MANILA, Philippines—Losing a game at the Basketball World Cup, the U.S. national team said, was quite the wake-up call. It brought a renewed focus, an extra level of commitment, and even some promises to one another that things would change.
Poor Italy
The Americans turned words into actions and handed the Italians their worst loss in a global tournament—the World Cup or the Olympics—in nearly 55 years. Mikal Bridges scored 24 points, Tyrese Haliburton added 18 on six 3-pointers and the U.S. simply was airtight defensively on the way to a 100–63 win in the World Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday night.“It’s been a five-week journey for this group and there’s five more days. That’s how we look at it,” U.S. coach Steve Kerr said. “We’re the horse turning back to the barn. The horse starts picking up pace when it’s near the barn, and that’s what’s happening right now. Our guys are sensing this is the end of the journey and the energy picked up tonight, the pace, the force. They know what’s ahead. They know what the goal is.”
