With a 70:59 win over Venezuela, Georgia has qualified for the intermediate round and will meet Germany there. Serbia and the USA marched through the preliminary round with three wins in three games
Georgia has been confirmed as Germany’s opponent in the intermediate round of the Basketball World Cup in Asia. The team claimed its second victory in the preliminary round with a clear 70:59 (42:23) win over Venezuela on Wednesday and can no longer be ousted from one of the first two places. The best scorer was Tornike Shengelia of Virtus Bologna, who contributed 25 points. Whether Germany will face the Georgians on Friday or Sunday depended on the last group game of former European champions Slovenia.
Slovenia would have had to lose by 24 points or more against the glaring outsiders from Cape Verde to be eliminated. But that did not happen. Star player Luka Doncic’s team secured victory in Group F with an unchallenged 92-77 win. Germany will now have to play Georgia on Friday and Slovenia on Sunday to conclude the main round. Only the top two teams will make it to the finals in Manila.
USA remain sovereign, Serbia also wins again
The US, meanwhile, continued their commanding run against Jordan. In the last game of the preliminary round, Team USA already led by 19 points after the first quarter and extended the lead to 48 points by the end, winning 110-62 (62-33). Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves was the top scorer in the third win in the third game with 22 points (8/16 from the field).
The Americans will continue their journey on Friday against Montenegro. The second game of the intermediate round takes place on Sunday, when the opponents are Lithuania.
Jovic and Bogdanovic dominate
Leaded by NBA pros Nikola Jovic (25 points, Miami Heat) and Bogdan Bogdanovic (23 points, Atlanta Hawks), Serbia also completed the preliminary round with their third win in their third game. They won a clear 115:83 (56:39) against South Sudan. Jovic remained without a miss on nine attempts from the field (5/5 threes). The Serbs will face Italy (Friday) and the Dominican Republic (Sunday) in the intermediate round.
In the fourth game of the morning, Brazil qualified for the intermediate round thanks to an outstanding Yago Santos (24 points, 12 assists). They beat the Ivory Coast 89:77 (50:46). The Brazilians will play Canada on Friday and Latvia on Sunday.
Puerto Rico, Greece and Spain win
In the remaining games of the afternoon, Puerto Rico, Greece and Spain clearly prevailed. The Central Americans defeated China 107-89 to secure second place in Group B behind Serbia.
In the battle for a place in the intermediate round, Greece and New Zealand dueled a little later, with the better end for the Europeans (83:74), who will now meet Lithuania on Friday and Montenegro on Sunday. And the Spaniards did not show any weakness against Iran either, deservedly winning 85:65 in the end. For Sergio Scariolo’s team, the next round will be against Latvia on Friday and Canada on Sunday.
