U.S. reaches basketball World Cup semis, rebounding from stunning loss to Lithuania
Serbia also advances and will face Canada or Slovenia on Friday in Manila, Philippines
Losing a game at the basketball World Cup, the U.S. national team said, was quite the wake-up call. It brought a renewed focus, an extra level of commitment, even some promises to one another that things would change.
Poor Italy.
The Americans turned words into actions and handed the Italians their worst loss in a global tournament — the World Cup or the Olympics — in nearly 55 years. Mikal Bridges scored 24 points, Tyrese Haliburton added 18 on six 3-pointers and the U.S. simply was airtight defensively on the way to a 100-63 win in the World Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday night in Manila, Philippines.
"It's been a five-week journey for this group and there's five more days. That's how we look at it," U.S. head coach Steve Kerr said. "We're the horse turning back to the barn. The horse starts picking up pace when it's near the barn, and that's what's happening right now.
"Our guys are sensing this is the end of the journey and the energy picked up tonight, the pace, the force. They know what's ahead. They know what the goal is."
Gold is the goal, and the Americans can reach the gold-medal game if they win Friday in a semifinal against either Germany or Latvia; those teams meet Wednesday in a quarterfinal. The medal games are Sunday.
The last time Italy lost a game this badly in a tournament of this level was Oct. 14, 1968 — USA 100, Italy 61 in the Mexico City Olympics. The Italians shot 31 from 3-point range.
It was 46-24 U.S. by halftime, with Austin Reaves providing the exclamation point courtesy of a follow-slam that had his teammates out of their seats. The margin was that big despite Anthony Edwards — the team's leading scorer entering Tuesday, averaging just over 20 points in the first five games of the World Cup — not even getting on the scoresheet until the first possession of the third quarter.
Italy had beaten the U.S. only twice in 14 previous tries at the senior men's national level, both times at the world championships -- which FIBA now calls the World Cup. The first was in 1970 on the way to a fifth-place finish for the U.S. The second was in 1978, in Manila no less, a defeat that helped relegate the Americans to a fifth-place finish that year as well.
"They played very good basketball," Italian forward Luigi Datome said. "They created very good shots and they made them."
Serbia 87, Lithuania 68
Lithuania beat the U.S. at the 1998 world championships, then failed to medal. Lithuania then beat the U.S. again at the 2004 Olympics, then failed to medal.
And history will repeat itself at this World Cup.
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 18 of his 21 points in the first half and Serbia — motivated by a serious injury endured by one of its players — topped previously unbeaten Lithuania 87-68 in the World Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday in a result that means Lithuania cannot medal in Manila this weekend. The best Lithuania can do now is fifth place.
"The game against the United States, as you can see now, it's nothing," said Lithuania's Tadas Sedekerskis, who led his team with 14 points. "It's just history. We don't have any chances to fight for the medal."
Serbia played with forward Borisa Simanic's jersey draped over a chair in its bench area. Simanic lost a kidney after being elbowed in a game against South Sudan last week; he needed surgery after that game, and complications prompted doctors to operate again Sunday and remove the damaged kidney.
"He texted us this morning," Bogdanovic said. "He texted us, 'Hey, guys, I'm all right. After two surgeries, I'm all right. I'm healthy. Just get the win. Don't think about me and let's win tonight.' It was a huge boost and huge energy tonight, so thanks to Borisa. This was also for him."
Serbia (5-1) will play Canada or Slovenia in Friday's semifinals. The Canada-Slovenia quarterfinal game is Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. ET; the loser plays Lithuania (5-1) in the consolation playoffs Thursday.
WATCH | Canada clinches Olympic berth:
Teams cannot medal after losing in the quarterfinals but will play two more games before leaving Manila to determine fifth through eighth place in the tournament's overall standings.
The loss continues a peculiar jinx for Lithuania, which is 3-8 all-time against the U.S. at the senior men's national level, and has turned those three wins into exactly zero medals. Lithuania was playing less than 48 hours after beating the U.S. 110-104 to close out second-round play in Manila.
Serbia is in the semifinals for the third time at the last four World Cups. It lost to Turkey in the semifinals of the 2010 tournament (and then fell to Lithuania in the bronze-medal game) and lost to the U.S. in the title game of the 2014 event.
Filip Petrusev scored 17 points and Stefan Jovic added 11 for Serbia.
Rokas Jokubaitis had 13 points and nine assists, while Jonas Valanciunas and Ignas Brazdeikis scored 11 apiece for Lithuania.
