2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup Final

2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup final
Barclaycard Center, the venue of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup final
Event2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup
United States Serbia
United States Serbia
129 92
1234 Total
United States 35323824 129
Serbia 21202625 92
Date23 September 2014
VenuePalacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid, Madrid
Coaches
RefereesStephen Seibel
Borys Ryzhyk
Eddie Viator
Attendance13,673
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The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup final was a basketball game that took place on 14 September 2014 at Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid in Madrid, Spain, to determine the winner of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

This was the first time the United States and Serbia, after the secession of Montenegro, played against each other. With the United States victory, they tied Yugoslavia with five titles, the most in this competition. They also qualified to the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Route to the final

United States Round Serbia
Opponent Result Group stage Opponent Result
 Finland 114–55 Match 1  Egypt 85–64
 Turkey 98–77 Match 2  France 73–74
 New Zealand 98–71 Match 3  Iran 83–70
 Dominican Republic 106–71 Match 4  Brazil 73–81
 Ukraine 95–71 Match 5  Spain 73–89
Pos Team
 Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1  United States 5 5 0 511 345 +166 10 Round of 16
2  Turkey 5 3 2 365 372 −7 8
3  Dominican Republic 5 2 3 347 386 −39 7[a]
4  New Zealand 5 2 3 347 376 −29 7[a]
5  Ukraine 5 2 3 344 369 −25 7[a]
6  Finland 5 1 4 342 408 −66 6
Source: FIBA archive
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c Head-to-head record: Dominican Republic 1–1 (1.022 GAvg), New Zealand 1–1 (0.993 GAvg), Ukraine 1–1 (0.985 GAvg),
Final standing
Pos Team
 Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1  Spain (H) 5 5 0 440 314 +126 10 Round of 16
2  Brazil 5 4 1 416 333 +83 9
3  France 5 3 2 376 357 +19 8
4  Serbia 5 2 3 387 378 +9 7
5  Iran 5 1 4 344 406 −62 6
6  Egypt 5 0 5 311 486 −175 5
Source: FIBA archive
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
(H) Hosts
Opponent Result Knockout stage Opponent Result
 Mexico 86–63 Round of 16  Greece 90–72
 Slovenia 119–76 Quarter-finals  Brazil 84–56
 Lithuania 96–68 Semifinals  France 90–85

United States

Further information: 2014 United States FIBA Basketball World Cup team

The Americans qualified by virtue of being the defending Olympic champions, after defeating Spain in the 2012 gold medal game. The United States were one of the seeded teams in the draw. They were ultimately drawn into Group C with Turkey, New Zealand, Dominican Republic, Finland and Ukraine.[1]

The United States faced wild cards Finland in their first game. The United States never looked back after, erecting a 60–18 lead at halftime, to score its first win.[2] In the rematch of 2010's final, Turkey had a 5-point advantage at the half, but the Americans outscored the Turks 63–37 in the second half, to notch their second win.[3] In their next game, the United States again won easily, this time against New Zealand, to remain undefeated in group play.[4] They then topped the group with a 106–71 victory against the Dominican Republic.[5] Against Ukraine, the Americans closed out group play undefeated, netting a fifth consecutive double-digit victory.[6]

In the round of 16, the United States withstood a 25-point game-high effort by Gustavo Ayón, to record a 23-point win against Mexico.[7] The Slovenians faced the United States in the quarterfinals, holding the USA scoreless in the first two minutes, but once the Americans scored, they went on a 7–0 run, and never relinquished the lead.[8] The semifinal was a rematch of the 2010 semifinal against Lithuania; the latter kept it close during the first quarter, until when Klay Thompson scored, to give the USA a 10–9 lead. The Lithuanians kept within striking distance throughout the first half, but an unanswered 10–0 USA run, at the beginning of the third quarter, sealed a return to the final for the USA.[9]

Serbia

Further information: 2014 Serbia FIBA Basketball World Cup team

Serbia qualified by finishing seventh at FIBA EuroBasket 2013. The Serbs were drawn into Group A, together with hosts Spain, France, Brazil, Iran and Egypt.[10]

In their first game, Serbia had an easy win against Egypt, with Miloš Teodosić scoring 15 points to lead the Serbs.[2] The Serbs then faced France in their next game. The French trailed at halftime, but Edwin Jackson converted three three-pointers to keep France close. Boris Diaw tied the game with four seconds left, then Joffrey Lauvergne scored from the free-throw line, to give Serbia their first loss.[11] In the next game, Hamed Haddadi's 29 points weren't enough for Iran, as Serbia won 83–70. Haddadi was foiled when Serbia forced him to commit his fourth foul, just before halftime. Although the Serbian players who guarded Haddadi also battled foul trouble, they pulled through in the end.[12] The Serbs then lost to Brazil, with Marcus Vieira making 6 three-point shots.[13] Serbia were assured of a final round berth by their last group game against Spain, but lost 73–89, to finish fourth in the group.[14]

Serbia faced Group B winners Greece in the round of 16. After the Greeks had their first lead of the game late in the first half, Nikola Kalinić scored on a three-point play that gave them the lead for good. Serbia limited Greece to 13 points in the third quarter, en route to a win. Bogdan Bogdanović had a game-high 21 points, and four other Serbs scored in double figures, to send Serbia to the quarterfinals.[15] All Group A teams qualified to the quarterfinals, with Brazil netting a rematch with Serbia. With Brazil within striking distance throughout the game, Tiago Splitter and Nenê were assessed technical fouls in the third quarter; Serbia had a seven-point possession, and never trailed again.[16] France then defeated Spain, to arrange a rematch with Serbia in the semifinals. Serbia had a 9–0 run in the second period, to give them a 30–15 advantage. France cut the lead to ten, early in the fourth quarter. Boris Diaw, Nicolas Batum and Evan Fournier made three-pointers, to cut the deficit to four points, with five minutes left. Teodosić and Bogdanović scored their own three-pointers, to pad the lead to nine, when the French converted more three-pointers to cut the lead to three, with 48 seconds left. Thomas Heurtel converted both free-throws to cut the lead to one point, but Teodosić missed a field-goal. Heurtel split his free-throws off Teodosić's foul, then Serbia scored four points, Batum made a three-pointer for France, and Marko Simonović made both free-throws to seal the win for Serbia.[17]

Match details

This was the first meeting between Serbia and the United States at the World Cup.

