FIBA World Cup: Serbia trounce Angola to make perfect start

Opening days wins for Spain, Argentina and hosts China

Saturday 31 August 2019 16:26, UK

Serbia's push toward unseating the United States as FIBA World Cup champions started with a 105-59 rout of Group D opponents Angola.

Angola 59-105 Serbia

Serbia's World Cup campaign got underway in style with a 46-point trouncing of Angola.

Bogdan Bogdanovic made his first four three-point attempts to help his team take control early on, All-NBA center Nikola Jokic didn't even start and the Serbians still had plenty on the way to easing past Angola 105-59 on Saturday in the first game of the World Cup.

Bogdanovic scored 24 points on 8-for10 shooting for Serbia (1-0 in Group D), who lost gold-medal games to the US at the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

The lead was 50-32 at the half, and Serbia opened the third quarter on a 15-2 burst to turn the game into a runaway.

"It's a good start," Serbia coach Sasha Djordjevic said. "But it's just the start. It's a long way. We know how to get to where we want to be. We just have to stay humble, stay focused."

Serbia used 11 of their 12 players by the end of the first quarter. The only Serbian who didn't play was Nemanja Bjelica, sidelined with what Djordjevic said was knee inflammation caused by a cyst. Bjelica will be re-evaluated on Sunday.

Poland 80-69 Venezuela

In Beijing, Poland got their first World Cup win in 52 years.

Michal Sokolowski scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds, as Poland - back in the World Cup for the first time since 1967 - topped Venezuela in a Group A opener for both teams.

Mateusz Ponitka scored 15 for the winners, and Poland finished with five players in double figures. Pedro Chourio scored 15 for Venezuela.

Iran 81-93 Puerto Rico

In Guangzhou, David Huertas scored 32 points and Javier Mojica's bank shot with 0.7 seconds left was the game-winner as Puerto Rico prevailed despite being down by 17 points with 7:55 remaining.

Gary Browne scored 12 for Puerto Rico in the Group C opener for both teams. Hamed Haddadi and Behnam Yakhchalidehkordi each scored 22 for Iran.

Huertas tied the game with a three-pointer with 45 seconds left, then made another triple with 16.1 ticks remaining for a three-point lead. Haddadi made a deep three-pointer from the right wing with 4.4 seconds left, but Mojica took an inbound pass on the ensuing Puerto Rico possession and connected from the left side of the lane for the deciding points.

Russia 82-77 Nigeria

In Wuhan, Russia rallied in the final minutes to hold off upset-minded Nigeria and get what may be a key win in Group B. Mikhail Kulagin led the Russians with 16 points.

Nigeria had six players in double figures, led by 18 from Josh Okogie. His three-pointer midway through the fourth quarter put Nigeria up 71-63, but the Russians ended the game on a 19-6 run.

Ivory Coast 55-70 China

China survived a tougher-than-expected fight against Ivory Coast in their Group A opener with their star trio Guo Ailun, Yi Jianlian and Qi Zhou doing the heavy-lifting in a 70-55 win.

Yi scored 17 of his team-high 19 points in the second half to go with eight rebounds while Guo tallied 17 points and Qi chipped in 12 points, six rebounds and two blocks. The trio combined for 32 of the team's 41 points in the second half. Guy Landry Edi picked up 10 points to lead Cote d'Ivoire.

Spain 101-62 Tunisia

Ricky Rubio led the charge as Spain dismissed Tunisia 101-62 in Guangzhou. The 2006 World Cup winners led 42-39 at the half before outscoring Tunisia 59-23 after intermission.

The Phoenix Suns playmaker contributed 17 points and nine assists and his team-mate Real Madrid guard Sergio Llull added 16 points. Salah Mejri led Tunisia with 15 points.

Philippines 62-108 Italy

Italy marked their first FIBA World Cup appearance in more than a decade with a 108-62 demolition of Philippines in Group D in Foshan.

Danilo Gallinari was superb at both ends of the floor, finishing with 16 points on 4-of-5 three-point attempts, Luigi Datome added 17 to his account and Amedeo Della Valle came up with 17 off the bench to help Italy make a statement in the opening day of Group D.

As much as Andray Blatche tried to keep the Philippines in the game - with his sixth straight double-double (15 points and 10 rebounds) in World Cup competition - he lacked support.