Day 3 of the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China marked the end of group play for both Matthew Dellavedova (Australia) and Cedi Osman (Turkey), with the former moving on to the Second Round while the latter plays for consolation later this week. While Thursday was a tale of two games, both Delly and Cedi had solid outings for their respective nations. Delly tallied 10 points, five dimes and four boards in just over 30 minutes of action while Cedi led both Turkey and the Czech Republic in scoring with 24 points.
For a more in-depth recap, read on below and be sure to follow all the action at FIBA.com while checking out some of the best images from the 2019 World Cup at Cavs.com.
Following two big-time wins over Canada and Senegal earlier this week, Delly and Team Australia had a more competitive outing against Jonas Valanciunas and Lithuania eraly Thursday morning. In the neck-and-neck affair, Delly notched a well-rounded performance with 10 points, five assists and four rebounds while San Antonio's Patty Mills and Phoenix's Aron Baynes coming out on fire. Mills tallyied a game-high 23 points while Baynes posted a double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds.
At the other end of the court, Lithuania was led by Marius Grigonis' 19 points. Lukas Lekavicius also had a solid game, canning 15 in his country's loss.
With group play now in the books, both Lithuania and Australia will advance to the Second Round at the 2019 World Cup. Opponents for both squads will be announced later today.
After a heartbreaking overtime loss to Team USA earlier this week, Cedi Osman and the Turkish National Team had their medal hopes dashed on Thursday morning after falling to the Czech Republic, 91-76, in Shanghai. While the end result stings, Turkey can find solace knowing they gave it their all on the world stage.
In fact, Cedi closed out the Cup with an incredible performance against the Czechs after a pair of so-so games versus Team Japan and Team USA. On Thursday, Osman knocked down a game-high 24 points while also grabbing three rebounds and three assists in 33 minutes of action. Fellow NBAer, Furkan Korkmaz, followed Cedi's lead with 16 points of his own.
For the Czechs, five players scored in double figures including Ondrej Balvín who tallied a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Patrik Auda nearly had a double-double himself, posting 16 points and nine boards.
Despite the loss, Turkey's time at the 2019 World Cup isn't over yet. They'll play in the consolation round later this week. The Czech Republic, in the meantime, advances to the Second Round and still await their opponent.