DONGGAUN, China: Deposed champions the United States lost 94-89 to Serbia in a dead-rubber at the Basketball World Cup on Thursday, a day after surrendering their 13-year unbeaten run.
A young Team USA made up of second-tier NBA stars were defeated 89-79 in the quarterfinals by France on Wednesday, bringing a premature close to their World Cup defence.
More significantly, it was the reigning world and Olympic champions’ first defeat in a major competition since the semifinals of the 2006 World Cup.
Thursday’s ‘classification’ game in Dongguan was the final that never was: the holders against the favourites.
The US were down a scarcely believable 32-7 after the first quarter and headed for a big defeat, before clawing back some of the deficit and a degree of pride.
Harrison Barnes of the Sacramento Kings, the only remaining member of the triumphant 2016 Rio Olympic roster, said: “There are no
regrets from our group in terms of what we’ve given, what we’ve sacrificed.
“The commitment everyone has made away from their families, their teams, their organisations’’.
There was no medal up for grabs and the US have already qualified for next summer’s Tokyo Games.
But there was added spice after Serbia’s coach said prior to the World Cup that if the Americans met his team, “May god help them”. — AFP
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