Why should we have expected predictability from the FIBA World Cup?
On the second day of the tournament, the results immediately defied any “if-then” logic.
In Friday’s Group A action, Japan defeated Mali in a competitive game before Spain beat Germany in a blowout fashion, establishing Spain as the presumptive favorite to win the group.
Mali destroyed that presumption.
Mali scored their first-ever victory over a European country with the 82-73 win against Spain. Sika Konè starred for Mali with another double-double—her fifth-straight in World Cup action—with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Djeneba N’Diaye also scored 19 points, while Rokia Doumbia dished nine assists.
For Spain, it was a disappointing showing from Awa Fam, who scored four points on seven shot attempts. The two Spanish members of the Portland Fire found the most success, with Iyana Martín scoring a game-high 20 points, while adding five boards and four assists, and Megan Gustafson DiLeo contributing 16 points.
Mali’s win over Spain and close loss to Japan, combined with Spain’s domination of Germany, suggested the Japanese were poised to hand the host nation another loss on Saturday.
Nope, Germany defend their home turf, prevailing 74-58 over Japan.
Yet another Fire, Frieda Bühner, arguably had her best-ever game for the German national team, leading Germany with 19 points. Nyara Sabally tallied 18 points and nine rebounds, while Leonie Fiebich, scoring just five points, added nine boards and a team-high seven assists.
After making 20 3s on Friday, Japan was ice cold from downtown, converting just three of their 27 attempts. Saki Hayashi, responsible for nine of Japan’s record 20 triples, shot only one 3-pointer—and missed. Mai Yamamoto, who finished with eight points, made two of Japan’s three 3s.
Saturday’s results mean every team in Group A is 1-1 with three points. Spain is the unofficial group leader with a point differential of +21 points, followed by Mali and their differential of +4 points. Japan and Germany then round out the standings.
The unpredictability of just two days of play, however, promises further shifts in those standings.
And it looks like the same could be true for Group B.
Crushed by France in the opener, Hungary responded by defeating Nigeria, surviving a late push by D’Tigress to hang on for the 71-67 win. Following an underwhelming performance against France, Dorka Juhász reassumed her star role for Hungary, finishing with a 19-point and 16-rebound double-double. Amy Okonkwo again led for Nigeria, hitting three 3s as she scored 17 points.
Hungary’s victory indicated France should have no problem with South Korea, as South Korea won comfortably against Nigeria on Friday.
Yet, the Koreans put 31 points on the French in the first quarter—and had the lead.
A second-quarter surge, started by a Marine Johannès triple that seized the lead for France, led to the game ultimately unfolding as expected, with France claiming an uncompetitive-looking 95-69 win. Johannès 17 points led the way for France, with Dominique Malonga and Gabby Williams both adding 14 points.
South Korea’s Jihyun Park could not find her scoring groove against the French, managing just two points—the very first points of the game—on five shot attempts.
France thus sits atop Group B with four points and a 2-0 mark. South Korea is in second-place, ahead of Hungary due to a superior, albeit still negative, point differential of -4 points.