The top 16 teams in the World Cup finals, which are being held in Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia, will have to play two more matches before going to the quarter-finals. Unlike the FIFA World Cup, where direct elimination matches begin in the round of 16, the qualifying teams in the FIBA World Cup are organized into four new groups of four members each.
At this stage, what was achieved in the first part of the tournament is calculated, as the victory achieved over the other ranked team is taken into account, and only the victories or losses achieved over the qualified teams from another category are added. The best two quintet will qualify for the quarter-finals, which begins next September 5.
Spain was paired in Group L alongside Canada, Latvia and Brazil, the opponent it defeated in the first stage. The team, led by Sergio Scariolo, will start by facing Latvia, the competitor that was the pleasant surprise of the tournament after its victory over France and causing its elimination.
For many Spanish players, facing Latvia is an advantage because many members of the team are part of the ACB, Spain’s main basketball league.
Victor Claver, a player for the Iberian team, said: “Latvia is playing great. We know many of the players because they are in the Asian Football League, and they have great confidence and fans on their side.”
Spain assumed that, from this moment on, it would play one match after another. After Latvia, they will be followed by the Canadian national team, an opponent that was not in the plans before, but with the play shown in the first matches, and the knowledge of their coach Jordi Fernandez of Spanish basketball, makes them afraid, and even more so, taking into account the victory of the Americans in a friendly match before the Cup. the world.
United States, a group of young people without pressure who regained patronage
If there is a group to watch, it is the J group. There are the United States, Lithuania, Montenegro and Greece.
The Americans, like Lithuania, start with the advantage of winning all their group stage matches. However, it must be taken into account that Montenegro and Lithuania, in that order, compete for physical and technical abilities that could influence the USL’s lineup.
The United States comes in second place in the quintet with the best average points so far in the tournament with 106 points, surpassed only by Canada, which scored 108 points. However, they have allowed an average of 71.6 points in their three starts. Lithuania exceeded 90 points in its three matches, while Montenegro only scored in one match. Here the advantage could be for the Americans.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union and the presence of professional players in the World Cup and Olympic Games, Lithuania has become one of the United States’ biggest rivals on the international stage. The match on September 3 will be the fourth between the two teams (World Cup and Olympic Games), as America has achieved two victories to one for Lithuania so far.
The Caribbean classic will animate the start of the first set
The Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico know each other well internationally. Geographical proximity has allowed them to encounter each other on countless occasions, thus creating great competition.
On paper, the Dominican Republic has a slight advantage over the Puerto Ricans in this matchup. On the one hand, they have Nestor “Che” Garcia on the bench as coach, who was able to read matches played very well. Added to them is the presence of Karl-Anthony Towns, who gave the team greater depth both in attack and in the boardroom.
Puerto Rico enters the match with two victories and one defeat, which it suffered against Serbia, but as part of its preparations for the World Cup, it was able to defeat the Dominican quintet in a match held at Isla del Encanto Stadium.
The other match in this key will be between the representatives of Serbia and Italy.
The first matches of the second stage
The first group: Serbia vs Italy
Dominican Republic vs. Puerto Rico
Group J: United States vs. Montenegro
Lithuania vs Greece
Group K: Germany vs. Georgia
Slovenia vs Australia
Group L:Spain vs. Latvia
Canada vs Brazil
First date results for classification 17 – 32
Group E: Angola 76 – 83 China
South Sudan 87 – 68 Philippines
Group N: New Zealand 100 – 108 Mexico
Egypt 85 – 69 Jordan
Group O: Cape Verde 77 – 100 Finland
Japan 86 – 77 Venezuela
Group R: Ivory Coast 84 – 94 Lebanon
France 82 – 55 Iran
Source: fiba
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