U.S. players celebrate winning their quarterfinal against Italy at the 2023 FIBA World Cup in Manila, the Philippines on Sept. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Wu Zhuang)
The United States and Serbia reached the final four of the 2023 FIBA World Cup with one-sided wins.
MANILA, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The United States overwhelmed Italy 100-63, while Serbia secured a berth in the semifinals by thrashing Lithuania 87-68 at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup on Tuesday.
Led by Mikal Bridges and Jalen Brunson, the U.S. already made the game a blowout by halftime. They forced Italy to nail a mere 24 points in 20 minutes, and the team coached by Gianmarco Pozzecco only made nine out of 37 attempts, including 2-of-19 3-pointers.
Simone Fontecchio labored to give Italy energy on both ends, while the Utah Jazz forward fouled out and the rest of the team was sleepwalking. Bridges kept making jumpers and Tyrese Haliburton came off the beach to nail down 3-pointers, burying the game before the fourth quarter.
Italy swallowed its heaviest defeat ever in the FIBA World Cup. It was also the second-largest margin in the tournament's quarterfinals after the U.S. smashed Slovenia by 43 points in 2014.
Bridges led the U.S. with 24 points, and Haliburton added 18. Austin Reaves scored 12, including a putback dunk to ignite the arena.
Fontecchio had a team-high 18 points for Italy and Stefano Tonut added 11.
Bogdan Bogdanovic (2nd R) celebrates with teammate Stefan Jovic (1st R) of Serbia during their quarterfinal against Lithuania. (Xinhua/Wu Zhuang)
In an earlier quarterfinal at Mall of Asia Arena, Serbia cruised past Lithuania 87-68 to advance, and it was Serbia's biggest win against a European team in the FIBA World Cup.
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored a game-high 21 points for Serbia, becoming the sixth player in the 21st century to reach the 400-point milestone in the tournament.
Wednesday will see the other two quarterfinal clashes, as Germany face off against Latvia with the winner to play the U.S. in the semifinals, and Canada will play Slovenia with the winner to play Serbia. ■
