2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup news and updates

[Troll Montero]

di kase ginamit ni chot reyes si fajardo masyado nung sa puerto rico


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[Troll Montero]

Sent from my iMommy

[Zurca]

MVP: FIBA informed of Philippines’ intention to bid for 2019 World Cup

After an attention-grabbing performance for the Philippine national men’s basketball team in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain, the basketball-crazy nation is now looking to carry that momentum over and host the next staging of the tournament.

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president Manuel V. Pangilinan had previously hinted at interest in hosting the event but has now informed FIBA, through secretary-general Patrick Baumann, of the country’s intention of bringing the FIBA World Cup to the Philippines in 2019.

“Kahapon nag-usap kami ni Mr. Baumann tsaka a few days ago. Hindi pa official but we told them we would make a bid,” the sports patron told InterAksyon.com.

He added that the official bidding process will likely begin in the middle of next year.

The SBP head had earlier spoke of the significance of staging the event on home soil.

“From our country’s perspective, importante na we host it,” Pangilinan said in an interview with News5′s Luchi Cruz-Valdez.

“Hindi lang yun, we’ll be given an automatic slot sa World Cup if we host it in 2019.”

The Philippines last hosted the FIBA World Cup in 1978 with then-president Gonzalo “Lito” Puyat making things possible for the event to be staged in the country.

The country hosted two FIBA-sanctioned events over the last two years – the FIBA Asia Championship, which was held last year at the Mall of Asia Arena, and the Manila leg of the FIBA 3×3 World Tour.

Gilas Pilipinas, which has generated plenty of interest with its heart and resiliency in thrilling games against favored teams like Croatia and Argentina, finished off their campaign with an overtime win over Senegal.

From InterAksyon
Post Merge: September 05, 2014, 10:36:52 AMFIBA World Cup 2014 Day 6 Results, Scores, Highlights

Day 6 Scores

Angola 91, Australia 83

Philippines 81, Senegal 79 (OT)

New Zealand 67, Finland 65

Brazil 128, Egypt 65

Mexico 87, Korea 71

USA 95, Ukraine 71

France 81, Iran 76

Croatia 103, Puerto Rico 82

Lithuania 67, Slovenia 64

Turkey 77, Dominican Republic 64

Greece 79, Argentina 71

Spain 89, Serbia 73


Day 6 Results and Highlights

The final day of group play started fast on Thursday. Angola needed a victory in the first game against Australia to stay in contention in Group D. Despite the immense pressure, the Angolans pulled off the win, 91-83, over the Australians.

The biggest star of the game was Yanick Moreira of Angola. The talented player brought his best in the must-win situation, racking up 38 points and 15 rebounds in 32 minutes.

The thrilling action picked up in the second game of the day as well. The Philippines held on for a tough overtime victory against Senegal, 81-79. The two nations went toe-to-toe for most of the game, but it was the Philippines who had enough firepower to earn the victory.

Led by the all-around play from Andray Blatche (18 points and 14 rebounds), the Philippines was able to hold on to the win despite the effort from Mouhammad Faye (20 points and five rebounds) of Senegal. While the Philippines victory means nothing since it is already eliminated, this was a devastating loss for Senegal.

Team USA was in action Thursday against Ukraine. The Americans did not have their best performance, but they did manage to earn a 95-71 against the overmatched Ukrainians. James Harden led Team USA with 17 points, but it was Kyrie Irving’s play at point guard that led the team to victory.

The Americans will play Mexico on Saturday in the first elimination-round game.

Thursday's later games featured a pivotal matchup of Group D powerhouses Lithuania and Slovenia. As expected, this one came down to the wire. But surprisingly enough, Slovenia's dismal two-point performance in the fourth-quarter was the reason for the team suffering its first loss of the tournament.

With Lithuania's impressive victory, it finishes atop the group. This puts the team in great position heading into the elimination rounds. Slovenia will continue in the tournament despite taking a loss; however, it will need to regain its momentum quickly, as it will face the United States sooner than it would have preferred.

