Strong start for Team USA

Coach Steve Kerr took his team to the court after just a few days of working together, and they made a great first impression. They easily defeated Puerto Rico, which will be in the same group as Serbia at the next World Cup in Japan and the Philippines.

Despite 12 players making their debut in major competitions, the Americans proved they were serious contenders for the gold medal. The top performers on the winning team were Anthony Edwards and Cameron Johnson, scoring 15 points, while Mikal Bridges added 14 points with a 6-point field goal. Team Puerto Rico’s Tremont Waters scored the highest points in the friendly contest with 17 points and made five steals, but unfortunately, his team lost.

During the game, the Puerto Rican team managed to keep up until halftime, only trailing by seven points (50-43). However, in the third period, Ker’s team took a commanding lead of 84-61 and won convincingly.

After the game, Jaren Jackson Jr. talked about to FIBA rules adaptation: “We can be a lot more physical, the guards can be a lot more physical up high and funnel things to the bigs down low if you do a good job of reading the game, playing a cat-and-mouse position where we can get some more blocks, wall up some,... It’s really about making them miss and forcing them into tough shots at the rim.”

In the upcoming Mundobasket tournament, the American team is placed in Group C alongside Jordan, Greece, and New Zealand. In contrast, Puerto Rico is placed in Group B with South Sudan, Serbia, and China.