By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Croatia flirted with disaster against Philippines and against Senegal couldn’t avoid the upset. The Africans got their second straight win at FIBA World Cup, having in the first time of their history such a streak, with 77-75 being the final score.
The losing side was trailing almost from the first moment. However it was evident that coach Repesa’s players believed their talent was enough to get the win. The best they could do at the end was to cut the lead of Senegal to 73-72 with 20 seconds to go. After that Dalmeida and Ndoye with 4/4 free throws sealed the win and Krunoslav Simon missed a crucial three pointer with 7 seconds left on the clock. Damjen Rudez with a late three cut the final points difference to two, but the game was over. Gorgui Dieng with 27 points and 8 rebounds in 40 minutes of action was once again the leader of his team, which has more than good chances of advancing to the second round.
In the second game of the day, Philippines proved to be more than feisty but in the end Argentina got the 85-81 win. Luis Scola was once again the top scorer with 19 points and the hero was Marcos Mata with 17 points and a huge defenseive effort over William on a three point attemp with 12 seconds left with Argentina leading by two (83-81). William changed his mind midair and finally travelled. The key number for Philippines was 13 three pointers made on 27 attemps. that kept them in the game, but in the end Argentina survived.
Last but not least, Greece with a great third quarter, took advantage of injured Carlos Arroyo’s absence and got an easy win over Puerto Rico (90-79). Without their leader, the Americans proved to be easy prey to the well organized Greek national team, which got something from every player on the roster and 19 points from captain Nikos Zisis. Giannis Antetokounmpo also registered a personal best in his national team career with 15 points. Renaldo Balkman (23 p.) and J.J. Barea (21 p.) tried to save the day, but couldn’t. Greece sits on top of the group standings as the only unbeaten team (3-0), Argentina, Croatia and Senegal are tied at 2-1, while Puerto Rico and Philippines are left at 0-3.