GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) – New format, same familiar U.S. dominance on Sunday.
Travis Wear had 14 points and 10 rebounds, three other players also had 14 points, and the Americans beat Mexico 91-55 in their second qualifying game for the 2019 Basketball World Cup.
Coach Jeff Van Gundy’s team, comprised of mainly NBA G League players, was 13 for 24 from 3-point range to win easily after a much tougher opening game against Puerto Rico on Thursday.
“This was a much better win today,” guard Markel Brown said. “But in this situation, we’ll take every win however we can get it, no matter how much we win by.”
The Americans, the world’s No. 1 ranked team and the three-time defending Olympic champions, are used to winning big. But they also almost always have the most talent.
Talent alone won’t win games for them now, with the new qualifying format’s first two windows being played during the NBA season. So that ruled out for them and everyone else NBA and Euroleague talent, leaving teams scrambling to fill their rosters for games this week in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa.
The Americans are turning to NBA G Leaguers who were selected not long before their opening victory over the Puerto Ricans in Orlando, Florida.
“It’s really hard to put a group together that quickly unless players are selfless, and we had a bunch of selfless guys who sacrificed not only their time, but participating in the G League, to represent their country,” Van Gundy said. “I couldn’t be more proud of them.’’
