USA Beat Greece & Advanced To FIBA World Cup Knockout Stage
With a score of 70-48, the US led Greece by 22 points at the midway stage. Amazingly, the Americans had made each of their 22 free throw attempts.
Team USA defeated Greece convincingly, 109-81, to advance to the next round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, the key player for the Milwaukee Bucks, was injured, further diminishing the Europeans’ poor chances of pulling off an upset.
However, they got off to a strong start, with Georgios Papagiannis scoring 11 points in the opening period. Jalen Brunson stood out with six points as the USA eventually regained their footing and led 23-19 at the first intermission.
Despite being sluggish in the first quarter, the US started the second quarter quickly. Before Paolo Banchero’s dunk to make it 27-22, Austin Reaves made a free throw to give his team a 27-22 advantage.
With a score of 70-48, the US led Greece by 22 points at the midway stage. Amazingly, the Americans had made each of their 22 free throw attempts.
From that moment forward, there was no turning back. While Reaves increased his score to 15, Jalen Brunson missed a mid-range attempt.
By the third quarter, the US lead had grown to 79-56, and the Greeks were depressed due to the apparent disparity in skill between their team and their opponents.
The team led by Steve Kerr played confidently and freely in the fourth quarter as they easily won 109-81, securing their advancement to the next round. Greece must overcome New Zealand to get to the knockout round.
Although Papagiannis had the game’s best shooting performance with 17 points, Reaves was awarded MVP with 15 points, five rebounds, and six assists.
