MANILA – The United States men’s basketball team vented its ire on Italy with a 100-63 domination in the quarterfinals round of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup last night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Mikal Bridges caught fire with 24 points, including four three-point conversions, to go with seven rebounds. Tyrese Haliburton connected six triples to end up with 18 markers, while Austin Reaves chipped in with 12 markers for Team USA.
Anthony Edwards, the team’s leading scorer in the tournament, was held to just three points, on 1-of-6 shooting, but hardly mattered as the Americans moved on to the semifinals against the winner of Germany-Latvia quarterfinals game.
Team USA went to work early behind Jalen Brunson and Brandon Ingram for a 24-14 first quarter lead. Bridges took over for the Americans in the second period as they padded the lead to 46-24 at the half.
The Americans continued its offensive onslaught in the second half with Bridges and Haliburton connecting their three-point baskets as the lead reached its biggest at 100-60 on a basket by Walker Kessler.
Simone Fontecchio top-scored for the Italians with 18 points, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks, while Stefano Tonut contributed 11 markers as Nicolo Melli had nine rebounds and five points.
Meanwhile, Serbia relied on a strong second quarter outburst to defeat erstwhile undefeated Lithuania, 87-68, in their quarterfinals encounter and clinch a seat in the semifinals.
Down 24-25 after the first 10 minutes, the Serbians rode on the hot hands of Bogdan Bogdanovic and inside conversions from Nikola Milutinov as they established a 49-38 halftime lead.
The Serbians widened the lead further in the second half as Stefan Jovic and Filip Petrusev also got their outside shots to fall as the lead grew to as high as 22 points at 79-57.
Bogdanovic top-scored for the Serbians with 21 points, including two key three-pointers in the second period, while Petrusev and Jovic netted three triples each to end up with 17 and 11 markers, respectively./PN
BOX SCORE:
USA 100 – Bridges 24, Haliburton 18, Reaves 12, Brunson 9, Banchero 8, Ingram 8, Portis 7, Hart 5, Kessler 4, Edwards 3, Jackson 2, Johnson 0.
ITALY 63 – Fontecchio 18, Tonut 11, Spissu 8, Ricci 5, Melli 5, Procida 4, Severini 4, Diouf 4, Datome 3, Polonara 1, Pajola 0, Spagnolo 0.
Quarterscores: 24-14, 46-24, 83-44, 100-63.
