Semifinals
1st Quarter Update: In a tightly contested 1st 10 minutes, Sergio Llull knocked down a 3 at the buzzer to give Spain a 22-21 lead. Juancho Hernangomez is leading all scorers with 8 pts on a perfect 3/3 from the field. Ricky Rubio chipped in for Spain adding 5 pts and 2 ast. Matthew Dellavedova knocked down his only 2 3-pt attempts in the quarter to lead Australia in scoring.
2nd Quarter Update: Australia will take a 37-32 lead into the break behind Patty Mills’ 11 first-half points. Dellavedova has now racked up 5 ast to go along with his 6 pts. Ricky Rubio continued his strong game in the 2nd quarter as he has now tallied 9 pts and 4 ast.
3rd Quarter Update: It’s just a 4-pt game as head into the final 10 minutes. Australia holds a 55-51 lead. Patty Mills (18 pts) & Nic Kay (12 pts) have combined for 30 to power the Boomers. Ricky Rubio is having an all-around game with a stat line of 13 pts, 5 ast, 4 stl & 3 reb. Marc Gasol came alive in the 3rd quarter as he scored 7 of his 11 points during those 10 minutes. Just 1 quarter left to decide which team will advance to the finals.
4th Quarter Update: We’re going to overtime! Marc Gasol hit 2 free throws to give Spain a lead with 8 seconds left before Patty Mills hit 1/2 from the line to tie it. Gasol is up to 22 pts in the game on an efficient 7/12 from the field. He’s added 4 ast, 3 reb and a blk. Rubio has contributed 17 pts, 8 ast, 5 reb & 4 stl. Patty Mills is the high man in the game with 24 pts. Andrew Bogut is close to a double-double with 10 pts & 7 reb on 5/7 from the field.
1st Overtime: 5 minutes was not enough to separate these two teams. This one is head to double OT as Australia and Spain are tied at 80. Gasol and Mills have both scored 29 points to lead all scorers. Rubio has posted a double-double with 17 pts & 10 reb.
FINAL IN 2nd OVERTIME: Spain reaches the 2019 FIBA World Cup final with a win over Australia. Marc Gasol (33 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast & 2 blks) & Ricky Rubio (19 pts, 12 ast, 7 reb & 4 stl) led the way for Spain as they trailed for the entire 2nd and 3rd quarters. Patty Mills scored 32 points to lead Australia. Utah Jazz forward, Joe Ingles contributed 4 pts, 10 reb, 7 ast & 1 stl. Bogut finished with 12 pts & 9 reb. Spain will face the winner of France/Argentina in the Finals while Australia will take on the loser in the 3rd place game.
Argentina (80) vs. France (66)
1st Quarter Update: Luis Scola continues his impressive FIBA World Cup play as he has Argentina out to a 21-18 first quarter lead. Scola ended the first 10 minutes with 10 pts on 4/6 from the field. The back court for France of Evan Fournier & Nando De Colo combined for 10 of France’s first 18 pts.
2nd Quarter Update: Argentina take a 39-32 lead over France as they look to reach the FIBA World Cup finals. Luis Scola already has a double-double at the half with 13 pts & 10 reb. Evan Fournier leads all French players with 9 pts. New York Knick point guard Frank Ntilikina and De Colo have both tallied 6 pts.
3rd Quarter Update: Argentina continued their strong play in the 3rd quarter as they have a 12-pt leading heading into the final 10 minutes. Luis Scola is up to a game-high 18 pts to go along with his 11 reb. Ntilikina is up to 11 pts on 5/8 shooting from the floor. Evan Fournier & Nando De Colo have combined for 20 pts for France.
FINAL: The Finals is set. After topping France 80-66, Argentina will face Spain in the FIBA World Cup Finals. Scola led Argentina with a huge double-double of 28 pts & 13 reb. Gabriel Deck chipped it with 13 pts as Argentina led this one from start to finish. Orlando Magic guard, Evan Fournier & New York Knick guard, Frank Ntilikina both poured in 16 for France. France will take on Australia in the 3rd place game.
