FIBA World Cup 2014: TV Schedule, Live Stream, Semifinal Prediction for Day 12
Friday's semifinal matchup between France and Serbia will determine who faces Team USA for the 2014 FIBA World Cup gold medal.
Either way, it's not the contest everyone expected. France verified the old adage about assuming by shocking Spain in the quarterfinals. Without Tony Parker and Joakim Noah, it has a shot of competing for the championship.
First, France must overcome Serbia, another unlikely semifinal contestant. Heading into the tournament, it was a nation not known for its basketball dominance, placed No. 11 in the FIBA world rankings.
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Which country will earn the unenviable task of meeting the United States on Sunday? Here's a preview for the semifinal showdown.
| Friday, Sept. 12 | 4:00 p.m. | ESPN2 | WatchESPN | Semifinal |
Game is available for live streaming at WatchESPN.
France vs. Serbia Preview
The FIBA power rankings went like this: USA No. 1, peering over everyone else from the sky, and Spain well above everyone else at No. 2. An epic clash between the two titans felt inevitable, until France ruined those plans.
Behind a 10-0 run, France topped Spain in front of a shocked home crowd. Considering Spain's prior dominance in the tournament, per ESPN Stats & Info, its opponent never was treated as a viable threat.
Without Parker and Noah, France still managed the upset despite losing to the same Spanish squad by 24 points last week. Boris Diaw led the way with 15 points, but fellow NBA star Nicolas Batum has averaged a team-high 9.9 points per game throughout the tournament.
The Portland Trail Blazers forward described the team's strategy to ESPN.com's Mark Woods.
"We knew that if we kept it close, they're going to die because they can't lose this game. It's their World Cup in their home country. So if we stayed close, we'd have a chance down the stretch and we did it. We had momentum on our side. And the crowd wasn't into it at the end. That was our goal. Don't bring the crowd into it. When they started coming back, we didn't panic. We stayed calm. They got a good run but we stayed together, we kept playing our defense, we stayed together and we did it.
"
Those are the two most notable names that fueled France to the final four, but Joffrey Lauvergne deserves just as much credit. The 22-year-old, whose rights are owned by the Denver Nuggets, has registered 9.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and a team-high 10.7 efficiency rating, per FIBA.com.
If the boy king wants to sit on the throne, the 6'11" forward must trade jabs with Serbia's imposing big men. Six players on the roster, four of them centers, register at 6'10" or taller. Miroslav Raduljica has especially proved treacherous down low, posting a double-digit point tally in every game this tournament.
Yet despite its massive size, Serbia ranks near the bottom of rebounding at No. 19. It also falls in the bottom half of blocks with 1.6 rejections per game. The height advantage wasn't enough to secure the opening meeting between these two countries.
When they met on Aug. 31, Raduljica posted 21 points and seven rebounds, but Serbia fell just shy during a one-point loss. A similar outing from the 26-year-old, however, could help Serbia erase the point discrepancy with a luckier bounce here or there.
Each side will need to shoot better from downtown this time around. During their earlier thriller, Serbia made four of 18 three-point attempts while Les Bleus converted seven of its 23 deep shots. Since Serbia has a 38.3 three-point percentage to France's 31.6 success rate throughout the tournament, it's more likely to improve in that facet, which will make all the difference in another close call.
Written off without its big names in attendance, France has still ridden a well-balanced roster to the semifinals. Even after a perfect victory where everything went right, everything won't go wrong for Serbia like it did for Spain.
Along with its size, Serbia also contains dangerous scorers, most notably Phoenix Suns draft pick Bogdan Bogdanovic. A stronger game from him will put the Serbs on the winning side of its rematch with France.
Prediction: Serbia 72, France 70
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