TEAM USA assembled its Avengers on the day the Philippines celebrated National Heroes’ Day, coasting to a 109-81 victory over Greece to book a ticket to the second round of the 2023 Fiba World Cup on Monday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.
USA vs Greece recap Fiba Basketball World Cup 2023
Heroes were aplenty for the Americans as they leaned on a balanced attack against the Greeks on the way to a second straight win in Group C.
Anthony Edwards and Jalen Brunson put up better starts like they said, while Austin Reaves continued to provide a spark off the bench as the Americans led by as many as many as 31 points.
Greece dropped to a 1-1 record after failing to sustain its gains from an opening win against Jordan.
The Greeks actually scored the first four points of the game, but it was all USA from there.
Nine Americans scored at least eight points each, while everyone on the 12-man roster scored as Walker Kessler completed the scoring party when he scored on a putback dunk with a little less than three minutes left.
“Our thought process every game is to wear the opponent down. We’re twelve-deep on our roster and we’re just trying to stay solid on every possession and really put pressure on the opponent,” Team USA coach Steve Kerr said.
“We needed to do that tonight, because Greece played very well,” he added. “That first half, they stayed with us… eventually in the second half, we broke the dam and opened up the game.”
Reaves showed the way with 15 points, six assists, five rebounds, and two steals in just 17 minutes, while Edwards and Brunson added 13 points apiece. Bobby Portis was the other American who scored in double figures.
While his teammates took care of the offense, Josh Hart shouldered the rebounding and hustle as he grabbed a game-high 11 boards on top of six points, and five assists.
Georgios Papagiannis led the Greeks with 17 points, three boards, two assists, and one steal in a losing cause.
The scores:
USA 109 – Reaves 15, Brunson 13, Edwards 13, Portis 10, Bridges 9, Haliburton 9, Jackson 9, Banchero 8, Johnson 8, Hart 6, Ingram 5, Kessler 4
GREECE 81 – Papagiannis 17, Rogkavopoulos 14, Papapetrou 9, Walkup 9, Bochoridis 8, Papanikolaou 8, Larentzakis 7, Lountzis 4, Moraitis 3, Antetokounmpo 2, Chatzidakis 0, Mitoglou 0
Quarterscores: 23-19, 50-37, 79-56, 109-81
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