Puerto Rico, Venezuela steal World Cup show

Serbia’s Bogdan Bogdanovic (7) scores 31 points on 6-of-11 shooting against Italy. (Fiba)

The Americas are enjoying the view from the top at the FIBA World Cup as Puerto Rico and Venezuela stole the show on Wednesday, winning the two tickets from Group A and C to the second round.

Venezuela stunned China, 72-59, and not even a packed Wukesong Sports Arena in Beijing could help the host against the stellar defense of the South Americans.

Heissler Guillent scored 15 points with eight assists, Dwight Lewis had 13, Gregory Vargas helped out with 12 and Nestor Colmenares was right next to them with 11.

Fang Shou scored 13 for the Chinese side, which will now move to the Classification Round 17-32, along with Cote d’Ivoire from Group A. Both teams still a lot to play for as they fight for tickets to the 2020 Summer Olympics and the Olympic qualifying tournaments.

Meanwhile, a 3-0 Polish team and a 2-1 Venezuela are creating a new group, next to 3-0 Argentina and 2-1 Russia. The two battled in a fun, fast flowing game of runs in Wuhan, with Facundo Campazzo proving to be the hero for Argentina, finishing with 21 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds en route to a 69-61 win.

In Group C, Spain was already sure of making the second round, but had a late scare against Iran, who tied the game at 65-all late in the fourth quarter. However, an 8-0 run fueled by Marc Gasol, Sergio Llull, Victor Claver and Ricky Rubio saw Spain winning 73-65.

Similar to Spain’s late run, Puerto Rico also went on an 8-0 closing sequence to erase a five-point deficit, and turn it into a 67-64 win against Tunisia. Gary Browne knocked down a step-back three-pointer with 5.1 to go, and Tunisia could not find the shot to send the game to overtime.

Tunisia will have to feel bad about missing a huge chance. Had it protected the lead, it would’ve already been confirmed for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but now it must fight through the Classification Round.

With no teams from Asia and Africa in the second round, the one best-ranked team from each of the regions team after the Classification games will earn direct qualification for the Olympics.

Puerto Rico and Spain are now a part of a group that has Serbia (3-0) and Italy (2-1) also flying to Wuhan.

Sacramento Kings forward Bogdan Bogdanovic went mad, scoring 31 points on 6-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc, while also having five assists and five steals, becoming the first player to ever have such numbers in a single FIBA World Cup game. It was way too much for Italy to handle as Serbia romped off with a 92-77 that kept its standing as one of the favorites to reach the quarterfinals.

The last two tickets to the second round will be known Thursday when Groups E, F, G and H return to action. (Fiba)