The Dominican Republic basketball team beat Italy (87 – 82) in its second appearance in the orbital tournament. The result, which meant a new triumph for the Caribbean quintet, was forged in part to the work done by the technical direction and the good understanding of the players. In another match, France was surprised by the Latvian team and said goodbye to the tournament.
First modification:
4 min
The Argentine Néstor ‘Che’ García is living a dream moment with the Dominican Republic team in this edition of the World Cup that is taking place jointly in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Against Italy, a partial of 12 – 0 against during the first minutes of match heralded a difficult afternoon for the Dominican Republic. However, the good reading of the game by the coach and his assistants, coupled with the performance of the players on the field, allowed the Dominicans to turn the situation around and get close to advancing to the next phase of the tournament.
For the second consecutive game, the Caribbean team relied on the offensive work of Karl-Anthony Towns Cruz who added 24 points. The point guard for Joventut Badalona of the Spanish ACB League, Andrés Feliz, finished the game with 24 points but with 70% in the three-point shooting percentage. The native of Santo Domingo finished the game converting seven of his 10 shots from the 6.75-meter line.
The game was very even in terms of statistics and in some items the Italians surpassed the Caribbean team, such as the two-point shots, where they finished with 57.9% and the free throws where they had 94.4%. for a 76.5% success rate for the Dominicans.
However, those led by Néstor García were able to carry out the favorable result with two key aspects: the three-point shots and the baskets on second chances.
From the long distance the Caribbeans prevailed with 41% of their conversions by only 24.1% of the Italians. Likewise, the Dominicans took full advantage of second chances by recording 16 points against only two for Italy.
Italy was able to respond to the Dominican attack from long distance with points in the paint where they got 34 points, while the players on the bench contributed 28 points, against 21 from the Dominican substitutes.
The next presentation for the Dominican Republic will be on August 29 when they face the Angola team, which fell in its second match against the Philippines 80-70, in what will be the third and final match of the group stage.
France lost to Latvia and says goodbye to the tournament
In another match of the day, for group H, the Latvian team, which is making its World Cup debut, beat France (86-88) to cause one of the biggest surprises so far in the tournament.
Jakarta’s Indonesia Arena, home of the match, was transformed into the Latvian capital Riga’s branch, thanks to cheering fans throughout.
France, which in the previous tournament was one of the favorite teams to fight for the title, was in a position to win, and by a considerable difference after the defeat against Canada, it was the only favorable result to continue dreaming of the tournament.
However, despite having players who make life in the NBA such as: Rudy Gobert-Bourgarel (Minnesota Timberwolves center) or Evan Fournier (New York Knicks point guard), to name two, the French quintet could not make any major differences. against the Latvian team.
The former Soviets, despite not being able to count on Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis, who will not be able to play due to plantar fasciitis, relied on guard Artūrs Žagars’ 22 points and Rolands’ 20 points, to win.
Latvia’s next presentation will be against the representation of Canada, which defeated Lebanon 128 by 73 in its second game.
At the end of the match, French forward Nicolas Batum, a member of the Los Angeles Clippers in the NBA, acknowledged the errors of the players in the result but told the French outlet ‘L’Equipe’ that not having important players for this event was a determining factor for not having achieved the results.
“We have been together, we have been putting something in motion for years (…) The players have made a mistake, but it takes a lot of people to question themselves. We need everyone in Paris, the best conditions, everyone. I don’t give a damn politics, we need the best possible team in France,” the player told the aforementioned French outlet.
Batum, who assured that he hopes to play for another year with the French team, referred to the case of the player Thomas Heurtel, suspended from the national team for having signed a contract to play professional basketball in Russia amid the restrictions imposed on that country. for the war in Ukraine.
Other results of the third day of competition in the World Cup
Group D: Montenegro 89 – 74 Egypt
Lithuania 96 – 66 Mexico
Group E: Australia 82 – 85 Germany
Japan 98 – 88 Finland
Source: FIBA
#Basketball #World #Cup #hand #Che #García #Dominican #Republic #dreaming