point lead, which proved more than enough to carry them through to the final buzzer.

Point guard Ricky Rubio proved crucial to Spain’s success, ending the game with 20 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Efforts such as these resulted in Rubio being named the most valuable player in this year’s edition of the tournament.

Also vital to Spain’s success was center Marc Gasol, who finished the game against Argentina with 14 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. Gasol also made history by becoming the second player in history to win both the NBA title and the FIBA World Cup in the same year alongside Lamar Odom. He also featured in the Spanish squad that won the FIBA World Cup back in 2006.

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The 2019 FIBA World Cup is coming to a close. After two shocking days where the main candidates for the gold medal, Serbia and the USA, were eliminated in the same day at the start of the quarter-finals. Spain, who won the World Cup back in 2006 will face 2004 Olympic gold medalist Argentina in this year’s final. 

After a fantastic match that went into two overtimes, Spain eliminated the biggest surprise of the tournament, Australia, who remained undefeated until the semi-finals, losing in a controversial match at the end. 

The game was close from the start until the end, with Spain being able to make the most of it in the two overtimes. The first period was won by one point in favor of Spain, while Australia overturned the result in the second half as their lead had risen to 11 points difference.

Patty Mills was the main figure in the Australian team but he missed a free throw that led the match into overtime. Spain emerged victorious and grabbed a 96-88 win with a lot of controversy at the end. 

Marc Gasol lead the Furies with 31 points while Ricky Rubio added 19 points and 12 assists behind his name. Patty Mills scored 32 in Australia’s greatest result in history. 

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France defeated team USA 89-79 to progress to the FIBA World Cup semi-finals. This defeat brought an end to USA’s 58-match unbeaten streak in non-exhibition games when using a team comprised solely of NBA players.

Also brought to an end was team USA’s run of five straight major tournament wins.

Following the loss, USA team coach Gregg Popovich had this to say: “Any loss hurts, and in this situation, it hurts more. But life goes on. This is very important and we would have loved to have won … but we’re all grown, we all have families and lives and life goes on.”

The standout player for France was Rudy Gobert, who scored 21 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and even blocked three shots- two of which came in the game’s closing minutes.

Following his side’s victory, Gobert commented that “we came here to win gold. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. A lot of people counted us out, but we got the win… It doesn’t mean anything if you don’t win in the end,”

France will face Argentina in the semi-finals on Friday, while the USA will play Serbia in the classification rounds. The highest that team USA can now finish is in fifth place.

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Team USA has beaten Giannis’s Greece to advance in the quarter-finals at the 2019 FIBA World Cup. 

In the first period, Team USA had a 2-point lead and finished it with 19-17, keeping the lead until the very end, leaving the Greeks without a chance to cut the double-digit lead during the entire game. 

Current NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo was held at 15 points with 13 rebounds, followed by Fenerbahce’s Sloukas who scored 13 points, with the two being the only players in the Greek team who scored more than 10 points. On the winning side, Kemba Walker scored 15pts, while Donovan Mitchell had 10 pts and 3 assists. 

With this victory, the USA remains undefeated while the Greeks are in a difficult position after their shocking loss to Brazil a few days ago. This puts them in a position to play a must-win game against the Czech Republic, who have beaten Brazil by a surprising 22 points difference. The next match for Team USA is Brazil who are also in a problematic position like the Greeks because a loss will send the Cariocas back home. 

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On the first day of the second stage at the FIBA World Cup in China, former Euro champions Spain defeated Italy with a final result of 67-60. In a tough match with low points, Italy started the match by outscoring their rivals 15-5, forcing Scariolo to call his first time-out. After the short break, Italy made some changes and that backfired, as Spain made a 13-3 run, ending the first period with an 18-18 tie. 

In the second period, both of the team’s defenses were tough and the Italians won out with a narrow 12-13. After half-time, both teams started with a lot of misses from the field, with Spain making some shots and winning the 3^rd quarter with 20-17 score, making it harder for Italy as the pressure rose until the end, knowing that a loss would send the Azzuri home. In the last period, Spain scored only 2 points in the first 6 minutes, allowing Italy to take a 4-point lead which forced Spain’s coach to take a time-out. Like in the first half, Spain made a 10-0 run, taking back a 62-56 lead in the final 2 minutes. With this loss, Italy goes home, while Spain advances to the next round. 

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The Canadian FIBA World Cup team has officially been eliminated from the competition following a 92-69 loss to Lithuania on Tuesday. The Canadians found themselves placed into Group H, arguably the most difficult group in the competition. Apart from Lithuania, who is ranked 6th in the FIBA World Rankings, the Canadians also found themselves up against an Australian side who famously ended the USA’s 78-game winning streak with a 98-94 triumph.

Cory Joseph, point guard and captain of the Canadian National Team, clearly felt frustrated with the referee’s approach to the Lithuania game.

Joseph had this to say following his side’s loss: “If you could tell me where the foul is, let me know. I watched them. I don’t know. I don’t know what to tell you. That tall dude … now I’m not one to blame anybody and I never blame no-one. It’s on us at the end of the day. But that tall dude was horrible. I don’t care. I’m done with it. I don’t care… At the end of the day we lost the game. We didn’t do enough to win.”

The Canadians will play Senegal on Thursday 5 September in what will be their third and final World Cup fixture.

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It’s the same old story: another basketball player drops out of Team USA’s roster for FIBA World Cup. But this time, it was a player that actually wanted to play on the tournament.

Toronto Raptors’ point guard Kyle Lowry announced on Instagram on Monday that he is forced to drop out of the team due to a thumb injury. According to Lowry, he wasn’t cleared by the medical staff to take part in the competition.

Lowry was dealing with thumb issues since the playoffs and had to undergo surgery last month to fix the injury. He hoped he will be able to recover in time for the World Cup, but realized that he will have to spend additional time rehabilitating after meeting with his surgeon. 

“I was hoping to be available in time to help my country in their quest for gold in this upcoming tournament,” – said Lowry in a statement. “I love playing for USAB, but I have to sit this one out and support the team from home.”

With Lowry out and Sacramento Kings’ Marvin Bagley deciding to pull his name out of the consideration, there are now 15 players left competing for the final 12 spots on the roster.

Team USA’s head coach Gregg Popovich will announce the final roster for FIBA World Cup 2019 on August 17th.

The post Kyle Lowry will Miss FIBA World Cup Due to an Injury appeared first on SportzBonanza.

While U.S. basketball players were never too passionate about World Cups and international competitions, their counterparts from other countries tend to take a different approach. The latest example for this is Milwaukee Bucks’ All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Although almost all big stars refused to play for Team USA on this year’s FIBAWorld Cup in China, Antetokounmpo gladly accepted the chance to play with Greece on this competition.

“I always feel something special when playing for the national team,” – Antetokounmpo told FIBA’s official site. “When you are starting the tournament and listening to the national anthem, the emotions can’t be described. After the first basket, the first plays, it is an amazing experience and every time I feel as proud as the first time. The feeling of winning with the national team is incredible, and I have said before that I will always be part of the team, as long as I am healthy like this summer.”

And not only that, but the 24-year-old forward would be even willing to trade his 2019 NBA MVP award if that meant winning the gold medal on the tournament with Greece.

“I would exchange the MVP title for the gold medal in China,” – he added.

With Giannis Antetokounmpo on their roster, Greece has established itself as one of the favorites for winning a medal on the tournament. This is especially a likely scenario given the fact that the United States is coming to the World Cup with one of their weakest rosters in decades.

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