FIBA World Cup: Greeks, Czechs advance to 2nd round; Day 6 takeaways

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Giannis Antetokounmpo had his strongest game of the FIBA World Cup and helped Greece advance to the 2nd round with a win over New Zealand.

First-round play concluded Thursday at the FIBA World Cup, with Greece holding off a stubborn New Zealand side and the Czech Republic putting away the flat Turkish squad to fill out the second round.

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Greece, coming off a gut-punch of a loss to Brazil on Tuesday, led by as much as 13 against the Tall Blacks, but New Zealand wouldn’t go away, pushing the tempo and getting a huge game from Corey Webster in their 103-97 loss.

But Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks finally played like the reigning MVP of the NBA, doing a little of everything in his longest stint — 30 minutes — thus far in the tournament.

Antetokounmpo finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and six assists and Greece also got a boost from the outside, as Ioannis Papapetrou canned 4-of-6 from 3-point range and finished with 16 points.

The Greeks led by five entering the final quarter and opened with a 9-2 burst to go up 80-68. Every time New Zealand made a run, Greece had an answer. Antetokounmpo stopped a 9-2 run by the Tall Blacks with a drive to the basket and a three-point play.

Greece’s lead never got to less than six after that.

Earlier on Thursday, the Czech Republic punched its ticket to the second round, competing in the FIBA World Cup for the first time since their split from Slovakia in the early 1990s.

Turkey, which lost to overtime to the United States on Tuesday, fixed its problems at the free throw line, hitting 19-of-22. The problem for the Turks was they couldn’t make much from anywhere else.

Ersan Ilyasova of the Bucks, who played so well in the first two games of the tournament, was a virtual no-show against the Czechs, finishing with six points while going 0-for-9 from the floor.

Cedi Osman of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who missed two crucial free throws late against the Americans, bounced back with a big game, scoring 24 points, but was ejected in the final minute after an egregious unsportsmanlike foul (FIBA’s terminology, not mine) in which he was ruled to have taken a swipe above the shoulders of Jaromir Bohacik.

Tomas Satoransky of the Chicago Bulls had a terrible shooting night, but finished with seven assists, while big man Ondrej Balvin went off for 17 points and 11 rebounds on 8-of-9 shooting.

The Czech Republic (2-1) is the second team to advance from Group E, joining Team USA (3-0). The Americans had no problem putting away winless Japan, 98-45.

In Group F. Brazil finished unbeaten at 3-0 with an 84-73 win over Montenegro and advances with Greece into the second round’s Group K, which begins Saturday in Shenzhen. Brazil plays the Czech Republic at 4:30 a.m. Eastern, followed by Team USA and Greece at 8:30 a.m. Eastern.

The other two groups featured matchups between unbeaten teams and winless squads playing for positioning in the next round.

France finished off a 3-0 first round in Group G with a dominating 90-56 victory over the Dominican Republic, while Germany will head to the classification round with momentum after pasting Jordan 96-62.

In Group H, however, it was Australia hanging on for an 87-82 win over Lithuania, which had dominated each of its first two games. Canada picked up its first win of the tournament in blowout fashion, taking down Senegal 82-60.

In Group L, to be played in Nanting, Australia and France enter at 3-0, with the Dominicans and Lithuanians at 2-1. Australia and the Dominican Republic tip off at 4 a.m. Eastern on Saturday, with France and Lithuania tangling at 8 a.m. Eastern.