Turkey notched its third win of the tournament on Thursday against the Dominican Republic. The win secured the team's second-place standing in Group C behind the Americans. Oguz Savas was on point for the Turkish team, accumulating 15 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Turkey will face Australia in its first elimination contest.

The Dominican Republic still advances despite the loss. Francisco Garcia and Co. move on to face Slovenia on Saturday. After watching Slovenia's struggles on Thursday, this team should be seeking an upset.

Greece completed its sweep of Group B on Thursday, defeating a strong Argentinian team by a score of 79-71. The victory puts Greece in great position heading into the elimination rounds, as the team is set to take on Serbia.

Argentina falls to third in Group B following its loss, forcing the team to face Brazil in the first elimination round. This should come as quite a contest considering Brazil's only loss in the group stage came against world No. 2 Spain.

Spain continued to roll through the group stage on Thursday, easily defeating Serbia and cruising to a 5-0 record. Pau Gasol and Co. now moves on to face Senegal in the first elimination round. Senegal finished fourth in Group B with a 2-3 record and should provide little challenge to a very talented Spanish team.

Serbia barely squeezes into elimination play following its third loss of the tournament. The team's 2-3 record is good enough for fourth in Group A and a matchup against Greece on Sunday.

From Bleacher Report

[fayt]

A good win for them but it amplifies the feeling of regret in losing to Puerto Rico....

Anyway.... my congrats to them.

[2013rev2013]

 

kung kailan walang bearing dun ginamit ang utak sa pagbalasa ng players, ginamit ng sabay si blatche and fajardo.. naku po!!!
4-1 sana o kahit panalo lang sa puerto rico, pasok na sana sa second round..

[Zurca]

US, Spain, Greece finish FIBA World Cup group play unbeaten

SEVILLE, Spain - Reigning champions United States, hosts Spain and Greece finished group play Thursday, September 4 at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup unbeaten while Lithuania handed Slovenia their first defeat of the tournament.

James Harden scored 17 points to lead the Americans to a 95-71 victory in Group C while four others hit for at least 10 points.

United States topped Group C at 5-0 and the victory also cost Ukraine a spot in the Round of 16 as they dropped from second in the group going into the day to fifth.

Turkey took second in the group after a 77-64 win over third placed Dominican Republic with Ogus Savas leading the way with 15 points.

New Zealand snatched up the fourth and final knockout berth in the group with a 67-65 win over Finland. Isaac Fotu collected 18 points and eight rebounds for the Kiwis.

New Zealand's reward will be a Round of 16 date with Lithuania, who allowed just two points in the fourth quarter for a 67-64 win over previously unbeaten Slovenia to take first place in Group D. Jonas Valanciunas led Lithuania with 12 points.

Slovenia finished second despite 14 points from Domen Lorbek and will take on Dominican Republic in the knockouts.

Also in Group D, Angola beat Australia 91-83 with Yannick Moreira collecting 38 points and 15 rebounds. Australia, who will face Turkey in the last 16, rested two of their top players Joe Ingles and Aron Baynes.

Mexico secured fourth place in the group - and a date with the United States - with an 87-71 victory over South Korea. Hector Hernandez had 16 points and 11 rebounds for Mexico.

Both Groups A and B were won by undefeated teams.

Group A winners Spain built an early lead and never let Serbia back into the game in an 89-73 victory as Pau Gasol had 20 points and Ricky Rubio collected 12 points, four rebounds, six assists and seven steals.

Serbia, who got 19 point from Nemanja Bjelica, finished fourth in the group.

Brazil took second place with a 4-1 record following a 128-65 thrashing of winless Egypt as Leandroinho Barbosa had 22 points and Anderson Varejao collected 15 points and 10 rebounds.

France booked a ticket to the Round of 16 with an 81-76 win over Iran as Thomas Huertel was top scorer with 15 points. Iran finished at 1-4 despite 22 points and 15 rebounds from Hamed Haddadi.


