FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019: Scores and highlights from Day 3

Benyam Kidane

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FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019: Scores and highlights from Day 3 image

There was no shortage of NBA talent on the third day of the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Six teams booked their place in the Second Round of the tournament, with Argentina, Italy, Poland, Russia, Serbia and Spain picking up valuable wins on Day 3.

Check below for scores and highlights from each contest.

Italy 92, Angola 61

Italy improves to 2-0 at the World Cup, lighting up Angloa from the three-point line (12-of-30) in the win. 

San Antonio Spurs guard Marco Bellinelli led the way with 17 points on 3-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc, adding five rebounds and two steals.

Meanwhile, Yanick Moneira had 15 points for Angola on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, adding eight rebounds.

Venezuela 87, Ivory Coast 71

Venezuela picks up their first win of the tournament to move to 1-1 and keep their hopes of advancing alive, thanks to 28 points and seven assists from Heissler Guillent (11-of-18 FG), (5-of-10 3PT).

Charles Abouo led Ivory Coast with 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from the three-point line.

Argentina 94, Nigeria 81

Luis Scola moved into no.2 on FIBA's all-time World Cup scoring list, passing Australian Andrew Gaze as he recorded 23 points and 10 rebounds to help Argentina clinch their spot in the Second Round.

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Josh Okogie led Nigeria with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 from the three-point line.

Tunisia 79, Iran 67

Tunisia picked up their first-ever win at a FIBA basketball World Cup, behind 22 points from Salah Mejri 

Mejri connected on 5-of-9 from beyond the arc, adding 15 rebounds as Tunisia moved to a 1-1 record, while Iran falls to 0-2 at the tournament.


Aaron Geramimpor had 18 points and eight rebounds for Iran, while Behnam Yakhchalidehkordi added 14 and veteran Hamed Haddadi recorded a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double.

Iran will now face the already-qualified Spain in their final group game, while Tunisia will take on Puerto Rico to decide who will join Spain in the Second Round.

Serbia 126, Philippines 67

Serbia shot the lights out on their way to a 59-point win to advance to the Second Round of the tournament. They connected on 48-of-64 (75 percent) from the field, with seven players scoring in double figures.

Sacramento Kings forward Nemanja Bjelica led all scorers with 20 points on a perfect 7-of-7 from the field and 3-of-3 from the three-point line, while his Kings teammate Bogdan Bogdanovic added 17 points.

Denver Nuggets All-Star big man Nikola Jokic recorded 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting, seven rebounds and seven assists in the win.


Poland 79, China 76 (OT)

Poland advance to the Second Round after winning an overtime thriller against China to move to 2-0.

Mateusz Ponitka poured in 25 points for Poland, while A.J. Slaughter chipped in 22 points, four assists and two rebounds.

China led 72-71 with 6.1 seconds remaining in regulation, before Ponitka stole the inbounds pass and was fouled, forcing overtime by splitting a pair of free throws.

With 10.8 seconds remaining in the extra period, China had a chance to win or tie, down 78-76, however they failed to inbound the ball under pressure from Poland. Pontika hit the free throw, before Jianlian Yi missed a three at the buzzer. 

Yi finished with 24 points (7-of-15 FG) and eight rebounds, including this highlight-reel jam!

Russia 87, Korea 73

Russia book their place in the Second Round with a hard-fought win over Korea, with four players scoring in double figures. 

Vitaly Fridzon and Andei Vorontsevich scored 13 points each, while Mikhail Kulagin and Andrei Zubkov added 11 points apiece. Nikita Kurbanov did a little bit of everything, recording eight points, nine assists and seven rebounds. 

After leading by three points at the half, Russia turned it on in the third quarter, outscoring Korea 23-12 to take control of the game.

For Korea, Guna Ra scored a game-high 19 points. 

Russia will now face Argentina in their final group stage game to determine the winner of Group B.

Spain 73, Puerto Rico 63

Spain advance to the Second Round of the tournament after grinding out victory against Puerto Rico.

Spain used a 21-10 third-quarter push, lifting their defensive intensity to stretch the lead to 12 points heading into the fourth.

Toronto Raptors centre Marc Gasol led all scorers with 19 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks, while Phoenix Suns point guard Ricky Rubio recorded 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists in the win.

Spain's poor shooting from the three-point line kept Puerto Rico in the game, going 4-of-30 (13%) from deep.

"It was a good challenge. We reacted defensively and raised our level of physicality even though we struggled to make shots,"  Spain big man Marc Gasol said post-game. 

"I’m sure the next game we will make more shots. You have to stay patient, execute, not overreact to missing shots and continue to rebound, play defense and share the ball."

Benyam Kidane

Benyam Kidane Photo

Benyam Kidane is a senior NBA editor and has been covering the league for The Sporting News since 2016. In his spare time you can find him watching Allen Iverson highlights on repeat.