MANILA, Philippines – Team USA’s defensive brilliance was on full display as the Americans showcased a 100-63 demolition job over Italy Tuesday at the Mall of Asia Arena to punch their ticket to the FIBA World Cup semifinals.
And USA coach Steve Kerr wants to see the same effort from his players for two more times en route to having gold medals hung over their necks.
“Just a great defensive effort. Our guys got right into it from the beginning,” said Kerr, whose team limited the Italians to just 14 and 10 points in the first two quarters, respectively, while dumping 46 on them by halftime.
It was the comeback win the USA needed following a 110-104 setback to Lithuania last Sunday, something that had rekindled the Americans’ hunger heading into this tournament’s crucial final phase.
A strong start, which the US had struggled to pull off in some of their games here, came against Italy, which struggled to score — making only 23 of their 75 attempts (30%) in the lopsided affair.
The Americans just put the cuffs on them, and Kerr raved about the fact that they did it consistently throughout the game.
“(We) put pressure on, kept the pressure on. Next group came in and did the same thing,” he continued.
The Americans’ defensive intensity was likewise reflected on the boards, with USA outrebounding Italy 51-33.
“It was our best defensive effort of the tournament to this point, and that's what it's going to take to win two more games,” said Kerr.
Top performer Mikal Bridges, who scattered 24 points on 4-of-6 3-point shooting, said they have learned from their relatively close win over Montenegro and the setback to Lithuania by playing aggressively from the get-go.
“I think we just set the tone. That's what we've been preaching, what coach has been preaching to us,” said Bridges, who also pulled down seven rebounds.
“(We need to) play a forceful 40 (minutes of basketball). Don't wait too late, don't wait for the end. Just playing hungry,” he added.
Kerr, Bridges and the rest of the Americans will wait for the winner of the other quarterfinal match between Germany and Latvia, which is slated Wednesday.