Classic European battle

Group B was topped by Greece, who knocked off Argentina 79-71 as Nick Calathes had 18 points and Giannis Bourousis chipped in 16 points and 15 rebounds.

The Greeks will next face off with Serbia in a classic European battle.

Argentina, who got 17 points from Luis Scola, finished third in the group and will do battle with South American rivals Brazil.

Earlier in Group B, Bojan Bogdanovic poured in 23 points as Croatia beat Puerto Rico 103-82 in a winner-moves-on, loser-goes-home showdown. Croatia jumped all the way to second and take on France in the Round of 16.

The day in Group B started with a feel-good story as Philippines picked up their first World Championship victory since 1974 by knocking off Senegal 81-79 as Jim Alapag scored 18 points and Andray Blatche had 18 points and 14 rebounds.

Senegal dropped to 2-3 in the group but claimed fourth place with a Round of 16 match-up against Spain awaiting.

The World Cup takes a day off on Friday before the Round of 16 games are played Saturday and Sunday.

From Rappler

[Itachi101]

official na
pang 20th tayo sa ranking ng
2014 fiba world cup
sa lahat ng 24 teams na kasali
hindi yan sa world ranking HA

[Zurca]

FIBA World Cup Round of 16 Results

USA 86, Mexico 63

Another sluggish Team USA start turned into a rout quickly once Stephen Curry got hot. The Golden State Warriors star hit three three-pointers in the third quarter, pushing a 15-point lead into a margin exceeding 20 points in the span of a few minutes. Curry ended with 20 points on 10 shots. Mexico played admirably and hung in there for a half thanks to free agent big man Gustavo Ayon, who scored 25 points in an audition for NBA teams. But Ayon's impact in the second half was stunted by DeMarcus Cousins, allowing Team USA to pull away.


France 69, Croatia 64

This was a game of runs. Croatia jumped ahead early, then France rallied to take a one-point halftime lead. France then jumped on Croatia in the third quarter, but Croatia fought back to cut a double-digit lead down to seven. In the end, though, France's depth was too much for Bojan Bogdanovic to overcome. The Brooklyn Nets wing scored 27 points, but didn't get enough help, allowing France to move on to face Spain. The next question: is this it for Croatia coach Jasmin Repesa, who was under fire throughout the tournament?


Slovenia 71, Dominican Republic 61

Slovenia pushed to a 10-point halftime lead and looked poised to pull away, but had to fend off a Dominican rally in the fourth quarter to advance. The Dominican Republic cut Slovenia's lead to two points at two different points in the fourth quarter, the last of which was on a three by Ronald Ramon with 6:16 remaining. But Slovenia responded, preventing a second straight fourth quarter collapse with a strong finish. Zoran Dragic (Goran's brother) continued his strong tournament with 18 points. The road gets tough for Slovenia from here, as Team USA awaits.


Spain 89, Senegal 56

As expected, Spain had little trouble with Gorgui Dieng's mates, taking a double-digit lead at halftime, pushing it to 22 points midway through the third quarter and closing with a big run once Senegal cut it back down to 16. Ricky Rubio was spectacular without scoring big, contributing six assists and five steals in just over 20 minutes. Dieng, meanwhile, struggled badly against Spain's big frontcourt, shooting just 1-9 and scoring six points. Spain now faces France in a rematch of the 2012 Olympics quarterfinals.

From SB Nation


Bracket Update

Barcelona Bracket

United States vs. Slovenia

New Zealand / Lithuania winner vs. Turkey / Australia winner


Madrid Bracket

France vs. Spain

Serbia / Greece winner vs. Brazil / Argentina winner

[2013rev2013]

ganda ng laro Turkey vs Australia,
come from behind win ng Turkey 65-64..
cold-blooded 3 by Emir PRELDZIC

[Zurca]

FIBA World Cup Round of 16 Results

Brazil 85, Argentina 65

Argentina's Golden Generation may have played its final game. Luis Scola and company led for most of the first half, but Brazil took control with a run late in the third quarter, turning a three-point halftime deficit into a double-digit lead. Argentina tried responding in the fourth quarter, but Brazil was on too much of a roll and eventually pulled away. Brazil scored 52 points in the second half after just 33 in the first half.

