The Semi-Finals of the 2019 Basketball World Cup are here and we have ourselves a couple of great matches to look forward to.
The favourites for the Cup, the United States are out of the competition after falling to France.
To be fair to the USA team, it wasn’t their best possible side, but the side that did represent is still loaded with talent.
The first Semi-Final sees Spain take on Australia, and the second features Argentina taking on France.
Spain beat Poland 90-78 to Advance, and Australia defeated the Czech Republic, 82-70. In the other Quarter Final, it was Argentina that upstaged Serbia in a 97-87 victory.
The quality of basketball has been fantastic so far, check out some of the best plays from the last couple of days below.
Here are some Basketball World Cup Picks, for September 13th 2019.
Form so Far
Head to Head – 55/68 = 80.9%
Game Total – 36/64 = 56.3%
Be sure to check back each day for more Free FIBA Picks and Expert Basketball Picks Daily.
Spain vs Australia
Prediction – Australia (Win)
Game Total Over 159.5
The first game we have Spain taking on Australia for the first spot in the Final.
These two sides met in the Bronze Medal Match at the 2016 Olympic Games and it was Spain that came out on top 89-88, in a thrilling contest.
Spain has so far been undefeated with wins over Tunisia, Puerto Rico, Iran, Italy, Serbia and Poland.
Australia is also undefeated with wins over Canada, Senegal, Lithuania, Dominican Republic, France and the Czech Republic.
Both sides are playing good basketball and shooting the ball well.
Spain has provided the Australian’s with a lot of headaches in the big man department in previous encounters. This has been mainly the work of the Gasol brothers, but on this occasion, it is only Marc Gasol to worry about.
Andrew Bogut, Aron Baynes and Jock Landale have all been very solid for the Aussies in the tournament so far and will crash the boards and prove to be a handful for the Spanish bigs. Andrew Bogut has proven that he is one of the best passing centre’s on the World Stage.
The Australian Men have never won a medal in any Olympics or World Cup event, and have failed in this match in the Olympics on four occasions. This means they have had a chance in the Bronze Medal Match four times, but have never been good enough on the day to win the medal.
The Aussies are shooting the Ball at 40% from the three-point line, compared to Spain at 32%. This may be a deciding factor as Patty Mills looks unstoppable at the moment, and the effectiveness of Chris Goulding coming off the bench for Australia has proven significant in the tournament so far.
No team should ever take Spain lightly and the likes of Rubio, Gasol, Fernandez and Hernangomez will make it tough for the Australian side.
This game may be fast-paced so the Game Total may be favoured to go over the number.
The match will almost certainly be close, but the Australian’s just have too much to play for and Patty Mills is playing some career-best basketball. He will be one of the favourites to win the MVP for the tournament.
Australia to win in a higher scoring contest.
Argentina vs France
Prediction – France (Win)
Game Total Under 163.5
The other match for a spot in the Final sees Argentina take on France.
France managed to beat the USA team 89-79, and will come into this game full of confidence.
Argentina on the other hand, also managed a huge upset a couple of nights back and defeated Serbia, 97-87.
Rudy Gobert proved a handful for the USA and managed 21 Points and 16 Rebounds in the big win, including a big block in the latter stages against his Utah Jazz Teammate, Donavan Mitchell.
Facundo Campazzo was the best player for Argentina in their win over Serbia with 18 Points and 12 Assists. Luis Scola was again solid with 20 Points, and the question of whether or not he can keep up this sort of form at such a ripe age remains to be seen.
France has so much shooting power with Fournier, De Colo and Ntlikana that they should be good enough to win this match.
Argentina has surprised so far, but who will be their man to take the game on in the latter stages, if it’s close?
France just has so much firepower and should win this contest. The Game Total will also be favoured to go under the number with some frantic defence being played.
These are some Fiba World Cup Picks for September 13th 2019.
Results Today
Head to Head – 0/2
Game Totals – 2/2
Click the links below to see all the Fiba Picks for previous days.