FIBA World Cup 2014 Results: Scores, Updated Bracket and Day 8 Highlights
The round of 16 at the 2014 FIBA World Cup of Basketball began on Saturday with four marquee games, and the madness continues on Day 8 when the final four teams advance to the quarterfinals.
With talented teams like Brazil, Serbia and New Zealand all in action, even casual basketball fans should be watching the FIBA event to determine which nation Team USA will have to overcome if the team gets past Slovenia in the quarterfinals.
Here are the Day 8 results, scores, updated bracket and highlights from Sunday’s action.
Round of 16 Bracket
Day 8 Scores
| Lithuania | 76-71 | New Zealand |
| Serbia | 90-72 | Greece |
| Turkey | 65-64 | Australia |
| Brazil | 85-65 | Argentina |
Day 8 Results and Highlights
The first day of round of 16 action lived up to the expectations, and basketball fans are hoping for the same from Sunday. With four marquee matchups on the schedule, that won’t be an issue.
The day started with Lithuania defeating New Zealand, 76-71. Lithuania had several players step up during this game, but none made an impact as large as Jonas Valanciunas. The big man racked up 22 points and added 13 rebounds as well.
Lithuania head coach Jonas Kazlauskas talked about his star player’s performance to the Associated Press, via the Washington Post, saying, “Jonas played really well and that’s what we expected. He has gotten stronger and has more experience. Now he respects his opponents even more and knows the price of every game.”
Even in defeat, Corey Webster of New Zealand proved to be one of the best players on the court. He paced his team with 26 points and added four rebounds to further prove the effort level he was putting on display.
The second game of the nigh was Serbia’s 90-72 beating on Greece. Led by Bogdan Bogdanovic’s 21 points off the bench, Serbia had four players reach double-digit points and looked like one of the best all-around teams in the tournament.
Greece had a solid effort from its starting lineup, but there was no player who stepped up big in the key moments. A lack of performance from the bench and the ability to hit big buckets doomed the Greek team.
Emir Preldzic lifted Turkey to a 65-64 victory over Australia with a stunning game-winning three pointer in the final seconds.
Preldzic, who plies his trade professionally for Fenerbahce, was a somewhat unlikely hero. He made just five of his 14 shots from the floor in the contest.
The shot came right on the heels of another Preldzic triple, a fine finish for a close, compelling contest. NBA rookie Dante Exum continued to disappoint, finishing with zero points in just 10 minutes of play. Aron Baynes led Australia with 15 points.
In the day's final contest, Brazil demolished continental rival Argentina by a final score of 85-65.
Argentina didn't stand much of a chance with Brazil shooting 65.9 percent from the field in the contest. They did a fine job of taking away the three-pointer, but Pablo Prigioni and his 18 points weren't nearly enough to combat this hot-shooting team.
Raulzinho Neto led all scorers with 21 points, while the Cleveland Cavaliers Anderson Varejao chipped in eight points, nine rebounds and four assists in a fine all-around effort.
Team USA beat Mexico on Saturday to advance to the next round and will now take on Slovenia Tuesday. The Americans remain unbeaten in the tournament and look to be the clear favorite to bring home the 2014 FIBA World Cup.
With a full schedule on Sunday and a day off on Monday, the FIBA tournament is just starting to heat up.
*Stats via FIBA.com.
