Team USA has no problem taking care their first assignment, the team Czech Republic as they started to defend their title, 88-67.
Donovan Mitchell leads the American squad with his 16 points performance while Harrison Barnes and Kemba Walker added 14 and 13 points respectively.
Unlike the previous edition of the FIBA World Cup or when team USA is teeming with big names from the NBA, this time around no super blowout victory for them though they made a 21-point win which is still a far cry compared to their at least 50-point advantage especially in the preliminary round
Team USA used its athleticism to pound their opponent. They won the points in the fast break, 15-0 while forcing the Czechs to commit 15 errors which were translated into 22 points in their favor.
Member of the Chicago Bulls Tomas Satoransky led his squad with 17 points while Jaromir Bohacik and Vojtech Hruban each scored 13 points.
Team USA’s next assignment is against Team Turkey while the Czech Republic will have a clash versus Team Japan.