(AP) — And now, a day off.
There are no games on Monday at the Basketball World Cup, with some teams set to travel to Manila, Philippines, after spending the last couple of weeks in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Okinawa, Japan. The eight teams still alive in the tournament will play three more games each.
But the only way to win the World Cup now is to go 3-0 in the coming days.
SCHEDULE:
The Tuesday schedule:
Quarterfinals: Lithuania vs. Serbia, 4:45 a.m. EDT; U.S. vs. Italy, 8:40 a.m. EDT.
The Wednesday schedule:
Quarterfinals: Germany vs. Latvia, 4:45 a.m. EDT; Canada vs. Slovenia, 8:30 a.m. EDT.
HOW TO WATCH THE BASKETBALL WORLD CUP:
— In the U.S.: No plan has been announced yet for broadcasting Tuesday's game.
— There are streaming options for all games.
BETTING GUIDE :
Even after losing to Lithuania to close the second round, the U.S. remains the big favorite to win the World Cup, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The Americans’ odds were listed at minus-170 (meaning a $170 wager on the Americans would return $270 total, if they won the gold medal). Canada remained the second choice in the betting at plus-370 (a $100 wager would return $370), followed by Germany (plus-950), Serbia (plus-1,600), Lithuania (plus-1,800), Slovenia (plus-1,900), Latvia (plus-3,000) and Italy (plus 7,000).
WHAT TO KNOW What you need to know about the Basketball World Cup, and the U.S. road to getting here:
— U.S. falls to Lithuania to close second-round play
— Anthony Edwards talks the talk, and more than backs it up for the U.S.
— U.S. rallies past Montenegro to open play in Round 2
— Early U.S. wins: U.S. runs past Jordan to finish perfect in opening group play, U.S. beats Greece in second game, U.S. tops New Zealand in opening game
— The Americans are using lots of depth to their advantage
— For Erik Spoelstra, this trip to Manila is very much like a homecoming
UP NEXT:
Quarterfinal-round losers will play Thursday. Semifinals are Friday. Games to decide fifth and seventh place are Saturday and the gold- and bronze-medal games are Sunday.
OLYMPIC UPDATE:
Half of the 12 spots for men’s basketball at the Paris Olympics now have been clinched. The U.S. and Canada got the two automatic berths from the Americas Region on Sunday.
The other teams that are in the field: France (host), South Sudan (Africa automatic qualifier), Japan (Asia automatic qualifier) and Australia (Oceania automatic qualifier).
This week, these quarterfinalists from Europe — Serbia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Italy, Latvia and Germany — will contend for two automatic berths from that region.
That will push the Olympic field to eight, and the last four spots will be claimed in qualifying tournaments to be held in early July 2024.
STAT OF THE DAY:
Only two teams — Serbia and the U.S. — made the quarterfinals at this year's World Cup and made the Round of 8 in China four years ago as well. The other six teams that made the quarterfinals in 2019 were Argentina (did not qualify), Poland (did not qualify), Czech Republic (did not qualify), France (failed to make second round), Spain (lost in second round) and Australia (lost in second round).
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“It’s very hard. We got one of the biggest wins in our career, but we don’t have time to celebrate this. Serbia’s waiting and they’re not waiting for us with flowers and the red carpet.” — Lithuania coach Kazys Maksvytis, after his team beat the U.S. on Sunday.
