LIVE UPDATES: Fiba World Cup Final Phase

Eight teams begin their win-or-go-home campaign in the Fiba World Cup as the knockout final phase unfurls starting September 5 at Mall of Asia Arena.

The teams who advanced to the quarterfinals after 10 days of group-stage games are Italy, United States, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Serbia, Canada and Slovenia.

• Germany vs Latvia, 4:45 pm. Mall of Asia Arena.
• Canada vs Slovenia, 8:30 pm. Mall of Asia Arena

Live updates: Canada vs Slovenia

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MANILA, Philippines — Germany will play Team USA in the semifinals of the Fiba World Cup, a rematch of an exhibition matchup from earlier this summer where the Americans needed a big rally to win.

Franz Wagner scored 16 points and Germany — the last unbeaten team left in the World Cup — held off Latvia 81-79 in a quarterfinal game on Wednesday, pulling away in the fourth quarter of what had been a back-and-forth matchup for the first 30 minutes.

Next up: The U.S. on Friday for a spot in Sunday’s gold medal game. The U.S. beat Germany 99-91 on Aug. 20 in Abu Dhabi, rallying from a 16-point second-half deficit and needing an 18-0 run down the stretch to take control.

FINAL SCORE: Germany vs Latvia (quarterfinals)

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Italy Gianmarco Pozzecco hugs Niccolo Melli in the post-game press conference after their loss to United States in the Fiba World Cup.

MANILA, Philippines—Gianmarco Pozzecco and Niccolo Melli entered the post-game interview with an obvious aura of disappointment after their demoralizing 100-68 loss to Team USA in the 2023 Fiba World Cup quarterfinals at Mall of Asia Arena on Tuesday.

Pozzecco remained calm and collected despite his wards being manhandled by the Americans in the knockout phase. Melli, however, had not been that good at keeping his composure in check.

Gilas Pilipinas’ Kai Sotto in the Fiba World Cup. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — After making his Fiba World Cup debut, Kai Sotto looks forward to more opportunities to suit up for Gilas Pilipinas, which he believes is “only gonna get better.”

In a lengthy Instagram post on Tuesday night, Sotto expressed his gratitude to represent the Philippines in its hosting of the global basketball spectacle.

Dominican Republic’s Karl-Anthony Towns celebrates with physiotherapist Bladimir Regalado after beating Angola and sweeping Group A of the Fiba World Cup. -FIBA PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Dominican Republic physiotherapist Bladimir Regalado died of a heart attack on the way home from the Philippines from the Fiba World Cup, the team has announced.

Regalado’s death came days after the Dominicans wrapped up their campaign in the World Cup held in Manila with all of their games being played at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“With deep sadness, we report the death of Bladimir Regalado, physiotherapist of our National Team, who suffered a heart attack on the flight back from the Philippines, where he accompanied our team in the FIBA World Cup 2023,” the team wrote.

Team USA guard Austin Reaves. -MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Austin Reaves made sure to bounce back from his worst game for Team USA.

Reaves, the crowd-favorite guard, once again provided the energy off the bench as Team USA routed Italy, 100-63, to advance to the Fiba World Cup semifinals on Tuesday at Mall of Asia Arena.

Team USA’s Tyrese Haliburton in the Fiba World Cup quarterfinal game against Italy. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIREr.net

After Team USA experienced its first loss in the Fiba World Cup, the memo was simple according to Tyrese Haliburton: respond the right way.

With just a day in between the loss to Lithuania on Sunday and their knockout quarterfinal match against Italy, the Americans responded big time with a 100-63 rout that sealed their entry into the World Cup semifinals.

“We just wanted to respond the right way. That’s the biggest thing, to come here and respond the right way,” said Haliburton, who plays for the Indiana Pacers, after the victory.

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Mikal Bridges rose to the occasion with his best game in the Fiba World Cup 2023, dropping 24 points to lead Team USA back to the semifinals.

Bridges shot 4-of-6 from the three-point line and grabbed seven rebounds in 18 minutes of action as Team USA dominated Italy, 100-63, in the quarterfinals on Tuesday at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

“I just stayed aggressive. That’s what it is,” Bridges said. “Honestly, even coming in tonight I was really really locked in on my rebounding that’s kind of my struggles throughout this whole process but what I showed in general, it’s just that force of being aggressive.”

