FIBA world Cup is approaching its final battles and after today’s matches, we got two sides which are going to fight for the title – Spain and Argentina. Both semi-finals were extremely exciting, and these two teams deserved to challenge the top spot on the tournament. If you fancy a bet on the FIBA World Cup semis take a look at what are the best betting sites for this event.
*Spain v Australia 95:88
In the first semi-finals clash, Spain managed to crack Australia after two Overtimes and celebrate a massive victory. Although they were behind for almost the entire game, they managed to catch up their opponents in the last quarter and extend this match to overtime by neutralizing Australia’s five-point advantage in the very finish of the match.
After additional five minutes, we didn’t get the finalist and the second overtime period needed to be played. However, in that one, Spain was more dominant, they were much more focused and calmer, and they bagged the invaluable victory being seven points ahead of their rivals. Clearly, huge experience in playing this kind of matches was big advantage for Spanish team and that eventually helped them booking the place in the finals.
Spain was a bit better by looking at the field goals percentage and they scored one three-pointer more than their rivals. Also, Spain had five free throws more than Australia and were four points ahead by looking at that parameter. Australia was dominant side in the paint as they had 14 rebounds more than their opponents, and they managed to book 20 offensive rebounds. However, they made eight turnovers more and six steals less, which eventually decided the winner.
Marc Gasol was a dominant figure on the court as he managed to score a total of 33 points, and some of them were crucial ones. He had a great percentage of two-pointers and interestingly, he didn’t miss a single free throw. Ricky Rubio and Sergio Llull contributed a lot in Spanish victory with 19 and 17 points scored respectively. However, Rubio wasted too many shots, but also booked 12 assists.
On the other side, Patty Mills didn’t have an adequate support from his teammates and only Nic Kay managed to keep up the pace. Mills bagged 34 points while Kay booked a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Everybody expected more from Joe Ingles in the first place as he ended the match with only 4 points on his account. He had a terrible shooting evening, managing to score just once from nine attempts.
*Argentina v France 80:66
The Gauchos continued with their excellent displays and they completely deserved the place in the finals. After beating Serbia, the top favourites of the tournament, in the quarter-finals, they managed to celebrate against another team who have beaten the United States – France. The European side didn’t have enough strength to pull another great win and they eventually failed to a defeat. Argentina was constant during the entire match and they managed to win all quarters of the match. They were in constant lead and after the beginning of the second quarter when France had a one-point lead, Argentina was in control of the game.
Their three-point shot percentage was significantly higher for Argentina, while they missed only three free throws from 20 attempts. On the other hand, France missed too many free throws, a total of 12, which had significant impact on their defeat. Argentina were slightly better with assists and rebounds, while they had two turnovers less than their opponents.
Luis Scola led his team to the victory with another incredible performance. This 39-year old power forward finished the match with 28 points and 13 rebounds on his account. He scored three times outside the 6.75m line form four attempts and missed only one free throw. Gabriel Deck added 13 points while Facundo Campazzo scored 12 points and booked 6 assists.
On the other hand, Frank Ntilikina and Evan Fournier led France with 16 points each, however Fournier missed a lot of shots. Nando De Colo missed all three-point attempts and finished the match with 11 points, mostly from free throws. We expected much more from Rudy Gobert, who destroyed the United States, as he scored only three points for 29 minutes spent on the court.
A total of four matches are left to be played by the end of the tournament. USA are fighting for the 7th spot and they are the biggest underachievers at this World Cup. Serbia and Czech Republic are playing for the 5th place, while Australia and France are involved in the bronze medal match. Argentina and Spain are going to play in the title decider on Sunday.
