Group A:
The tournament started in this group on Monday. Spain was expected to look more like they had in the past with their full roster after European disappointment, but they ended up getting everything they could handle from Kang Lee-Seul and South Korea before building a lead in the fourth quarter and then hanging on for a 73-69 win behind Astou Ndour. The other game ended up being a good one as well with Canada using a strong third quarter to tie the game before the final frame only for Serbia to recover and win 72-68.
July 26, 2021
South Korea vs. Spain 69-73 KOR Kang 26/7r Park J-S 17 Park H-J 14 Kim D-B 6 Shin 3 Park J-H 2 Yoon 1 Bae 0 Jin 0 Kim J-E 0 Han DNP An DNP ESP Ndour 28/10r Gil 16/14r Ouvina 10/7r/8a Dominguez 8 Palau 4/6a Torrens 2 Carrera 2 Casas 2 Cazorla 0 Conde 0 Rodriguez 0 Abalde DNP
Serbia vs. Canada 72-68 SRB Vasic 16 Anderson 12 Dabovic 11/6r Krajisnik 10 Crvendakic 10 Brooks 9 Stankovic 4 Jovanovic 0 Skoric 0 Butulija 0 Cado DNP Dugalic DNP CAN Fields 19 Nurse 16/6r Colley 12 Raincock-Ekunwe 8 Carleton 7 Amihere 2 Ayim 2 Pellington 2 Achonwa 0 Alexander 0 Edwards 0 Gaucher DNP
Group B:
Tuesday’s games started in this group with France looking to try to establish post position against the hosts and their unusual style. Japan was able to prevail 74-70 in what was expected to be the toughest group before the tournament. Nigeria showed that they were ready for their latest foray onto the global stage, but the United States imposed their will at the right times and won 81-72.
July 27, 2021
Japan vs. France 74-70 JPN Hayashi 12 Nagaoka 11 Takada 10/6r Akaho 8/9r Mawuli 8 Machida 7/11a Todo 5 Miyazaki 4 Miyazawa 3 Motohashi 3 Miyoshi 3 Okoye 0 FRA Gruda 18/9r Miyem 12/6r Williams 9 Michel 8 Duchet 7 Ciak 6/6r Johannes 6 Chartereau 2 Fauthoux 1 Vukosavljevic 1 Tchatchouang 0 Rupert DNP
Nigeria vs. United States 72-81 NGR Kalu 16/6r Macaulay 11 Amukamara 10 Elonu 10 Ibekwe 9 Chidom 7 Nyingifa 5 Kunaiyi-Akpanah 2/9r Okonkwo 2 Ogwumike 0 Mohammed 0 Balogun 0 USA Wilson 19/13r Griner 13/10r Taurasi 10 Stewart 9/11r Fowles 9 Loyd 8 Charles 6/6r Gray 6 Diggins 1 Bird 0/13a Collier 0 Atkins 0
Group C:
The first game in this group was expected to be a good one. Ezi Magbegor helped Australia take a lead into halftime, but Emma Meesseman and Belgium dominated the fourth quarter to win 85-70. Puerto Rico had a magical run to secure qualification here, but Li Yueru and China started what will be a difficult campaign for them with a crushing 97-55 win.
July 27, 2021
Australia vs. Belgium 70-85 AUS Magbegor 20/8r George 12/10r Ebzery 11/9r/6a Allen 10 O’Hea 6 Tolo 6 Madgen 3 Mitchell 2/7a Lavey 0 Talbot DNP Blicavs DNP Smith DNP BEL Meesseman 32/9r Delaere 17 Allemand 16/11a K. Mestdagh 8/6r Vanloo 4 Linskens 3/6r H. Mestdagh 3 Raman 2 Massey 0 Carpreaux DNP Wauters DNP Nauwelaers DNP
Puerto Rico vs. China 55-97 PUR Rosado 14 O’Neill 13 Quinones 10 Gwathmey 8 Melendez 4 Lozada-Cabbage 3 Salaman 2 Gibson 1 Gonzalez 0 Pagan 0 Benitez 0 Stinson 0 CHN Li YR 21/12r Li M 15 Han 11/14r Pan 11/7r Yang 9 Li Y 9 Wang 8 Shao 7/6r/6a Sun 3 Huang 3/7a Wu 0 Zhang 0