The 2019 FIBA World Cup is under way in China and while we closely track the U.S. Men’s National Team, here’s a quick look at all the action from FIBA World Cup play on Sept. 8.
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Spain 81, Serbia 69
Spain handled previously undefeated Serbia 81-69 on Sunday for one of the most impressive wins of the tournament so far. Ricky Rubio led Spain with 19 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Marc Gasol added 11 points, six rebounds and six assists.
Spain (5-0) will play Poland — who finished second place in Group I — in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
For Serbia, Nikola Jokic played less than 17 minutes before he was ejected for arguing with an official. With Jokic sidelined, Bogdan Bogdanovic stepped up to tally 26 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in 35 minutes. This was the first loss for Serbia (4-1) since February, when they lost in the European quarterfinals.
Serbia will play undefeated Argentina in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Argentina 91, Poland 65
Argentina took care of business against Poland to win 91-65 and enter the quarterfinals with an undefeated record. Former NBA player Luis Scola continued to lead the attack for Argentina with 21 points, six rebounds and three assists.
Argentina will face Serbia in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Poland finishes group play with a record of 4-1 and will face undefeated Spain in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Italy 94, Puerto Rico 89 (OT)
Marco Belinelli (27 points) and Danilo Gallinari (22) led the way for Italy as they rallied in the fourth quarter and overtime to defeat Puerto Rico in 94-89. Italy finishes the World Cup with a 3-2 record.
Former NBA player Renaldo Balkman was the leading scorer for Puerto Rico with 14 points and seven rebounds in the loss. Puerto Rico finishes with a record of 2-3.
Russia 69, Venezuela 60
Russia held off Venezuela 69-60 in Forshan, China to complete their World Cup run with a 3-2 record. Andrey Voronotsevich was the leading scorer for Russia with 17 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
Venezuela finishes group play with a record of 2-3.
Nigeria 86, China 73
In the classification round, Nigeria handled China 86-73 to punch a ticket to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. The win secures Nigeria’s place as the top finishing team from Africa at the World Cup, which earns them an automatic qualification for the Olympics. NBA players Josh Okogie, Al-Farouq Aminu and Ekpe Udoh led the way for Nigeria in the win.
The loss for host-country China ends a disappointing run at the World Cup. The team finishes with a record of 2-3.
Iran 95, Philippines 75
Iran also clinched their ticket to the Olympics during the classification round on Sunday. Hamed Haddadi scored 19 points to lead Iran past Philippines 95-75. The win earns Iran an automatic bid to the 2020 Olympics.
Other scores from Classification Round 17-32:
• Tunisia 86, Angola 84
• Korea 80, Cote d’Ivoire 71
