The latest in a long line of athletes to undergo Chinese naturalization, Anderson has become the first basketball player to do so.

“I’m so happy to announce that I will be representing China at the World Cup,” Anderson stated in a video that he released on his Weibo account. “Really proud and honored to wear the Team China jersey.”

Because FIBA allows teams to include one naturalized player on their roster, Anderson could be in line to represent China at the Olympic Games in Paris next year.

According to Chinese media, Anderson’s maternal grandmother was born in Jamaica to a Chinese father and a Jamaican mother. It remains unclear whether Anderson has renounced his original nationality, with China typically prohibiting dual nationality for its citizens.

The post Timberwolves’ Kyle Anderson Will Represent China at the World Cup appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

“It’s not exactly a new title and it probably can’t be maintained for too long, but it’s something so unique, prestigious, and historic that I feel tremendously proud of everyone who … contributed to it,” Spain coach Sergio Scariolo announced on Twitter on Friday.

Team USA first took the top spot in 2010 as the team won its fourth FIBA World Championship. Subsequent gold medals at the Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo Olympics as well as another world title in 2014 helped to secure Team USA’s status as the top-ranked nation.

In 2017, FIBA changed its ranking system to only look at results over the past eight years. With the USA no longer benefitting from its 2010 World Championship, Spain bettered its own position by lifting the 2019 world title. Spain’s gold medal victory at this year’s EuroBasket boosted the Southern European nation to the summit of the FIBA rankings.

The post Spain Overtakes USA at Summit of FIBA Rankings appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

A two-time NBA champion with the Miami Heat, Cole proved to be USA’s standout performer on the night with a game-high score of 20 points. “Moments like that, everybody dreams about,” Cole said of his buzzer-beating basket. “I work hard at my individual game along with the team game, I was able to show my individual talent within the team concept and it worked out.”

Following Cole on Team USA’s points leaderboard for the game was Jeremy Pargo with 15 points, Zylan Cheatham with 11 points, and Stephen Zimmerman with 10 points. Tremont Waters and Ethan Thompson were Puerto Rico’s top performers, scoring 16 points each.

Team USA will face Argentina in the semifinal on Saturday, with both the gold medal and bronze medal games happening on Sunday. The other semifinal will see Canada face the winner of the quarterfinal clash between Brazil and the Dominican Republic.

The post Team USA Reaches AmeriCup Semifinals appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

“He had discomfort in his knee but nothing major,” Itoudis confirmed. “We did not want to risk anything so we did not dress him up today.” Prior to the game against Great Britain, Antetokounmpo played a pivotal role in leading Greece to hard-fought victories over Italy and Croatia to all but secure the team’s place in the knockout phase of the tournament, setting up a perfect 3-0 group phase record in the process.

Itoudis stated that Antetokounmpo is expected to return to the court in time for Greece’s clash with Ukraine on Tuesday. This fixture should provide the Greek squad with ample preparation ahead of the knockout rounds on Saturday, especially since Ukraine is top of Group C due to also maintaining a perfect start to the competition.

In Antetokounmpo’s absence, Kostas Papanikolaou and Michail Lountzis emerged as Greece’s key players against the UK, scoring 10 points each.

The post Giannis Antetokounmpo Misses EuroBasket Game, Citing Knee Pain appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

The most interesting matches are expected to be in the L group, where France will take on Australia and European rivals Lithuania on the 7^th and 9^th of September. In group J, one of the favorites for the gold medal, Serbia, will face former European and World champs Spain on 8^th of September, while the other Euro derby will be on the 7^th as Spain takes on Italy. 

In the group K, USA will face Greece on the 7^th and Brazil 2 days later. Brazil and USA have both entered with 3 wins. Turkey who almost shocked USA in the 2^nd fixture have lost and were eliminated from the tournament by the Czech Republic. 

The results: 

Canada – Senegal 82-60 

Germany – Jordan 92-62 

Greece – New Zealand 103-97 

USA – Japan 98-45 

Lithuania – Australia 82-87 

Turkey – Czech Republic 76-91 

Brazil – Montenegro 84-73 

Dominican Republic- France 56-90 

The post FIBA World Cup Second Stage Groups Are Set appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

The latest in a long line of athletes to undergo Chinese naturalization, Anderson has become the first basketball player to do so.

