The Fiba Basketball World Cup kicks off in China and we have eight games to kick off proceedings.
It’s a wide-open competition with the USA going down to Australia last week in a historic match for Australian Basketball.
Several sides can win it and it will be interesting to see how they fare in the FIBA Basketball World Cup for 2019.
Groups A,B,C and D will take part in the action for the first day.
Here are some FIBA World Cup Picks for 31st August 2019.
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Angola vs Serbia
Prediction
Serbia (Win)
Game Total + 157.5
Boban Marjanovic + 10.5 Points
The Angolans will take on the Serbians in the first match and will have their work cut out for them despite being the African Nation that has won the most matches in the Basketball World Champs.
The Serbians come into the World Cup as one of the Favourites and have a lineup stacked with Talent.
Nikola Jokic, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Nemanja Bjelica and Boban Marjanovic will provide the Angolans with a lot of headaches on the offensive end.
Jokic is one of the best passing big men in the World and Marjanovic is 7ft 3, and can score fast as he does in NBA Matches.
The Angolans have a lot of experience and Eduardo Mingas, who made his debut at the 2002 World Champs will be suiting up again at the ripe age of 40.
The Serbians will be too strong in what may be a high scoring contest.
Poland vs Venezuela
Prediction
Poland (Win)
Game Total + 145.5
Neither of these two sides have any huge names by the way of NBA Players, but they both play well as a team and are well-coached.
Poland went 1 Win and 4 Losses in their warm-up games and Venezuela had the same record.
Poland doesn’t have a lot of experience on the World Stage, but has been solid in their last few warm-up games with 3 narrow losses to the Czech Republic, Germany and Nigeria. Their only win was a massive win 92-51 over the lowly Jordan.
The Venezuelans had an 81-74 win over Senegal and only lost by 3 to a Talented Turkey outfit a few days back.
Tough to pick a winner here, but the game may be high scoring and the Polish side will be pumped in their first-ever World Cup match.
Russia vs Nigeria
Prediction
Russia (Win)
Game Total + 151.5
The Russians are missing several regular contributors, but are known to play well as a team and are always well-coached.
They went 5 Wins 3 Losses in the warm-up games with a recent 74-55 win over a Talented Spain outfit a good sign leading into their first match.
The Nigerians, on the other hand, have had limited preparation with a lack of funding to get to the games, although they have a couple of NBA players in Al-Farouq Aminu and Josh Okogie the limited preparation time may cost them. Did go 3 Wins and 1 Loss during the warm-up games with wins over Canada, Montenegro and Poland.
The Nigerians averaged 175 Points in their warm-up games which may suggest they like to play a fast-paced brand. The Russians may be too good in what may prove to be a high scoring contest.
Iran vs Puerto Rico
Prediction
Puerto Rico (Win)
Game Total + 148.5
Iran went 3 Wins and 1 Loss during the warm-up phase with both losses coming to Greece. They are a well-coached team and have the big 7 foot 2 Centre Hammed Hadadi who can prove a handful for defenders because of his size.
Puerto Rico did not win a game during the Warm-Up phase, but they play well on the world stage and have upset the USA before. Both teams don’t have any big names by the way of the NBA, but expect this game to be close and the Game Total to probably go over.
Philippines vs Italy
Prediction
Italy (Win)
Game Total Under 154.5
The Italians come into the World Cup with some recognized names and veterans of the NBA. Danilo Gallinari and Marco Belinelli will prove important throughout the tournament and certainly know how to score.
For the Philippines, Andray Blatche is their best player and will be a focal point for a lot of their offence.
It is hard to see an upset in this game as the form and strength of opponents for the Philippines was not the greatest during the warm up phase. The Italians have won some matches, but only went 4 Wins and 6 Losses in the warm-up phase.
Expect the Italians to win this game in a possible low scoring affair.
Cote d’Ivoire vs China
Prediction
China (Win)
Game Total + 145.5
The Host team Chinese are not in the strongest group and may have been saving their best for the tournament as their lead up form has been not that flash.
The Ivory Coast had just the one win in the warm-up phase and no real big names.
The Home crowd should be enough for the Chinese to win the match in a higher scoring game.
Argentina vs Korea
Prediction – Argentina (Win)
Game Total Game Total Under 169.5
Argentina went 6 Wins and 3 Losses in the warm-up games and played some very good teams. They did go down 84-76 to Spain recently, but will be the favourites to take out Group B.
The Veteran Luis Scola is back and provides strength and rebounding power to a side that has always competed well on the World Stage.
Korea lost both of their warm-up games, but could be a dark horse as they are well-coached and have had a good preparation for the World Cup.
Argentina should win the match and the Game Total is favoured to go under.
Spain vs Tunisia
Prediction – Spain (Win)
Game Total Over 147.5
Spain has been solid with a 5 Win, 2 Loss record in the warm-up games and has a host of NBA talent to rely on in the Tournament.
An 81-90 loss to the USA will suggest that they will be there abouts and Marc Gasol is a proven force on the big stage. Ricky Rubio will also provide a lot of headaches for guards both offensively and defensively, and they will be tough to beat.
Tunisia had a 3 Win, 4 Loss record during the warm-up games and have had a decent preparation. Salah Merji is their big-name player from the Dallas Mavericks, but it is difficult seeing them being competitive against such a good Spanish team.
Spain to win in a higher scoring game.
These are some Fiba World Cup Picks for August 31st 2019.
Results Today
Game Total – 7/8
Player Props – 1/1
Head to Head – 8/8