FIBA World Cup 2014: Semifinals Schedule and Predictions After Day 10 Results
So much for that United States and Spain showdown.
The FIBA World Cup saw its first stunning upset Wednesday when a France team playing without its leader Tony Parker knocked out Spain 65-52. Much like Brazil lost on its home soil in the FIFA World Cup, Spain simply could not come through under the immense pressure of playing in front of its own fans.
The upset set up a semifinal featuring France, Serbia, Lithuania and the United States. Here is a look at the schedule for the two games.
| Thursday, Sept. 11 | Lithuania vs. United States | 3 p.m. | ESPN | Watch ESPN |
| Friday, Sept. 12 | France vs. Serbia | 4 p.m. | ESPN 2 | Watch ESPN |
United States vs. Lithuania
Let’s not hand the United States the FIBA World Cup title just yet after Spain lost. NBA on ESPN pointed out that Lithuania has been a thorn in the Americans’ side in recent years:
Still, Team USA has controlled every single game in Spain. It is a testament to the squad’s dominance that a 21-point victory over Turkey in group play was cause for concern. Nobody has truly come close to beating Mike Krzyzewski’s team, and that will likely stay that way for the rest of the tournament.
The big men have been the key contributors for the Americans, and Anthony Davis (13.7 points and seven rebounds) and Kenneth Faried (13 points and 8.1 rebounds) are the top per-game scorers and rebounders thus far. Throw in DeMarcus Cousins, who has impressed in transition and with his interior defense, and nobody remaining in the tournament can match up.
Lithuania’s only real chance is if center Jonas Valanciunas contains the Faried-Davis combination. He is a member of the Toronto Raptors and is averaging a team-high 12.9 points and 8.6 rebounds a game.
The problem for Lithuania, though, is that even if Valanciunas somehow manages to prevent the trio of big men from dominating, the Americans have the advantage on perimeter.
The guards impressed the last time out against Slovenia and can crank up the defensive pressure on a moment’s notice. Klay Thompson finished with 20 points, James Harden had 14 points, five rebounds and three assists, Kyrie Irving tallied 12 points and four steals and Derrick Rose played his best offensive game with 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
There is just too much talent across the court for Team USA. This one won’t be close in the second half.
Prediction: United States 101, Lithuania 75
France vs. Serbia
While the France upset of Spain has garnered most of the attention, Serbia impressed against a Brazil team that has plenty of NBA talent in the form of Anderson Varejao, Nene Hilario, Tiago Splitter and Leandro Barbosa.
Still, the magnitude of the France win cannot be overstated. Spain brought Pau Gasol, Ricky Rubio, Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, Juan Carlos Navarro, Rudy Fernandez and Jose Calderon to the table and was completely shut down by France.
HoopsHype passed along Pau Gasol’s quote from after the game:
Spain played its worst contest yet because France turned in an incredible effort on both ends of the floor that should have the team confident moving forward.
Boris Diaw led the offense as a scorer and overall playmaker with 15 points, five rebounds and three assists behind 6-of-12 shooting. He looked comfortable with the ball in his hands and set the tone for his team early with a number of extra passes.
However, the player of the game had to be Rudy Gobert down low. He contended with the Gasol brothers and Ibaka and came away with 13 rebounds. More importantly, he challenged a number of shots and never backed down against the NBA superstars.
Gobert did it all with four fouls down the stretch too.
France should have incredible confidence in its defense against Serbia after holding mighty Spain to 52 points. If Diaw, Nicolas Batum and Thomas Heurtel find ways to score again, Serbia may have trouble keeping up, especially with Gobert patrolling the paint.
In order for Serbia to compete, Nemanja Bjelica will need to continue his impressive performance on the glass from the forward spot because France is now battle-tested in that department.
Serbia’s biggest advantage may actually be on the perimeter with Milos Teodosic, who scored 23 points against Brazil and has a way of getting into the lane and forcing the defense to collapse. He can either score himself with floaters and outside shots or set up teammates and will try to control the flow of the game for Serbia.
Still, France has an incredible amount of momentum on its side after the upset win and will continue to play well in the semifinals. It will find a way to set up a date with the Americans in the championship game.
Prediction: France 73, Serbia 67
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