World Cup surprise: Spain and Canada panic, Australia eliminated
The second round of the Basketball World Cup got off to a particularly surprising start. As a result, reigning world champions Spain and Canada have both fallen, meaning those teams will face off on Sunday for a place in the quarter-finals.
Spain-Latvia: 69-74
Latvia repeats the World Cup: it beats a contender for the title. Having eliminated France in spectacular fashion in the group stage, the Latvians were this time too strong for reigning world champions Spain. Spain were sloppy in their use of the ball and only shot sparingly, earning them a surprising loss.
Canada-Brazil: 65-69
Led by Thunder stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort, Canada also lost in the second half to a particularly surprising Brazilian. Gilgeous-Alexander and Dort combined for 40 of Canada’s 65 points, but found little support from teammates like RJ Barrett and Dillon Brooks.
A fearless Brazil recorded one of the most unexpected victories in World Cup history, putting not only Canada, but also Spain in the hot seat: this victory means that title contenders Canada, or defending champions Spain will have to return home after their meeting on Sunday.
Slovenia-Australia: 91-80
A loss to Luka Doncic’s Slovenia and Germany’s victory over Georgia means Australia’s World Cup history ends in the second round. Josh Giddey scored 25 points, grabbed eight rebounds and four assists in another Boomers performance, but that wasn’t enough in a game where Doncic scored 20 points, grabbed seven rebounds and provided six assists, and qualified his country for the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
Other results
Simone Fontecchio scored 30 points for Italy in a surprising 76-78 victory over Serbia, who, following Puerto Rico’s 102-97 victory over the Dominican Republic ( ), are now level in Group I with all the teams at 3-1.
Germany clinched their ticket to the quarter-finals by easily winning against Georgia (100-73). No less than six Germans scored at least 10 points. Meanwhile, the United States also secured their place in the quarter-finals by beating Montenegro 85-73 in a game where Anthony Edwards once again stole the show with 17 points. Lithuania also qualified for the quarter-finals after an unproblematic victory over Greece (92-67).
2023-09-02 06:08:11
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