FIBA Basketball World Cup: NBA-Powered USA Falls to Lithuania as Final 8 Revealed

Lithuania, led by New Orleans Pelicans star Jonas Valanciunas, upset the NBA-powered Team USA to advance to the FIBA World Cup Final 8, marking the first loss for the Americans in the tournament. However, both teams still advanced to the quarterfinals.

Even without Sacramento Kings star Domantas Sabonis, Lithuania managed to remain undefeated in Manila, Philippines against the heavily-favored Americans, which is made up of only up-and-coming NBA players, with superstars like Steph Curry, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant notably missing.

According to NBC Sports, it was a mere formality, and the match was only to determine seeding, but it was certainly a wake-up call for the Americans, who suffered a humbling 110- 104 loss against the Lithuanians. Their European opponents exploded to a very large lead in the first quarter and even led as much as 20 points. The Americans rallied, but the Lithuanians managed to hold them off in the end.

"It doesn't ease the pain of the loss that we had tonight for us, but for USA Basketball, it's a good thing," said Team USA head coach Steve Kerr, who also coaches the Golden State Warriors. "To be honest, I'm not worried about the Olympics. I'm worried about this. We want to win the World Cup."

"I didn't feel like we let down," said the former Chicago Bulls shooter. "They just punched us in the mouth. Right away, they made every shot. They executed. I don't think it was a case of us not being ready. I think it was a case of them playing a perfect first quarter and us understanding how hard we're going to have to play."

Who Are the FIBA Basketball World Cup Final 8?

USA and Lithuania are now through to the quarterfinals, along with eight other teams who will be facing off at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Philippines. Other teams in the Final 8 include Italy, Germany, Latvia, Serbia, Canada, and Slovenia.

The United States, led by Anthony Edwards, managed to get second in its group and will now face off against Italy in the quarterfinals next, according to CBS Sports. The match will happen on Tuesday, September 5, 2023. Before that, Lithuania will take on Serbia on the same date.

For September 6, unbeaten Germany, led by LA Lakers star Dennis Schroeder, will take on Latvia, while Canada will try and stop Luka magic as they take on Slovenia, which is led by Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic.

Who Are the Favorites To Win the FIBA Basketball World Cup

Several big names have already been eliminated from the FIBA Basketball World Cup, including Australia, the Dominican Republic, France, Brazil, and defending champions Spain. However, there is still one team with the biggest target of them all, and that is Team USA. Despite the humbling defeat against Lithuania, the Americans are expected to bounce back big against the Italians, who were previously defeated by the Dominican Republic and almost lost against the Jordan Clarkson-led Philippines.

Despite being defeated by Brazil, many also say Canada might win it all, too, as the team led by Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been red-hot and was the one responsible for eliminating Spain.

Meanwhile, Germany has remained undefeated and is the favorite in their match-up against Latvia. Lithuania is coming in with a ton of momentum after upsetting the United States, while Slovenia has one very scary name on its roster: Luka Doncic.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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