That Brazil ended Argentina's run is especially painful. The two have battled for South American supremacy for years, with Brazil rising after Argentina took the world by storm in 2002 and 2004. Legendary coach Ruben Magnano, who led Argentina to gold in the 2004 Olympics, switched to Brazil in 2010, adding fuel to the rivalry.

To this point, Argentina maintained the upper hand, eliminating Brazil in the 2010 FIBA World Championships and in a tense quarterfinal at the 2012 Olympics. But Argentina's ranks have become too depleted. Manu Ginobili and Carlos Delfino sat out this cycle due to injury, and several young players failed to fill the void. Scola, 37-year-old Pablo Prigioni, soon-to-be 35-year-old Andres Nocioni and 35-year-old Walter Hermann tried their best, but they couldn't carry the rest of the group.

If this is it for the remaining members of the Golden Generation, they will be remembered as a group that changed international basketball. Before they burst onto the scene, it looked like nobody could beat the United States. By doing so twice, Argentina showed other countries that the gap between the U.S. and the rest of the world wasn't as wide as many initially thought.


Turkey 65, Australia 64

Emir Preldzic squared up against his defender on the left wing and stepped back to swish a three-pointer with five seconds left, giving Turkey a dramatic victory over Australia.

Preldzic finished with 16 points and helped Turkey advance to face Lithuania in the quarterfinal round despite some obvious flaws and a come-from-behind win. Australia outrebounded Turkey by 14, but had shooting woes from the field and free throw line, where it missed 9 of 19 shots. Aron Baynes led Australia with 15 points, while Matthew Dellavedova added 13 and five assists.


Serbia 90, Greece 72

Greece's perfect group stage apparently didn't mean much, and neither did Serbia's 2-3 record in a difficult Group A. Suns draft pick Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting in the victory, and Miroslav Raduljica added 16 points and six rebounds. Grizzlies point guard Nick Calathes led Greece with 14 points, while Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo scored seven.


Lithuania 76, New Zealand 71

Toronto Raptors big man Jonas Valanciunas finally had the breakout international performance his country was seeking, scoring 22 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. He went 8-for-11 from the floor and hit six free throws while getting help from Rockets forward Donatas Motiejunas, who scored eight points and added eight more rebounds. Corey Webster led New Zealand with 26 points in the losing effort.

From SB Nation


Bracket Update

Barcelona Bracket

United States vs. Slovenia

Lithuania vs. Turkey


Madrid Bracket

France vs. Spain

Serbia vs. Brazil

[Troll Montero]

grabe natalo ang greece kanina... parang sinabing napakahina namg braket na pinanggalingan nang gilas hehe   walang lumusot sa braket nila


Sent from my iMommy

[Zurca]

Slovenia, France try to derail favorites Team USA, Spain as quarterfinals begin

MADRID – From the start of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, the United States and Spain have been on a collision course from two different sides of the bracket.

Slovenia get their chance to derail the American express in the quarterfinals while extra motivated France face off again with Spain.

The United States have been beating opponents by 31.5 points and no one has challenged them closer than 20 points.

Still, US coach Mike Krzyzewski warned against overconfidence as his team plays against Slovenia – a side the Americans beat in a warm-up just before the World Cup.

“You have to forget the friendly, because they were holding their guys back. They were going to get started right there in pool play, and Goran (Dragic) was held down in minutes in that game,” Krzyzewski said.

“So, they’ve gotten better, and he has become even more of a factor as the leader of the team. But for us, too, we’ve gotten better since then.”

Five Americans average in double figures, led by big man Anthony Davis at 13.8 points per game.