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Paolo Banchero set aside his emotions and kept his focus solely on the game against Italy, a squad where he initially expressed his intention to play before choosing to represent Team USA.

Banchero didn’t seem bothered by the boos from Italian fans, helping Team USA eliminate the Azzurri, 100-63, on Tuesday night and advance to the Fiba World Cup at Mall of Asia Arena.

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Mikal Bridges had his coming out party for Team USA in their win over Italy that sent them to the 2023 Fiba World Cup semifinals on Tuesday at Mall of Asia Arena.

Bridges had his best game of the competition so far in terms of scoring, finishing with 24 points and seven rebounds in the squad’s dominant 100-63 victory over the Italians to advance to the World Cup’s semifinals.

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Austin Reaves finally gets putback dunk in Fiba World Cup

With no one boxing him out, Team USA guard Austin Reaves wisely ran toward the rim and soared for a putback dunk off a Tyrese Haliburton miss that got the Mall of Asia crowd on its feet.

Reaves had been waiting for that exact moment ever since the United States’ first game in the Fiba World Cup here.

The follow up dunk finally happened on Tuesday with 44 seconds left in the second quarter of Team USA’s 100-63 romp of Italy in the quarterfinal round.

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MANILA, Philippines — Team USA is headed to the medal round of the Fiba World Cup, bouncing back from its first loss of the tournament in emphatic fashion.

Mikal Bridges scored 14 of his 24 points in the first half, Tyrese Haliburton added 18 and the United States was airtight for long stretches defensively on the way to easily beating Italy 100-63 on Tuesday night in the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

Final Score: Team USA vs Italy

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Serbia became the first team to reach the Fiba World Cup semifinals after beating Lithuania 87-68 as the knockout phase got underway on Tuesday in Manila.

Bogdan Bogdanovic had 21 points for Serbia, which will play either Canada or Slovenia in the semifinals on Friday.

Lithuania went into the game as the tournament’s only unbeaten team after downing the United States in their previous outing.

Final Score: Lithuania vs Serbia

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The Fiba World Cup games will be aired on free TV channels like TV5 and One Sports and cable channel One Sports+ with Cignal TV as Fiba World Cup’s official broadcaster in the Philippines.

Cignal TV is offering a pay-per-view, no commercial access for all Fiba World Cup games for a subscription fee.

The live broadcast of the final phase games will be on One Sports and One Sports+.

For the first time since the competition started, Team USA’s match will be aired on free TV as it tries to get past the quarterfinals against Italy on September 5.

Slovenia coach Aleksander Sekulic acknowledged the popularity of his team–due to the presence of NBA superstar Luka Doncic–which they had felt upon arriving in Manila for the final phase of the Fiba World Cup.

Doncic and the Slovenians landed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport ahead of Wednesday’s quarterfinal match with Canada amid a lot of fanfare as Filipino fans are starting to find ways to either catch a glimpse of the Dallas Mavericks cager or get a rare chance for a photo or an autograph.

MANILA, Philippines—Team USA forward Paolo Banchero has nothing to offer to his fans in Italy.

Well, he may not have many supporters left on that side of the world anyway after his blunt response when asked if he has a message for his Italian fans on the eve of their Fiba World Cup quarterfinal game with the Azzurri.

The word “learning experience” is not something coaches would want to casually toss out in this side of the globe, where basketball fans have been known to deride the term after it had been trotted out a lot during the disappointing campaign by Gilas Pilipinas in the Fiba World Cup.

But it was what coach Steve Kerr kept harping on Sunday night when Team USA was handed a humbling defeat that could go either of two ways for the Americans, who are expected to be the de facto home team for the rest of the tournament now that the Philippines has played its last game.

The biggest name of this year’s Fiba World Cup finally landed in Manila on Monday. And Filipinos are all ready for their dose of “Luka Magic.”

Luka Doncic and Slovenia are expected to light up the final phase of the Fiba World Cup after the dashing Dallas Mavericks star came off a splendid showing in the first two rounds in Okinawa, Japan.

MANILA, Philippines — The Serbian Basketball Federation announced Monday that forward Borisa Simanic has lost one of his kidneys as the result of an injury sustained during a Fiba World Cup game against South Sudan.

Simanic has been operated on twice in Manila, the team said. Additional complications presented themselves after the first surgery, team doctor Dragan Radovanovic said, requiring the second procedure on Sunday where the kidney was removed.

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