Magic's Paolo Banchero, Team USA Grabs Victory vs. Greece
The U.S. men's national team is celebrating after a 109-81 victory over Greece in the second of three games in Group C pool play.
Monday's victory against the Greeks, who are missing the injured Giannis Antetokounmpo, was a relatively easy affair for the Americans after they had some early trouble with New Zealand in Saturday's opener. The red, white, and blue jumped out to a 17-point lead after the first half and never looked back, posting an advantage that summitted at 31 during the final 20 minutes. Team USA owned a 32-6 advantage in fast break scoring and enjoyed 60 points from their depth stars off the bench.
Orlando Magic star Paolo Banchero scored eight points, six of which came from the charity stripe. It was part of an American effort that reached that foul line on 34 occasions, hitting all but four of them to grow their lead.
Thanks to other results from Monday's Group C play, Team USA is guaranteed entry into the second round. It'll have one more game in opening pool play against Jordan on Wednesday (4:40 a.m., ESPN2).
Elsewhere in Monday's Group C action, New Zealand took a 95-87 overtime decision from Jordan. Greece, which faces New Zealand on Wednesday (8:40 a.m., ESPN+), currently holds to advancement tiebreaker at minus-7.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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