Goran Dragic is a much bigger piece of the puzzle for Slovenia with 16.5 points a game and combines with his brother Zoran Dragic and Domen Lorbek for a pretty lethal trio on the perimeter.

The first quarterfinal in Barcelona has Lithuania taking on Turkey.

Lithuania have lost just once in the competition despite losing their point guard Mantas Kalnietis just days before the World Cup started.

With Kalnietis in Spain looking on, Toronto Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas has been the man for the Lithuanians, leading the team in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots.

Turkey meanwhile never give up and have shown the ability to win games late with big shots – see Cenk Aykol’s three-pointer late against Finland to force overtime and Emir Preldzic’s long ball with five seconds to play in their Round of 16 victory over Australia.

While the Barcelona quarter-finals will be playing on Tuesday, the Madrid quarter-finals – Serbia vs Brazil and Spain vs France – take play on Wednesday in Madrid, with all four teams coming from Group A in Granada.

Serbia will be underdogs against Brazil, having lost to them in group play. But Serbia were also underdogs against Greece and they blew out the previously-undefeated Greeks.

The Serbs know they can knock off Brazil as they turned a 16-point halftime deficit into a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter before losing 81-73.

Still, Serbia coach Sasha Djordjevic was full of praise of Brazil, who’s only loss thus far was against Spain.

“They have incredible experience, are an incredible team, maybe the best Brazilian team ever,” said Djordjevic.

The final quarter will be France v Spain, who won the group stage game 88-64.

France on Monday were named as hosts of the EuroBasket 2015 and the team will be that much more excited. Les Bleus also knocked off Spain in the semi-finals of EuroBasket 2013.

Spain have been dominant so far, especially Pau and Marc Gasol, who are combining for 31.8 points per game.

The semi-finals are Thursday and Friday.

From InterAkyon
Post Merge: September 11, 2014, 08:02:47 AMFrance upsets Spain 65-52 in WCup quarters

MADRID (AP) -- France upset Spain 65-52 in front of its stunned fans in the quarterfinals of the Basketball World Cup on Wednesday.

After dominating its first six games and blowing out France by 24 points in the group phase, Spain appeared to be the main candidate to dethrone the United States in a possible final that would have been a rematch of the past two Olympic gold-medal games.

But France defended well and rebounded even better to ruin Spain's quest for a title for a second straight summer.

Last summer, Tony Parker helped France end Spain's quest for a third consecutive European title.

This time, Spain had several reasons to believe it would avenge that loss. Parker wasn't playing for France, and Spain had Pau Gasol back in its ranks, besides playing at home.

''It's a painful and disappointing defeat,'' Pau said. ''We had such high expectations and had played so well until now.''

Spain had averaged 88 points per game through its first six wins, all blowouts. But France cut off Spain's passing lanes and forced it into solo efforts.

Spain's guards didn't adjust by looking for Pau and Marc Gasol in the post enough, and then compounded that by missing all but two of their 22 attempts from beyond the 3-point arc.

''Everyone thought we had won this before it started, but we didn't prepare well for the game and were trying to play catchup the entire way,'' Spain guard Juan Carlos Navarro said. ''They prepared better than we did. We relied on doing what we always do, defend and get out on the break, but our shots didn't fall, and they played with a lot of poise.''

Boris Diaw scored 15 points and Thomas Heurtel added 13 for a France team which pulled in 50 rebounds to Spain's 28.

Pau had 17 for Spain, but his brother Marc and Serge Ibaka each went 1-of-7 from the field to combine for just 5 points.

Serbia awaits France on Friday after it routed Brazil 84-56 in the other quarterfinal.

The U.S. plays Lithuania in the other semifinal in Barcelona on Thursday.

Pau scored in the post to spark Spain's 12-4 run to open the third period and edge ahead 40-39.

A brief scuffle marred that span when France's Florent Pietrus slapped Sergi Llull in the back of the head after an argument. Pietrus was awarded an unsporstmanlike technical foul.

