By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Behind 17 points by Jayson Tatum and 14 by Kemba Walker, Team Blue beat Team White 97-78. It was the first public prep game of the team and De’Aaron Fox also justified the reports about being one of the standouts of the camp with 12 points.
John Collins had 12 points and eight rebounds for the losing side. “It’s the beginning of a new tournament”, said coach Gregg Popovich after the game. “Another World Cup, in this case, the FIBA World Cup. I think our guys are making progress, having never played together before. They showed great effort, doing a good job in a lot of different ways, just trying to get used to each other and form a team. We’re still in the early stages of trying to get together and figure out how we want to play and learn about each other. Tonight was another step”.
Meanwhile, the team announced that 17 players will ultimately fight for the 12 spots of the final roster. Those are 2016 Olympic gold medalist Harrison Barnes (Sacramento Kings); Marvin Bagley III (Sacramento Kings); Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics); De’Aaron Fox (Sacramento Kings); Joe Harris (Brooklyn Nets); Kyle Kuzma (Los Angeles Lakers); Brook Lopez (Milwaukee Bucks); Kyle Lowry (Toronto Raptors); Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks); Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz); 2014 World Cup gold medalist Mason Plumlee (Denver Nuggets); Marcus Smart (Boston Celtics); Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics); P.J. Tucker (Houston Rockets); Myles Turner (Indiana Pacers); Kemba Walker (Boston Celtics); and Derrick White (San Antonio Spurs).
On the contrary, Thaddeus Young and Bam Adebayo had been cut from the senior roster.
Photo credit: USA basketball