FIBA World Cup 2023 Results: Saturday Group Scores, Highlights and Reaction

Day 2 of the 2023 FIBA World Cup is in the books with many of the top contenders for a gold medal making a strong first impression.

Defending champion Spain, the United States, Serbia and Slovenia were the marquee teams in action. All four teams won on Saturday by an average margin of 28.5 points.

Brazil, which is seeking its first medal in this tournament since 1978, is off to a strong start after a comfortable 100-59 victory over Iran.

It was the largest margin of victory of the tournament for a short period of time, but it didn't last long because Serbia blew past China 105-63 behind Bogdan Bogdanović's 14 points.

Saturday Group Scores

Group B: Puerto Rico def. South Sudan, 101-96 (OT)

Group B: Serbia def. China, 105-63

Group C: Greece def. Jordan 92-71

Group C: USA def. New Zealand, 99-72

Group F: Georgia def. Cape Verde, 85-60

Group F: Slovenia def. Venezuela, 100-85

Group G: Brazil def. Iran, 100-59

Group G: Spain def. Ivory Coast, 94-64

2023 FIBA World Cup Day 2 Highlights and Reaction

This is a reset year for the United States. Steve Kerr is taking over as head coach and a new group of players are trying to make their mark on the team before the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

In their first test together, Team USA shrugged off a slow start en route to a 99-72 win over New Zealand. Paolo Banchero and Austin Reaves were the standout performers in the game.

Banchero scored 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting in 19 minutes off the bench. He also showed strong defensive chops with four blocks.

Reaves was the crowd favorite in the arena and rewarded them with 12 points, six assists and three steals.

Another encouraging sign for the United States is it had no problem beating New Zealand despite some lackluster performances from key players. Anthony Edwards led all starters with 14 points, but he committed five turnovers.

Brandon Ingram finished with two points on 1-of-4 shooting. Jaren Jackson Jr. quietly had 12 points, made all four of his field-goal attempts and free throws, but he also fouled out in just 16 minutes on the court.

Luka Dončić had a fantastic start to the tournament with 37 points, seven rebounds and six assists in Slovenia's 100-85 win over Venezuela.

The Slovenian offense was basically a two-man show between Dončić and Mike Tobey. They combined for 58 points, with Tobey going 9-of-9 from the field in 27 minutes.

Of course, one big reason Tobey was able to be so effective was because Dončić set him up for some easy looks at the basket.

Spain kicked off its tournament by scoring the first nine points en route to a 94-64 victory over Ivory Coast.

Willy Hernangómez's size created all sorts of problems for the Ivory Coast team. The seven-footer had an efficient 21 points (20 in the first half) on 9-of-12 shooting in 22 minutes.

All 12 Spanish players scored in the win and the team made almost as many free throws (15) as Ivory Coast did two-point field goals (16). They nearly doubled them in assists (29 to 15).

One of the most surprising results of the day was Puerto Rico's 101-96 win over South Sudan. The end result wasn't a shock, but the fact this game was as close as it was a bit of a stunner.

South Sudan led for most of the game and had a 12-point advantage midway through the third quarter. Puerto Rico closed the gap with a 21-14 scoring edge in the fourth quarter to force overtime.

Carlik Jones was able to force overtime with a game-tying three for South Sudan with 10.1 seconds remaining. Puerto Rico had a chance to win in regulation when Israel Romero was fouled with no time left on the clock, but he missed both of his free-throw attempts.

This is the first FIBA World Cup appearance for South Sudan. Puerto Rico has been a staple of this event since 1986, including three top-10 finishes.

The schedule for Sunday includes France taking on Latvia, Canada against Lebanon and Australia vs. Germany.