Spain entered the final period with a one-point lead but without any clear plan of attack.

Diaw nailed a backbreaking 3 after France again beat Spain to the offensive boards to take a 51-45 lead and force Juan Orenga to call time-out with 6:41 left.

A contested jumper by Pau brought Spain to within three points with under two to play, but Heurtel scored five points to quash the comeback and spark chants for Orenga's resignation in a loss that hurt almost as much as the Spanish football team's early elimination from this summer's World Cup.

Pau left open the possibility that this was his last game for Spain, which he has led to one world championship in 2006, two Olympic silver medals, and two European titles.

''You never know when your last game or tournament will be,'' the new Chicago Bull center said. ''I would like to play until I am 50, but I doubt it. We have great young players coming up and I'm sure that we have a good team in the future.''

Whether or not Pau continues, Spain will likely not have such a chance to try and finally beat the U.S. with Pau now 34, and the Olympics two years away.

Serbia's result also reversed a group matchup, as Serbia lost to Brazil last Wednesday, when Spain also beat France.

This time, Brazil and its trio of NBA centers in Varejao, Tiago Splitter and Nene were ineffective, as Serbia bettered the bigger Brazilians inside and out, and turned a five-point halftime advantage into a rout by outscoring Brazil 29-10 in the third period.

Serbia was led by guard Milos Teodosic, who scored 23 points, hit three 3-pointers, and made four assists. Shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 12 points, and centers Miroslav Raduljica and Nenad Krstic added 10 each.

Varejao and Vieira had 12 points each for Brazil.

From Y! Sports

[Itachi101]

a major shocker!!!!!!!!!!! 
getting defeated without parker and their home soil
man that's gotta hurt a lot
sorry for spain 

[Zurca]

US beats Lithuania to reach basketball world final

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) -- Madrid awaits. Spain doesn't.

The gold-medal matchup seemingly everyone wanted in the Basketball World Cup - maybe even some U.S. players - won't be happening. The Spanish were upset in the quarterfinals, ending the predicted No. 1 vs. No. 2 game Sunday on Spain's home court.

''I think that's one of the reasons why we came over here, was to play them,'' U.S. guard Derrick Rose said. ''Too bad we're not playing them and hopefully we go out there in our next game and play hard and just know that we're there for a reason.''

The Americans held up their end, moving within a victory of repeating as world champions for the first time with a 96-68 victory over Lithuania on Thursday night.

James Harden scored all of his 16 points in the lopsided third quarter of a near carbon copy of the Americans' quarterfinal victory over Slovenia, when he awoke from a scoreless first half to help turn a close game into a blowout.

The Americans will face France or Serbia, believing either could provide the test that was expected from Spain.

''Obviously they're playing there for a reason,'' Harden said. ''We're not going to take anyone lightly, which we haven't thus far.''

They will arrive as even heavier favorites after Spain's stunning loss to France on Wednesday. With their veteran experience and near misses against the U.S. in the last two Olympic gold-medal games, the Spanish were considered the team with the best chance - perhaps the only one - to beat the Americans.

Harden was told that forward Kenneth Faried said he'd wanted to play Spain.

''Kenneth's crazy,'' Harden said.

Some U.S. players watched the game Wednesday, while others learned the result afterward. Talk of a U.S.-Spain final had lasted as long as the tournament, and though the Americans tried to ignore it, guard Stephen Curry acknowledged that was impossible.

''I don't think we're disappointed, or wished we played a certain team,'' Curry said. ''We're happy to take care of our business.''

Their opponent will have to show it can hang with the Americans for more than a half, which nobody in Barcelona did.

This one was an eight-point game at the break before the U.S. made 14 of 19 shots in the third quarter and outscored Lithuania 33-14.

Kyrie Irving had 18 points and Klay Thompson added 16 for the Americans in a rematch of the 2010 world basketball championship semifinals, also played on Sept. 11, the date of the terrorist attacks on the U.S. in 2001. Kevin Durant scored a U.S.-record 38 points in that one, an 89-74 victory.

