Wrap-Up: Day 5 of FIBA

The 5th day of FIBA is history - check below for notes on the games. The final day of Group play is already underway to determine who makes it to the Round of 16

Group A

• Spain played with the French for the first half and then finished it, with a final score of 88-64. Pao and Mark Gasol (15 and 17), Navarro (14) and Ibaka (10) continue to roll
• Brazil and Marcus Vieira (21 points, 6/9 on 3pt shots) bested Serbia 81-73
• Iran beat Egypt 88-73

Group B 

• Argentina and Luis Scola (22pts and 14 rebs) blasted Senegal and started playing strong 
• The tough Greece team won over Croatia 76-65. Today’s game against Argentina should be a good one
• Puerto Rico over the Philippines lost to Puerto Rico 77-73 as Barea scored 30 points

Group C 

• Team USA routed the Dominican Republic, 106-71. Anthony Davis and Kenneth Faried led the way as has been the trend this World Cup. DR hung tight in the first quarter but the USA’s quickness took over. I am anticipating an exciting meeting with Spain down the road
• The Ukraine got by New Zealand 73-61 for their second win
• Finland lost a tough one as they had an opportunity to win in the final seconds. The game of basketball is a game of opportunity and good decisions, especially in the last two minutes of a game. With a 3 point lead and 12 seconds on the clock, Finland missed two free throws and then failed to foul a dribbler in the front court, giving Turkey a chance to force overtime with a 3pt basket from the corner, which they made. In OT, Turkey prevailed when the Finns could not get the ball to the open shooter and forced their shots. The bigs from Turkey were no match for Finland as Asik ruled the interior. The Finns left everything they had on the floor. Koponen again was great but was asked to give too many minutes. Koivisto was 4/8, including 3/6 from the 3pt line, and was superb on defense and rebounds. This is two games in a row that have gotten away. Go out tomorrow and start a win streak.

Group D

• Lithuania got back on track in a 79-49 win over Korea 
• Slovenia behind Goran and Zoran Dragic won over Angolia 93-87
• Australia won its third in a road over Mexico 70-62