The First Day of FIBA's Round of 16

The first set of games in 2014 FIBA's Round of 16 is complete!

USA vs MEXICO
Steph Curry had 20 points in the USA’s win over Mexico, 86-63. Gustavo Ayon had 25 for Mexico, but the game was never in question and Coach K didn’t need to play any starter longer than 20 minutes. Steph's Warriors teammate Klay Thompson had 15 followed by James Harden at 12 and DeMarcus Cousins with 11. 

FRANCE vs CROATIA
The up-and-down French finally played a solid game to defeat a good Croatian team 69-64. The game was very even in terms of both effort and statistics (ex Croatia had 37 rebounds, France had 36). Bogdanovic led Croatia with 27, followed by Tomic with 17. The French team was led by Batum with 14, Fournier with 13, Gelabale with 11 and Huertel with 10. This was a nice team effort by the French! For the first time in the tournament, they took care of the little things that help you pull out a win in a close game.

SLOVENIA vs DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Slovenia 71, Dominican Republic 61. Slovenia held the lead for 26 minutes of the game, and the Dragic brothers combined for 30 of their team’s points (Goran 12, Zoran 18). Slovenia’s bench scored 28 points to DR’s 18. Big Slokar did a great job on defensive boards. Feldeine and Martinez led DR in scoring with 18 and 12, respectively.

SPAIN vs SENEGAL
Pao Gasol led Spain to an 89-56 win over Senegal with 17 points. His brother Marc and Serge Ibaka did the dirty work on the boards, with 6 rebounds a piece. Marc had 9 points and Ibaka had 11. Rubio and Calderon were fantastic at the guard position. The game was never in question, but it’s exciting that we’re one step closer to a possible Spain - USA final!

UPCOMING GAMES
Sept 7th: 
Lithuania vs New Zealand
Serbia vs Greece
Turkey vs Australia
Brazil vs Argentina

Sept 9th:
USA vs Slovenia

Sept 10th:
France vs Spain