That was a rare comfortable margin in this series where close games have been the norm. That includes the 2012 Olympics, where the Americans' 99-94 win was their tightest in London.

The physical play nearly turned ugly when DeMarcus Cousins reacted angrily after appearing to be elbowed in the neck by center Jonas Valanciunas of the Toronto Raptors while battling for a rebound. He wound up as if he were going to punch Valanciunas in the back of the head, drawing a technical foul.

The Americans then threw the knockout blow, coming out of the locker room with an 18-2 run - emphasis on run, because they turned this semifinal game into a fast-break drill.

That got Harden going. He had the first basket and a 3-pointer to cap a 10-0 start that made it 53-35 in less than 2 minutes.

Anthony Davis slammed down a lob from Irving to make it 61-37.

''Maybe we let them go,'' Valanciunas said. ''They were really good in the third quarter.''

Valanciunas and Mindaugas Kuzminskas each scored 15 points for Lithuania, which will play Saturday for a chance at its second straight world bronze.

From Y! Sports
Post Merge: September 13, 2014, 10:05:12 AMSerbia holds off France, will play US for gold

MADRID (AP) -- All those years on Serbia's national team, and one chance kept eluding Milos Teodosic and Nenad Krstic.

They finally get that shot at the U.S. - with a world title on the line.

Teodosic scored 24 points and Serbia reached the championship game of the Basketball World Cup by holding off France 90-85 on Friday night.

The Serbians will face the defending champion and unbeaten Americans on Sunday.

''We're not going to be scared for sure,'' said Krstic, a former NBA center now playing in Europe.

''Now our confidence is high and OK, we have a chance, maybe some players never get this chance to play against U.S., great U.S. team in the final of the World Cup. It's an unbelievable chance to do something great in our lives.''

The teams have never met at the senior men's level since Serbia became an independent nation.

''Every player when he was a kid was dreaming to play in a world championship final, and especially against States,'' Teodosic said.

The final caps an unlikely run for the Serbians, who barely made the 24-tournament as the seventh-place finisher in last year's European qualifier, and then were just 2-3 in the powerful Group A, grabbing the fourth and final spot.

But Serbia has been playing better throughout the single-elimination round. It routed previously unbeaten Greece 90-72 in the round of 16, and then hammered Brazil 84-56 in the quarterfinals.

''I think something clicked,'' Krstic said. ''We talk a lot in the locker room, and our coach gave us confidence, he always talked to us, he believed in us and something clicked. I don't have an explanation.''

Teodosic helped Serbia lead by as much as 18, but Nicolas Batum of the Portland Trail Blazers nearly brought the French all the way back, finishing with 35 points.

Boris Diaw of the San Antonio Spurs added 13 for France, which will play Lithuania on Saturday for the bronze medal.

The French upset Spain the quarterfinals, ending the expected gold-medal matchup between the Spanish and Americans. But the European champions got off to a slow start that couldn't be overcome even with their 39-point fourth quarter.

''I think tonight the way we played the first half, we didn't deserve to win that game,'' Diaw said. ''Even when we tried to come back, Serbia deserved to win.''

Teodosic opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer and another basket in a 9-0 run that made it 30-15. He later made another 3 to start a run of seven straight Serbia points, with Nikola Kalinic's steal and dunk making it 43-25.

It was 46-32 at halftime, and then Teodosic made another 3 to open the second half and Serbia took a 61-46 advantage to the final period.

But Batum and Evan Fournier started hitting from 3-point range in France's 15-4 burst to open the period that made it 65-61. The French made nine 3s in the final period and closed to 84-82 when Thomas Heurtel made a free throw with 17 seconds to go, but the Serbians wrapped it up at the foul line.

Bogdan Bogdanovic finished with 13 points for Serbia.

From Y! Sports

[spidey]

dehado na US dyan... hindi na nila yan pakakawalan