FIBA World Cup: Serbia beat Italy behind Bogdan Bogdanovic's strong scoring effort
There were also wins for Spain, Argentina, Poland, Nigeria, Angola, Venezuela and Puerto Rico on a fascinating day five
Thursday 5 September 2019 12:07, UK
Serbia extended their winning streak at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 on Wednesday thanks to a 92-77 win over Italy in Foshan.
Italy 77-92 Serbia
Serbia extended their winning streak at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 on Wednesday thanks to a 92-77 win over Italy in Foshan.
It was the third straight win in as many as Group D games for Aleksandar Djordjevic's team.
Bogdan Bogdanovic, who averaged a team-high 20.5 points prior to Wednesday's game, came up with yet another stellar performance, making 18 points from behind the arc to finish with a game-high 31.
Denver Nuggets centre Nikola Jokic added 15 as Serbia pulled away in the third quarter after the Italians had slashed the deficit to 55-53.
Cool free throw shooting by captain Miroslav Raduljica, who nailed 12 of 13 shots from the foul line, allowed the Serbians to carve out a 92-67 lead in the closing stages while Bogdanovic was lethal from three-point range.
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Danilo Gallinari carried the Italian effort with 26 points and eight rebounds. with team-mate and fellow NBA star Marco Belinelli also adding 15 points, but the game belonged to the Serbs.
After beating the Philippines and Angola by large margins, Serbia have now scored more than 90 points in their last three games and look to be the team to beat.
Spain 73-65 Iran
Spain, the 2006 champions, toiled for much of their encounter with Iran but a late charge saw the Europeans eventually take a 73-65 victory.
For Iran, the result is far more respectable than the 30-point pasting they endured in the preliminary round at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, the only previous championship meeting between these sides.
And it could have easily gone the other way and become a historic win for Iran, who scored the game's first 10 points and were ahead 21-18 after the first 10 minutes. Down by two at the half, they were ahead again by a single point with one quarter to play.
Marc Gasol led Spain once again with 16 points, six rebounds and three assists to be the man of the match for the second game in a row. With this win, Spain have won all their preliminary round games in four of the five FIBA Basketball World Cup tournaments they have played in since 1998.
Spain move on to Wuhan for games with Serbia and Italy in Group J. Iran now go to Group N in Beijing with Angola and Philippines for Classification Games.
Russia 61-69 Argentina
An impressive 21 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds from point guard Facundo Campazzo helped Argentina to a 69-61 win over Russia.
The South Americans stifled out their opponents for three quarters with strong defence but looked in danger of throwing away a 13-point advantage in the final period.
Then, with the score 63-61 to the South American side late in the game, playmaker Campazzo scored twice in quick succession and then laid on an assist for Patricio Garino to seal the contest with a slam-dunk.
Campazzo finished as the game's top scorer and won the player of the game award, while Luis Scola and Marcos Delia chipped in with 13 each for Argentina.
Zenit St Petersburg power forward Andrey Zubkov bagged 18 points for Russia as they suffered their first defeat after beating Nigeria and South Korea.
Ivory Coast 63-80 Poland
Poland avoided a slip-up in their final Group A game at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in getting past Ivory Coast 80-63 to head into the Second Round with a perfect 3-0 record.
Player of the game Adam Waczynski led the way for Poland with 16 points while Damian Kulig had 14 points and Mateusz Pontika collected 12 points and three rebounds at the Wukesong Sport Center in Beijing.
Charles Abouo paced all scorers with 23 points for Ivory Coast with Deon Thompson picking up 18 points and six rebounds in the loss - the Africans' third in as many games.
South Korea 66-108 Nigeria
A spirited fight from Nigeria inspired them to their first win at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 after seeing off South Korea 108-66 in a one-sided Group B tie on Wednesday at the Wuhan Sports Center.
Four players recorded double digits as D'Tigers showed their true spots and returned to winning ways in a convincing performance that saw them get closer to a possible qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Michael Eric dropped 17 points and was one rebound away from a double-double in his best performance at this competition so far and was named player of the game.
Ever-present Ike Diogu showed great character in the paint on both ends of the court to limit Korea's Guna Ra to just eight made field goals out of 18 attempts. Diogu also scored 16 points and made six rebounds, while Chimezie Metu and Ben Uzoh added 15 and 10 points respectively to help Nigeria come away with their first win.
Angola 84-81 Philippines (OT)
Angola needed five extra minutes to beat Philippines 84-81 in the last game of Group D.
It was the Angolans' first win in the tournament and they now move to the Classification Round in Beijing on the back of a 1-2 mark, while the Philippines conceded their third defeat in as many games.
Six Angola players scored in double digits, including Valdelicio Joaquim who finished with a team-high 20 points. Jacques Conceicao, Carlos Morais and Reggie Moore combined for 33 points and Yanick Moreira added a double-double of 12 points and 15 rebounds.
Andray Blatche came up with yet another double-double performance finishing with a game-high 23 points and 12 rebounds for the Philippines, and Jaymar Perez hit 3-for-8 from beyond the arc, finishing with 17 points.
Venezuela 72-59 China
Venezuela continued their magical run at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 by advancing to the second round after knocking off hosts China 72-59 in a do-or-die game in Group A.
Player-of-the-game Heissler Guillent tallied 15 points while Dwight Lewis scored 13 points, Gregory Vargas had 12 and Nestor Colmenares chipped in 11 points as the South Americans out-hustled China in a number of ways.
Venezuela's stars came up with the big plays when needed and victory pushes them to 2-1 and secures them second place in the group and a spot in the second round with Poland.
It is the first time that Venezuela advanced from the opening group phase, finishing 11th in 1990, 14th in 2002 and 21st in 2006.
Fang Shuo scored 13 points for China, who finished group play with a 1-2 record as they got just 21 points from the star trio of Yi Jianlian, Zhou Qi and Guo Ailun.
Puerto Rico 67-64 Tunisia
Having been the comeback kids in their first two games, once successfully against Iran and the other a close-but-no-prize versus Spain, Puerto Rico left it late once again before dispatching Tunisia 67-64 on a Gary Browne three with 5.1 seconds left to play.
As well as a berth in the second round, Tunisia could have achieved qualification for next year's Olympics in Tokyo with a win - but they now go to Group N in Beijing with Angola and Philippines for classification games.
Puerto Rico's prize for their success is a trip to Wuhan to play Serbia and Italy in Group J.
