The FIBA World Cup Matchup that the audiences have been waiting for will never happen. US National team is off to the finals after winning against Lithuania but their closest competitor, Spain is out of the competition after losing to France.
According to U.S. guard Derrick Rose "'I think that's one of the reasons why we came over here, was to play them. Too bad we're not playing them and hopefully we go out there in our next game and play hard and just know that we're there for a reason."
The US beat Lithuania 96-68 during last Thursday night. James Harden accumulated 16 points during the third quarter of the match.
The US Team will now face either France or Serbia in the Finals for the FIBA World Cup.
Harden said "Obviously they're playing there for a reason. We're not going to take anyone lightly, which we haven't thus far."
Even Stephen Curry and Kenneth Faried were looking forward to playing against Spain. Some of the US Team watched the game live while others found out of the results after the games.
According to Curry "'I don't think we're disappointed, or wished we played a certain team. We're happy to take care of our business."
According to United States coach Mike Krzyzewski "It is always a great honour to play against Lithuania. What a great basketball country! We had so many good games with them."
While Lithuanian counterpart Jonas Kazlauskas responded "When you are playing against Team USA, you cannot lose control for one minute. That can change everything."
On the other hand, Lithuania was assisted by Raptors' Jonas Valanciunas who managed to build up 15 points. He was the key person from the team who helped keep the big men from the US team in foul trouble. But Valanciunas was not enough to keep his team from losing the match against the reigning FIBA World Cup Champions.
The finals fight with the World Cup will be something to look out for as new teams have emerged on the top of the competition. Whether the US team will face Serbia or France, one thing is clear, many will be looking forward to this event.
