WCC in the FIBA World Cup: Day 5

With only a game remaining in pool play, Australia and Ukraine have put themselves in decent positions to advance to the knockout round of the FIBA World Cup.

Here is how both teams fared and how their respective WCC alumni, Matthew Dellavedova (Australia) and Pooh Jeter (Ukriane), played in the fifth day of action in Spain.

Australia Knocks off Mexico

Under the leadership of Dellavedova, Australia handily defeated the Mexican National Team by a score of 70-62.

Dellavedova played 23 minutes in the victory, scoring seven points, grabbing three rebounds and dishing out two assists. The former Saint Mary’s star has served as the team’s jack-of-all-trades, doing a little bit of everything for the team.

Australia is currently tied for second place in Group D with a record of 3-1. They will play Angola at 4:30 a.m. PST tomorrow to try and secure a spot as the two seed out of Group D. The Australians have already locked up a birth into the Round of 16.

Ukraine Falls to New Zealand

The Ukranian National Team faltered against New Zealand this morning, losing to “the Tall Blacks (I’m not making this up)” by a score of 73-61.

Jeter played a team-high 33 minutes in the loss, scoring 14 points, snagging four rebounds and distributing six assists.

Ukraine is in a decent spot right now, but with a matchup against the United States (tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. PST) on the way the Ukrainians could be in precarious situation tomorrow. Currently Jeter’s national team is tied with Turkey for second place in Group C with a record of 2-2. The Domincan Republic is losing to the U.S. National Team as we speak, and they are expected to fall to America and go to 2-2. Ukraine will likely be subject to a tiebreaker, which would be interesting due to the fact they have lost the last place team’s in Group C – Finland and New Zealand – and won against Turkey and Dominican Republic.