By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Manila, Philippines – There’s a silver lining in the win of Lithuania over the US: It doesn’t cost in the big picture.
The US finished behind Lithuania in their second-phase group and they will face Italy in the quarterfinals, but that’s not good enough for Jalen Brunson.
Speaking on the game, the New York Knicks guard assumed responsibility for the slow start of Team USA.
As he said: “They executed their game plan and we just started too slow. We played way better in the second half and we waited too long to come to play. That’s on me, I have to come ready to play, I have to have everyone else ready to play. Respect to them, they played great”.
The US still has to win three straight games in order to win the FIBA World Cup.
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However, Brunson admitted while speaking about the way his team tried to come back into the game might not be enough if another slow start happens: “We are going to keep fighting, but that’s not good enough. We have to be fighting for a full 40 minutes. Nothing but respect for those guys. They came ready to play and beat us from the start”.
So was this the wake-up call needed at the right time? “It has to be, we have no other choice. If not, we go home. That’s pretty much it.”.