“I’m so happy to announce that I will be representing China at the World Cup,” Anderson stated in a video that he released on his Weibo account. “Really proud and honored to wear the Team China jersey.”

Because FIBA allows teams to include one naturalized player on their roster, Anderson could be in line to represent China at the Olympic Games in Paris next year.

According to Chinese media, Anderson’s maternal grandmother was born in Jamaica to a Chinese father and a Jamaican mother. It remains unclear whether Anderson has renounced his original nationality, with China typically prohibiting dual nationality for its citizens.

The post Timberwolves’ Kyle Anderson Will Represent China at the World Cup appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

“It’s not exactly a new title and it probably can’t be maintained for too long, but it’s something so unique, prestigious, and historic that I feel tremendously proud of everyone who … contributed to it,” Spain coach Sergio Scariolo announced on Twitter on Friday.

Team USA first took the top spot in 2010 as the team won its fourth FIBA World Championship. Subsequent gold medals at the Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo Olympics as well as another world title in 2014 helped to secure Team USA’s status as the top-ranked nation.

In 2017, FIBA changed its ranking system to only look at results over the past eight years. With the USA no longer benefitting from its 2010 World Championship, Spain bettered its own position by lifting the 2019 world title. Spain’s gold medal victory at this year’s EuroBasket boosted the Southern European nation to the summit of the FIBA rankings.

The post Spain Overtakes USA at Summit of FIBA Rankings appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

A two-time NBA champion with the Miami Heat, Cole proved to be USA’s standout performer on the night with a game-high score of 20 points. “Moments like that, everybody dreams about,” Cole said of his buzzer-beating basket. “I work hard at my individual game along with the team game, I was able to show my individual talent within the team concept and it worked out.”

Following Cole on Team USA’s points leaderboard for the game was Jeremy Pargo with 15 points, Zylan Cheatham with 11 points, and Stephen Zimmerman with 10 points. Tremont Waters and Ethan Thompson were Puerto Rico’s top performers, scoring 16 points each.

Team USA will face Argentina in the semifinal on Saturday, with both the gold medal and bronze medal games happening on Sunday. The other semifinal will see Canada face the winner of the quarterfinal clash between Brazil and the Dominican Republic.

The post Team USA Reaches AmeriCup Semifinals appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

“He had discomfort in his knee but nothing major,” Itoudis confirmed. “We did not want to risk anything so we did not dress him up today.” Prior to the game against Great Britain, Antetokounmpo played a pivotal role in leading Greece to hard-fought victories over Italy and Croatia to all but secure the team’s place in the knockout phase of the tournament, setting up a perfect 3-0 group phase record in the process.

Itoudis stated that Antetokounmpo is expected to return to the court in time for Greece’s clash with Ukraine on Tuesday. This fixture should provide the Greek squad with ample preparation ahead of the knockout rounds on Saturday, especially since Ukraine is top of Group C due to also maintaining a perfect start to the competition.

In Antetokounmpo’s absence, Kostas Papanikolaou and Michail Lountzis emerged as Greece’s key players against the UK, scoring 10 points each.

The post Giannis Antetokounmpo Misses EuroBasket Game, Citing Knee Pain appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

The most interesting matches are expected to be in the L group, where France will take on Australia and European rivals Lithuania on the 7^th and 9^th of September. In group J, one of the favorites for the gold medal, Serbia, will face former European and World champs Spain on 8^th of September, while the other Euro derby will be on the 7^th as Spain takes on Italy. 

In the group K, USA will face Greece on the 7^th and Brazil 2 days later. Brazil and USA have both entered with 3 wins. Turkey who almost shocked USA in the 2^nd fixture have lost and were eliminated from the tournament by the Czech Republic. 

The results: 

Canada – Senegal 82-60 

Germany – Jordan 92-62 

Greece – New Zealand 103-97 

USA – Japan 98-45 

Lithuania – Australia 82-87 

Turkey – Czech Republic 76-91 

Brazil – Montenegro 84-73 

Dominican Republic- France 56-90 

The post FIBA World Cup Second Stage Groups Are Set appeared first on yoursportspot.com.