BEIJING, Sept. 2-- Serbia, Italy, Argentina, Poland, Spain and Russia have reached the last 16 after snatching their respective second straight wins on Monday at the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China. Serbia, one of the title favorites, trounced the Philippines 126-67 to advance with one game remaining, along with Italy in Group D. Nemanja Bjelica led seven Serbian players who scored in double figures, while the Philippine star Andray Blatche did not have his night, finishing just 5 points before fouling out. Suffering a slow start, the Serbs were tied at 7-all with six minutes left in the opening quarter before Nikola Jokic's substitution helped his team reclaim the lead. The runner-up of the 2017 FIBA World Championship never look back as Bogdan Bogdanovic, playing for the Sacramento Kings, continued Serbia's firepower. "Players delivered and did their job well. All players are in good physical shape, and it's a good sign for us," Serbian head coach Sasha Djordjevic said. Another Group D team Italy also secured a last 16 berth after claiming a convincing 92-61 win over Angola. Marco Belinelli posted the game-high 17 points. Yanick Moreira of Angola battled with 15 points but could not avoid his team's second straight defeat. "Everybody was aggressive in offense and defense. We played two good quarters, but in the third and fourth quarters we could do much better. But what's important for us is to win the game and be ready for the next one," Belinelli said. |