Sports Desk :
The USA outclassed surprise finalists Serbia by 129-92 points in the final of the 17th edition of the Basketball World Cup in Madrid, Spain on Sunday and regained the world title for fifth time.
The eventual champions scored 35 points in the first quarterfinal against 21 by Serbia. The score line in the remaining three quarters was 32-20, 38-26 and 24-25 respectively. Irving of the USA was the leading scorer with 26 points while Bjelica and Kalinic for Serbia with 18 points each.
James Harden added 23 points for the Americans, who made 11 of 16 3-pointers in a sensational-shooting first half, adding one final romp to a tournament full of them.
“We can step up and win the gold, too. That’s what we did tonight, said an American player. And just like every other game, the Americans did it easily.
The Americans were supposed to have All-Star forwards Durant, Kevin Love and Blake Griffin, who all informed USA Basketball not long before the tournament that they would be unavailable.
But Irving and Harden stuck around, and despite sending the youngest U.S. team since NBA players debuted in 1992, the Americans remained unbeatable.
They have won 63 straight games–45 in official FIBA events and 18 in exhibition play– and are automatically qualified for the 2016 Olympics in Brazil. Outgoing Champions Spain, the hosts were eliminated in the quarterfinals by France.
A total of 13,673 spectators watched the match till the end. Kyrie Irving of the USA was rated the player of the tournament.
France beat Lithuania 95-93 on Saturday for the bronze.
Asian Champions Iran finished 20th in the 24 teams World Cup. The other two representatives the Philippines and South Korea were placed 21st and 23rd respectively.
