USA and Serbia promise a magical Final
The reigning champions USA will face their stiffest test of
the competition when they take on Serbia in the Final of the 2014 FIBA
Basketball World Cup on Sunday at the Palacio de los Deportes.
The first-ever contest between these two countries at FIBA's
flagship event represents a clash of the two most distinctive basketball
schools of distinction. The USA will look to retain the title they won
four years ago in Turkey and become only the third team in
the history of FIBA's flagship event to win it on two successive
occasions. Sasha Djordjevic's side will look to give Serbia their first senior
international title.
The performances of the two teams on the road to the Final
of Spain 2014 have been quite exciting. The USA brand of speed-skill-size
basketball has virtually blown every opponent they have faced so far - seven of
them in all. And as Mike Krzyzewski consistently puts it in almost every
interaction with the media, "the intensity, the emotion and the effort of
togetherness" has kept the USA in good stead in their quest for their
fifth world title.There is no team better than Serbia to stop the USA from
achieving that. Milos Teodosic has struck sublime form, especially in all three
Final Phase games while emerging as the floor leader. But Serbia are not a
one-man army : Bogdan Bogdanovic is one of the most explosive prodigious
talents in the world and is as yet a work of art in progress, while Nemanja
Bjelica is as solid as they come and Miroslav Raduljica - the only NBA player
in the current Serbian roster - has proven a tough customer in the paint. Man
to man, therefore, Serbia are no way less than the USA. Should they click
together as a team one final time the Balkans can prove more than a handful for
the Americans.
Klay Thompson helped the reigning world champions USA
recover from a sluggish start to take a 96-68 win
over Lithuania in the Semi-Finals of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup and
return to the Final of FIBA's flagship event for the second consecutive time.
Irving led all scorers with 18 points, 13 of them coming in the second half.
Thompson and Harden added 16 each, while Curry finished with 13.
In the Semi-Final Serbia knocked off France 90-85. Milos
Teodosic poured in 24 points for Serbia, while Bogdan Bogdanovic added 13. The
trio of Stefan Markovic, Nenad Krstic and Miroslav Raduljica each had 11, while
Nemanja Bjelica finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists as the
Balkan powers reached their first final of FIBA's flagship event under the
Serbian flag - in their second world competition. Serbia controlled that game,
except the fourth quarter, when France played sensational and almost send the
outcome of the game to overtime. Serbians were more consistent in attack and
with the exceptional plays by the players mentioned above, will deservedly play
in the Final.
Probable line-ups
Serbia : Teodosic (14.0Pts, 4.1AS) – Markovic (5.5Pts,
3.0AS) – Bjelica(11.1Pts, 7.4Reb) – Kalinic(6.7Pts) – Raduljica(13.5Pts,
4.8Reb)
USA : Irving (10.4Pts, 3.5AS) – Curry(10.8Pts, 3.2AS) –
Harden(13.1Pts, 3.4AS) – Faried (12.5Pts, 7.9Reb) – Davis(13.0Pts, 6.9Reb)
There are two notable match-ups :
1) How does Raduljica perform vs. the US bigs? Anthony
Davis has the length and skill to dominate Raduljica, but will he be
able to handle the Serbian big man's strength? If the FIBA referees let them
play, Raduljica could be able to throw Davis all around the interior to clear
space for shots and for rebounds. If the FIBA officials call a tight game,
Davis' advantages will be maximized if Raduljica has to worry about foul
trouble. There will also be a great feats of strength battle between him
and DeMarcus
Cousins to pay attention to.
2) Teodosic vs. the US stable of star guards. Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving, and Derrick Rose will have their hands full with Teodosic. He's that talented and cold-blooded. But he also has to be able to keep up with them for 35-40 minutes as Coach K cycles through this All-Star options at the point. He can also wear Teodosic down by throwing Klay Thompson on him defensively to make him work even more.
This is the last game of the tournament. While Team USA
lacks some of the star power we'd like to see, watch the growth of Davis, the
relentless nature of Kenneth
Faried and the perimeter scoring of James
Harden, Curry, Thompson, Irving and Rose. It's not the same as LeBron,
Durant, CP3, etc., but you still get to watch some great basketball. With Spain
out of this matchup, it hurts the overall feel, but this remains a very
dangerous opponent looking to prevent Team USA's relentless second-half runs. Serbia
will enter the game with no pressure on them as they feel like champions
already just having reached the final. “Everybody is happy, our country is
happy.” – Bjelica… "I don`t do any judgement, but it`s a special
game. Finals are always a special game, especially in a big competition,"
said Serbia`s Miroslav Raduljica about playing in the final.
I expect a spectacular game, both teams are very good
offensively, USA it’s the huge favourite, but Serbians will enjoy their playing
time. Teodosic will be tightly guarded and I don’t think he can score lot of
points, like in the last two games, but he can give good assists. I expect big
game from these players :
- Teodosic over 3.5 assists – 1.85 | ✓
- Bjelica – Points, rebounds & assists : over 18.5 – 1.85
(Unibet) | ✓
- Raduljica – Points, rebounds & assists : over 16.5 –
1.90 (Unibet) | ✖
- Faried to record a double-double – 3.20 (Unibet) | ✖
- Irving over 3.5 assists – 1.85 | ✓
- Klay Thompson over 2.5 three-pointers – 1.80 (Bwin) | ✖
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