FIBA World Cup 2014: Day 2 Schedule and Predictions After Day 1 Group Results
Action at the 2014 FIBA World Cup has officially begun in Spain, with Saturday's opening day featuring a dozen group-stage matches between all 24 nations involved.
The early part of Day 1 was packed with exciting matchups, including down-to-the-wire affairs between many notable teams. But everything pointed toward two late fixtures, as Team USA got started against Finland and the hosts Spain opened up against Iran.
With the group stage just getting underway, more games are on the slate for Day 2 and beyond that are worth tuning into.
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Here are the complete Day 1 results, along with a look forward to Day 2.
| C | USA 114, Finland 55 |
| A | Spain 90, Iran 60 |
| B | Croatia 81, Philippines 78 |
| C | Ukraine 72, Dominican Republic 62 |
| D | Angola 80, South Korea 69 |
| A | Serbia 85, Egypt 64 |
| C | Turkey 76, New Zealand 73 |
| B | Argentina 98, Puerto Rico 75 |
| D | Slovenia 90, Australia 80 |
| A | Brazil 65, France 63 |
| B | Greece 87, Senegal 64 |
| D | Lithuania 87, Mexico 74 |
| Dominican Republic vs. New Zealand | 6:30 a.m. | New Zealand |
| Argentina vs. Croatia | 7:30 a.m. | Argentina |
| South Korea vs. Australia | 7:30 a.m. | Australia |
| Serbia vs. France | 9:30 a.m. | France |
| Finland vs. Ukraine | 10 a.m. | Ukraine |
| Senegal vs. Puerto Rico | 11:30 a.m. | Puerto Rico |
| Slovenia vs. Mexico | 11:30 a.m. | Slovenia |
| Brazil vs. Iran | Noon | Brazil |
| Philippines vs. Greece | 2 p.m. | Greece |
| Lithuania vs. Angola | 2 p.m. | Lithuania |
| United States vs. Turkey | 3:30 p.m. | USA |
| Spain vs. Egypt | 4 p.m. | Spain |
Day 2 Top Games
United States vs. Turkey
Team USA looks to continue a run toward a second straight FIBA World Cup championship on Sunday with a Group C battle with Turkey.
The Americans got off to the start they desired on Saturday, easily dominating Finland 114-55 in their opener to start out with a bang. After outscoring Finland 29-2 in the second quarter alone, Team USA had four players finish in double figures.
But head coach Mike Krzyzewski isn't the only one bringing a victor into Sunday's contest, as Turkey defeated New Zealand in its opener. The Turks posted an eight-point first quarter, before getting back into it in the second half and pulling out a close 76-73 victory.
Stifling Turkey's bench attack should be a priority for the USA. Four bench players—Oguz Savas, Baris Hersek, Cenk Akyol and Kerem Tunceri—combined to score 40 points against New Zealand.
Turkey might have the depth to eke out victories against other opponents, but it won't be able to replicate that on Sunday. Team USA's bench goes deep with star NBA talent that will be energized and ready in the 40-minute contests.
Considering Team USA's hot start on Saturday, it would be foolish to predict anyone other than Spain beating the Americans this summer.
Prediction: USA wins, 90-61
Spain vs. Egypt
Spain figures to have its hands full during certain stretches of its round-robin play in Group A, but that shouldn't be the case on Sunday against Egypt.
It will be the second appearance for the host nation in the tournament, after Spain opened in style with a 90-60 win over Iran. As expected, Spain held a massive rebounding advantage, and Pau Gasol went off for 33 points.
Meanwhile, Egypt got off to a poor start in the tournament. The Egyptians were one of many teams to be beaten by more than 20 points on Saturday, falling to Serbia, 85-64.
Egypt is making just its first trip to the World Cup since 1994 but coming in off an inspiring silver-medal finish at the 2013 FIBA Africa Championship. Other than 36-year-old captain Wael Badr, the Egyptians boast a shockingly young roster that struggled to contend with Serbia at all on Saturday.
Spain brings in Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, Rudy Fernandez, Ricky Rubio and more to the fold and look to have no true weaknesses. This one isn't a matter of who will win but how much Spain will win by.
Prediction: Spain wins, 98-64
Argentina vs. Croatia
If the opening day of the tournament is the time for favorites to emerge with blowout wins, then chalk Argentina as a dark horse to contend with Spain and Team USA. On Day 2, the Argentines will look to continue their momentum against Croatia.
Argentina cruised to a 98-75 victory over scrappy Puerto Rico on Saturday, using a complete, team-wide effort to stifle its opponent on defense and keep the offense flowing—nearly hitting the century mark.
NBA on ESPN noted Argentina did so without Manu Ginobili, who isn't competing in the event:
As expected, Luis Scola was the leader offensively for Argentina with 20 points, also adding nine boards. Walter Herrmann and Andres Nocioni finished with double-doubles in the frontcourt, while Pablo Prigioni dished 10 assists.
Scola, Prigioni and company will be hard-pressed to continue their success against the Croatians. Bojan Bogdanovic has been dominant in the backcourt thus far, scoring 26 points in an opening win over the Philippines. He gets balanced help from his teammates.
However, Bogdanovic will be more easily bottled up by Argentina's physical frontcourt presence, and the Argentines are simply playing too well and clicking too much at the moment to lose. Expect Argentina to continue dominating through two days.
Prediction: Argentina wins, 91-76
| 1 | Serbia | 1 | 0 |
| 1 | Spain | 1 | 0 |
| 1 | Brazil | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | France | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Egypt | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Iran | 0 | 1 |
| 1 | Greece | 1 | 0 |
| 1 | Argentina | 1 | 0 |
| 1 | Croatia | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | Philippines | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Puerto Rico | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Senegal | 0 | 1 |
| 1 | USA | 1 | 0 |
| 1 | Ukraine | 1 | 0 |
| 1 | Turkey | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Dominican Republic | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Finland | 0 | 1 |
| 1 | Angola | 1 | 0 |
| 1 | Slovenia | 1 | 0 |
| 1 | Lithuania | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | Mexico | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Australia | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | South Korea | 0 | 1 |
Follow Steven Cook on Twitter: @steventerrycook
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