2023 FIBA World Cup Day 2 Recap: Team USA eventually found their groove thanks to their bench and more from the day

Austin Reaves and Paolo Banchero led Team USA to victory off the bench in their FIBA World Cup opener, Luka Doncic and Slovenia pulled away from Slovenia in the second half, and Puerto Rico and Sudan played the game of the tournament so far.

Those who were supposed to win today, won, but their weaknesses were apparent.

Three Points: Takeaways from opener for Team USA and other FIBA World Cup Day 2 games

Team USA got off to a slow start against New Zealand but eventually overwhelmed them

Team USA had the nerves in today’s opener against New Zealand, who came out ready to play and without fear. New Zealand led 9-2 and then 14-5 during the first quarter as Team USA’s worst traits were on display to start this one. 

They were taking bad, contested shots early in the shot clock. They were forcing drives into the paint and turning the ball over, and gambling on defense instead of committing to a clearly defined scheme. 

New Zealand capitalized on this lackadaisical start and got out to an early 9-point lead. Anthony Edwards was perhaps Team USA’s biggest culprit. He had forgettable moments early in this one. Turnovers off of travels that get called in FIBA but not the NBA and he was driving looking for contact, getting frustrated when he didn’t get calls, in what is also a common difference and struggle for Team USA players in FIBA play. 

Thankfully, Team USA’s bench bailed them out. Austin Reaves and Paolo Banchero came in and were an immediate spark plug. They got Team USA back in the game and gave them the lead by the end of the first quarter: 19-18. 

While Team USA never looked back, New Zealand did hang around for a while and should be proud. They crashed the glass and put Team USA’s lack of size to the test, and applied successful ball pressure that forced not only Edwards but plenty of his teammates into the lazy travels and foul baiting highlighted earlier. 

Team USA prevailed 99-72 in this one thanks to 21 points from Banchero off the bench but they need to clean up their act. Reuben Te Rangi, Shea Ili, and Finn Delany may not have had enough to capitalize on these errors, but other top teams in the tournament will. 

It took longer than they would have liked, but Luka Doncic and Slovenia got it done against Venezuela

Luka Doncic and Slovenia were all but guaranteed victory in this one, but Venezuela put up a fight and only trailed by five at the half even though Doncic had 24 points and four assists. 

Venezuela’s tactics are a good sign of things to come for Doncic and Slovenia. They were physical, bruising even, to the point of their own exhaustion but it also tested Slovenia and made the game close for longer than they would have wanted. 

In the third quarter, Venezuela began to turn the ball over at a higher rate than usual, Slovenia picked up easy transition points, and Mike Tobey knocked down some threes and other shots as a stretch big. 

Venezuela couldn’t dig in for a second wind, and Slovenia never relinquished control from there. Doncic led the way for Serbia with 37 points, seven rebounds and six assists. 

Garly Sojo was the leading scorer for Venezuela with 16 points, and Jhornan Zamora and Heissler Guillent followed him with 12 each.

Puerto Rico and South Sudan played the best game of the tournament so far

South Sudan showed their debutant desire today as they pushed Puerto Rico to the absolute brink. Carlik Jones had the best and perhaps most surprising individual performance of the tournament so far, finishing with 35 points and 11 assists. 

South Sudan led by as much as 12, and as Puerto Rico stared down the barrel at an incredibly disappointing opening game loss they dug in and battled back. With 16 seconds to go, they took the lead back, 79-78. 

Following that they forced a five-second violation on the inbounds, and then knocked down two free throws to go up 81-78. 

But with 10 seconds left, Jones decided this game wasn’t over and knocked down a game-tying three. Ismael Romero had a chance to win it for Puerto Rico at the death but missed both free throws which forced overtime.

Romero would not live to regret this day as Puerto Rico got off to a 9-0 start in overtime thanks to a George Conditt IV three-point play, and then two threes from Stephen Thompson Jr.

Thompson, Conditt IV, Romero, and Tremont Waters all finished with double-digits which was enough to overcome Jones's fantastic performance.

FIBA World Cup Line of the Day:

Chicago Bulls guard and reigning G-League MVP Carlik Jones 35 points and 11 assists for South Sudan. A Bulls player gets the nod here for the second day in a row.

FIBA World Cup Play of the Day:

Doncic doing Doncic things.

FIBA World Cup Quote of the Day:

Not from a player, or even a coach, just this sign. 

What’s coming tomorrow at the FIBA World Cup?

We’ve got some close contests. Italy faces the Dominican Republic to likely decide who will Group A at 4:00 a.m. ET, Australia and Germany tip-off 30 minutes later in a game full of NBA talent, Japan and Finland will have a battle for third place in Group E at 8:10 a.m. ET, and France will look to bounce back from their opening-day annihilation at the hands of Canada at 9:30 a.m. ET against Latvia. 

A final note here, we’re wishing for the best for Brazil guard Raul Neto who had to be stretchered off the court today after an awful injury.