Serbia made their first five shots of the game, to race to a 10–5 lead. After the U.S. timeout, Serbia scored anew, then the Americans had a 17–3 run to go up by seven. Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson scored three-pointers, to give the USA a 35–21 lead. In the second quarter, the United States made six more three point shots, to give them a 26-point lead at the half. The Americans erected the largest lead, at 39 points midway through the third quarter. The final deficit of 37 points and the 129 points scored, were the largest in a World Cup final since the USA's 137–91 victory over Russia at the 1994 FIBA World Championship. The Americans also became the third team, after Brazil and Yugoslavia, to successfully defend the world title, and tied the Yugoslavs for having the most championships, with five.[18]

The Americans shot 58% from the field and 50% from beyond the three-point line in the game, won all nine games by an average of 32.5 points, and qualified to the 2016 Summer Olympics. Kyrie Irving was named the tournament MVP.[19]

After being defeated, the Serbian team was received by a raucous crowd, upon their return to Belgrade.[20] This was the best finish of a national team featuring Serb players, since the 2002 FIBA World Championship in Indianapolis, where Yugoslavia defeated Argentina in the final.

14 September 2014
21:00
United States 129–92 Serbia Serbia
Scoring by quarter: 35–21, 32–20, 38–26, 24–25
Pts: Irving 26
Rebs: Cousins 9
Asts: Rose 6		 Pts: Bjelica, Kalinić 18
Rebs: Marković 6
Asts: Teodosić 7
Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid, Madrid
Attendance: 13,673
Referees: Stephen Seibel (CAN), Borys Ryzhyk (UKR), Eddie Viator (FRA)

*– Starters

References

  1. ^ "FIBA – A glance at Spain 2014's Group C". FIBA.com. 2014-02-04. Archived from the original on September 17, 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-15.
  2. ^ a b "SPAIN 2014: Croatia edge Philippines on thrilling opening day". FIBA.com. 2014-08-30. Archived from the original on September 2, 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-15.
  3. ^ ""Can't take anybody for granted" – Coach K acknowledges USA's scare against Turkey". FIBA.com. 2014-08-31. Archived from the original on September 2, 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-15.
  4. ^ "Three wins down, Coach K's USA still taking it one game at a time". FIBA.com. 2014-09-03. Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-15.
  5. ^ "Team work, togetherness the index of measure for Coach K". FIBA.com. 2014-09-03. Archived from the original on September 7, 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-15.
  6. ^ "5–0 and healthy: Coach K happy taking team to Barcelona". FIBA.com. 2014-09-04. Archived from the original on September 7, 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-15.
  7. ^ "Defending champions USA roll past Mexico, into Quarter-Finals". FIBA.com. 2014-09-06. Archived from the original on September 8, 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-15.
  8. ^ "USA leave brave Slovenia behind, book Semi-Final date with Lithuania". FIBA.com. 2014-09-09. Archived from the original on September 10, 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-15.
  9. ^ "SPAIN 2014: USA down Lithuania to romp into Final". FIBA.com. 2014-09-11. Archived from the original on September 13, 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-15.
  10. ^ "FIBA – A glance at Spain 2014's Group A". FIBA.com. 2014-02-04. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-15.
  11. ^ "The Diaw-Jackson factor for France". FIBA.com. 2014-08-31. Archived from the original on September 4, 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-15.
  12. ^ "Haddadi wins battle in the paint but Iran fall to Serbia". FIBA.com. 2014-09-01. Archived from the original on September 4, 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-15.
  13. ^ "Marquinhos gives Brazil hope". FIBA.com. 2014-09-04. Archived from the original on September 7, 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-15.
  14. ^ "Spain look to up their play in Madrid". FIBA.com. 2014-09-05. Archived from the original on September 8, 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-15.
  15. ^ "Serbia shake off group stage struggles, down Greece to reach last eight". FIBA.com. 2014-09-07. Archived from the original on September 9, 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-15.
  16. ^ "Serbia get better of Brazil in second attempt, reach Semis". FIBA.com. 2014-09-10. Archived from the original on September 13, 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-15.
  17. ^ "SPAIN 2014: Serbia survive France late run to set up Final showdown with USA". FIBA.com. 2014-09-12. Archived from the original on September 13, 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-15.
  18. ^ "USA shoot past Serbia to win 2014 title, retain world crown". FIBA.com. 2014-09-14. Archived from the original on September 17, 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-15.
  19. ^ "U.S. blows out Serbia for gold". Associated Press. ESPN. 2014-09-14. Retrieved 2014-09-15.
  20. ^ Melnick, Andrew (2014-09-15). "Serbia gets a huge welcome party for winning Silver Medal at FIBA World Cup". SI.com. Retrieved 2014-09-16.
  21. ^ "USA vs. Serbia FIBA box score". 2014-09-14. Archived from the original on September 13, 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-16.

External links