France Eliminates USA from Basketball World Cup in Major Upset

Voice of America
12 Sep 2019, 04:05 GMT+10

DONGGUAN, CHINA. - Rudy Gobert scored 21 points and grabbed 16 rebounds as France handed the United States their first loss in the FIBA World Cup in 13 years on Wednesday to advance to the semi-finals in China with an 89-79 win.

France will play next on Friday against Argentina, who advanced by defeating Serbia on Tuesday night.

Shooting guard Donovan Mitchell of the NBA's Utah Jazz scored 29 points as he helped the Americans to cut down a 10-point French advantage in the third quarter and seize back the lead in the southern Chinese city of Dongguan.

But the French came back, led by the imposing Gobert and sharp-shooting small forward Evan Fournier of the Orlando Magic.

Fournier slashed to the hoop for a driving lay-up to give France the lead again at 78-76 and they held off the Americans through the final minutes.

The writing has been on the wall for the USA squad, which sent a team of second-tier stars to the competition and promptly suffered a shock loss to Australia in a warm-up exhibition two weeks ago.

The loss in Melbourne was the first for the United States in 78 consecutive games in major competitions and exhibition games.

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Belgium Sun.

More Information

Europe

Section

Some US Lawmakers Consider Designating White Supremacists as Terrorist

In June, Canada labeled the white supremacist group Blood & Honor and its armed branch, Combat 18, as terrorist organizations. ...

Video games can bring history back to life

It is one thing to learn about history in a classroom. But as any visitor to a living museum or ...

PIC: Riky Rick meets Tommy Hilfiger in Milan

PIC: Riky Rick meets Tommy Hilfiger in Milan 2019-09-18 18:00 Nikita Coetzee share this Riky Rick, Tommy Hilfiger (Photo: Instagram/Riky ...

Van Dijk denies reports of new Liverpool deal

Cape Town - Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has rubbished recent reports suggesting he is on the verge of agreeing ...

Judo federation bans Iran after fighter deliberately loses

Paris - Iran has been suspended from international judo for ordering a judoka to lose at the world championships to ...

Harrington names Karlsson as vice-captain for 2020 Ryder Cup

London - Europe captain Padraig Harrington named Robert Karlsson as his first vice-captain for the 2020 Ryder Cup at Whistling ...

International

Section