August 26 preview: USA, Luka and La Familia join the party
MANILA (Philippines) – It only gets better from here on out at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 as the
What type of start does USA get off to?
No matter how impressive they looked in the preparation games, a large majority of us still might be thinking about the cold, hard facts.
To be more precise, by that we mean USA returning to the World Cup with 12 major event rookies on their roster after finishing seventh in 2019.
Their first game might end up being a real barn burner as their opponent N
ew Zealand are ones to frequently provide scores in the 90’s and even the 100’s. Also, do note that USA haven’t lost a preliminary round game since 1998 against Lithuania (82-84).
Are all of us simply living in Luka’s world?
They’re saying that Luka Doncic has reached an even higher level over this summer. Well, that’s a scary thought for the other 31 teams in this World Cup.
Slovenia were stopped in the Quarter-Final of EuroBasket 2022 and the Semi-Final of Tokyo 2020. As for the World Cup, this actually is the debut for the 24-year-old wonderkid and a large number of his teammates.
The EuroBasket 2017 champions start their quest for a return to the podium with a game against the physical and tough Venezuela.
Which rookie team celebrates a historical win?
Opening day allowed us to experience Latvia play their first-ever World Cup game and record an impressive 109-70 win against Lebanon.
However, it’s a fact that at least one more team without any prior World Cup experience will present their fans the joy of their first victory on the evening of August 26.
South Sudan have a promising team but will make their debut against Puerto Rico, who are participating in their 10th straight World Cup.
Meanwhile, Okinawa will hold a duel between Cape Verde and Georgia, with both teams going through the jitters of their first World Cup.
Other storylines for opening day
• World Cup 2019 champions Spain begin their campaign with a game against Cote d’Ivoire. We have a feeling this is just how Sergio Scariolo would prefer it. Without extra shine, buried in our preview under other stars and relying on La Familia’s team concepts.
• Who stands out as Greece’s leader against Jordan? Nikos Rogkavopoulos took up scoring responsibilities in preparation games. You can always rely on Kostas Papanikolaou and then there’s Thomas Walkup which makes a loaded frontcourt. Greece might not have Giannis, but they are deep in quality.
• Does Marcelinho Huertas reach his 100th World Cup assist? Iran might prevent that from happening today, yet Huertas (95) only needs five assists to join Ricky Rubio (130) and Pablo Prigioni (106) as the only players with 100+ assists in World Cup history (statistic for assists are available since 1994).
• Oh, and then there’s just the matter of Serbia starting their tournament off against China. Svetislav Pesic’s staff better have their scouting report ready for the duo of Li Kaier and Zhou Qi.
FIBA
