FIBA World Cup Day 5: Lithuania makes statement, Canada makes history

A number of teams booked their ticket to the second-round of the FIBA World Cup on Tuesday, with Germany, the Dominican Republic, Australia, and Italy all winning their games and securing a spot in the next round. 

But Day 5 saved the best for last as Jonas Valanciunas and Lithuania made a statement with a dominant win over fellow European powerhouse Montenegro, while Canada defeated Latvia to win its group for the first time in FIBA World Cup history.

Here’s everything you need to know from Day 5 at the FIBA World Cup:

RESULTS

Group A:

Dominican Republic def. Angola 75-67

Italy def. Philippines 90-83

Group D:

Egypt def. Mexico 100-72

Lithuania def. Montenegro 91-71

Group E:

Germany def. Finland 101-75

Australia def. Japan 109-89

Group H:

France def. Lebanon 85-79

Canada def. Latvia 101-75

MAIN TALKING POINTS

Germany, Australia, Dominican Republic, Italy book tickets to next round

Germany entered the day with a perfect 2-0 record but hadn’t yet booked its spot in the next round, and would have to do it without Orlando Magic wing Franz Wagner, who is out with an ankle injury until at least the knockout stage. But Dennis Schroder and Isaac Bonga led the way for Germany, walking over Finland to the tune of a 101-75 win and the No. 1 seed in Group E.

Meanwhile, Australia secured the No. 2 seed in Group E with a hard-fought win over Japan, who whittled the lead to just 13 midway through the fourth quarter before Boomer point guard Josh Giddey took over. He scored three straight baskets to ensure the Australia win, finishing with 26 points, five rebounds and 11 assists in his best showing of the tournament. 

Next it was the Dominican Republic’s turn to book its spot in the next round, winning Group A after a tight 75-67 win over Angola. The Dominicans' lone NBA player, Karl Anthony-Towns, got into foul trouble early and finished the game with just eight points in 15 minutes, but point guard Andrew Feliz poured in a team-high 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting for the win.

Finally, Italy secured the second spot in Group A after defeating the Philippines 90-83 behind a massive effort from Utah Jazz forward Simone Fontecchio and former NBA player Nicolo Melli. The pair combined for 28 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in the win. 

Lithuania makes statement in dominant win over Montenegro

Lithuania versus Montenegro was supposed to be a hard-fought battle between two European powerhouses for first-place in Group D, but instead it was Lithuania who ran away with a convincing win, blowing out the Montenegrins by 20 points and making a statement on the world stage. 

Lithuania did it on the defensive end, holding Montenegro to just 23 points in the second half with its size and physicality. Lithuania was led by Jonas Valanciunas dominating the paint with 11 points and eight rebounds while helping hold opposing NBA big man Nikola Vucevic to 19 points on 4-for-13 shooting. But it was FC Barcelona guard Rokas Jokubaitis who led the way on the offensive end for Lithuania, scoring 19 points on 9-for-12 shooting to go along with six assists as he picked apart Montenegro in the pick-and-roll and made the right decision time after time. 

Canada makes history by winning their group for the first time ever

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way for Canada in a 101-75 win over Latvia that looked eerily similar to their opening-day win against France. After falling into a 9-5 hole and calling the first timeout, Canada stormed back and went on a 15-4 run to end the first half up 43-42. And like the game against France, Canada dominated the third quarter, winning it 24-15 and outscoring the Latvians 58-33 in the second half after picking up its defensive effort and focus as the game went on. 

And it was once again Gilgeous-Alexander who broke things open for the Canadians, scoring 16 points in the third quarter alone, when he outscored the entire Latvian team — the second time he has outscored an opposing team in a quarter in this tournament after also doing it in the third quarter against France. With a perfect 3-0 record, Canada has won its group for the first time in World Cup history. 

Next round taking shape

Ten teams have clinched places in the next group phase: Germany, Australia, Dominican Republic, Italy, U.S.A., Lithuania, Montenegro, Spain, Canada, Latvia. There are six spots left up for grabs tomorrow. 

PLAY OF THE DAY

Arturs Zagars wasn’t able to lead Latvia to an upset win over Canada, despite a very hot start for the young point guard, but he was able to take home “Play of the Day” honours with this sweet no-look, behind-the-back pass to teammate Andrejs Grazulis for the easy bucket: 

However, Canada point guard Gilgeous-Alexander got him back with this nasty step-back two-pointer that made Zagars’ knees buckle as he stumbled backwards and watched the ball swish through the net:

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"We expected to advance. Our thing was playing one game at a time. Obviously it's nice to go into the next group 3-0, but we're just in the beginning of what we want to do. The peak of the mountain is here, we're halfway up. We have higher expectations." — Germany head coach Gordie Herbert

"We'll always have the side of our eye looking at what everybody else is doing. Some of it is because of the Olympics, but some of it just for the African pride. We see what's happening, for all five teams from Africa to get a win at the World Cup is a statement about African basketball. It's just getting better and better. People don't realize how difficult it was for us to even qualify to be here. On one hand there's a lot of pride that the continent continues to rise as a basketball region." — Egypt head coach Roy Rana 

“I just wanted to be aggressive. I feel like I didn't start the way I wanted to. But as a leader of the group, that's not acceptable. [I had to] look in the mirror and try to change things on the other end of the floor, defensively. And then hopefully it led to offence, and I think it did.” — Canada point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

THREE STARS OF THE DAY

1. Josh Giddey, Australia

For the first time all tournament, it was someone other than 35-year-old team captain Patty Mills who stepped up for Australia, as 20-year-old point guard Josh Giddey took over down the stretch for the Boomers. He dropped 26 points on 10-for-18 shooting to go along with five rebounds and 11 assists, picking apart the Japanese defence in a much-needed 109-89 win that will send the Boomers through to the second round. 

2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Canada

Gilgeous-Alexander once again got it going in the third quarter after a slow start, leading the Canadians to their third win in the tournament. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 27 points on 10-for-17 shooting to go along with six rebounds, six assists and two steals, including 16 points in the third quarter alone. 

3. Rokas Jokubaitis, Lithuania

Jokubaitis was nearly perfect for the Lithuanians as he scored 19 points on 9-for-12 shooting to go along with six rebounds and six assists, leading the scoring for his nation as he comfortably dissected the Montenegro defence through his steady pick-and-roll play, where he always plays at his own pace.

LOOKING AHEAD

The group stage concludes tomorrow with a number of teams battling for a highly-coveted spot in the second round. Day 6 will start with Georgia and Venezuela battling it out in game that could decide which of the two teams advances in Group F (4:00 a.m. ET). Then, we will see Brazil and Côte d’Ivoire fight for second place in Group G (5:45 a.m. ET), before New Zealand takes on Greece for second-place in Group C (8:40 a.m. E.T.). 

Meanwhile, favourites Serbia, Slovenia, the U.S. and Spain will all look to stay undefeated against lower-ranked sides, hoping to finish the group stage with perfect 3-0 records.