The first five spots in the second round of the Basketball World Cup have been claimed: Canada, Latvia, Montenegro, Lithuania and Germany are all headed to the round of 16.
And that means some teams have been eliminated: Egypt, Mexico, Finland, Lebanon — and in a shocker, France was also ousted on Day 3.
More teams should qualify on Monday. The U.S. could qualify with a win over Greece, depending on how the New Zealand-Jordan game turns out.
Teams play only three games in the opening group stage. Every team that finished 2-1 or better in the group stage four years ago at the World Cup in China reached the second round; every team that finished 1-2 or worse did not advance.
SCHEDULE
There are eight more games Monday, including the U.S. game against Greece, and then opening-round group play begins to end Tuesday.
The Monday slate:
Group B (at Manila): China (0-1) vs. South Sudan (0-1), Puerto Rico (1-0) vs. Serbia (1-0)
Group C (at Manila): New Zealand (0-1) vs. Jordan (0-1), Greece (1-0) vs. U.S. (1-0)
Group F (at Okinawa): Venezuela (0-1) vs. Cape Verde (0-1), Georgia (1-0) vs. Slovenia (1-0)
Group G (at Jakarta): Ivory Coast (0-1) vs. Iran (0-1), Brazil (1-0) vs. Spain (1-0)
The Tuesday slate:
Group A: Angola (1-1) vs. Dominican Republic (2-0), Philippines (0-2) vs. Italy (1-1)
Group D: Egypt (0-2) vs. Mexico (0-2), Montenegro (2-0) vs. Lithuania (2-0)
Group E: Germany (2-0) vs. Finland (0-2), Australia (1-1) vs. Japan (1-1)
Group H: Lebanon (0-2) vs. France (0-2), Canada (2-0) vs. Latvia (2-0)
HOW TO WATCH THE BASKETBALL WORLD CUP
— In the U.S.: The next two U.S. games (Monday, Wednesday) will be on ESPN2. Monday's game will begin at 8:40 a.m. EDT; the Wednesday game begins at 4:40 a.m. EDT. No television plan for U.S. games after Wednesday has been announced.
— There are streaming options for other games.
BETTING GUIDE
The U.S. is the overwhelming favorite to win the World Cup, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, with the Americans’ odds listed at minus-135 (meaning a $135 wager on the Americans would return $235, if they won). Canada remains a very strong second choice in the betting at plus-460, followed by Australia and Spain (both plus-1,200), Serbia (plus-1,300), Germany (plus-1,700) and Slovenia (plus-2,400).
Every other team still in the running for medals entered Monday with odds of 80-1 or greater.
France had the fifth-best odds in recent days; the Olympic silver medalists were eliminated from contention on Sunday.
WHAT TO KNOW
What you need to know about the Basketball World Cup, and the U.S. road to getting here:
— U.S. tops New Zealand in opening game, 99-72
— The World Cup attendance record fell on Day 1 in Manila.
— For Erik Spoelstra, this trip to Manila is very much like a homecoming
— The basketball-crazed Philippines is about to have a shining moment
— As World Cup nears, U.S. team says it’ll embrace any doubters
— U.S. finishes exhibition season 5-0 after rallying to beat Germany
STAT OF THE DAY
Canada was credited with 40 assists on 50 field goals in its 128-73 win over Lebanon.
Officially, Canada finished the game with 44 assists — FIBA rules, unlike the NBA, allow for assists to be credited when a pass leads to a player getting fouled and making a free throw. That happened on four occasions for Canada on Sunday.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“For us, it's a nightmare." — France coach Vincent Collet, after his team lost to Latvia and was eliminated from World Cup contention.
