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FIBA World Cup 2nd-round primer

Lintao Zhang / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The final eight games of the FIBA World Cup's first round wrapped up in China on Thursday, so let's shift our attention to the second stage.

How does the second round work? It's pretty simple: The top two teams from each of the eight initial groups have moved on and are now part of new groups. For example, the top two countries in Group A (Poland and Venezuela) and Group B (Argentina and Russia) have joined to become Group I:

Seed Team W-L +/-
1 Argentina 3-0 47
2 Poland 3-0 31
3 Venezuela 2-1 18
4 Russia 2-1 11

But instead of facing each team in the new group once (which would mean playing another game against a first-round opponent), each team will only face the two countries they haven't played yet. For Group I, the schedule looks like this:

  • Poland vs. Russia, Friday at 4 a.m. ET
  • Argentina vs. Venezuela, Friday at 8 a.m ET
  • Venezuela vs. Russia, Sunday at 4 a.m. ET
  • Poland vs. Argentina, Sunday at 8 a.m. ET

The results of the second-round games will be added to each team's record from the first round. At that point, the top two sides from each group will advance to the knockout phase, where they'll be three wins away from World Cup glory.

The seeds will be based on win-loss records, with the following tiebreakers used when needed:

  1. Better point differential.
  2. Higher number of points scored overall.
  3. If the teams are still tied, a draw will determine which team advances.

Meanwhile, the teams that don't reach the knockout phase will be slotted between ninth and 16th place based on the above tiebreaker formula.

Here are the other remaining second-round groups and schedules:

Group J

Seed Team W-L +/-
1 Serbia 3-0 120
2 Spain 3-0 57
3 Italy 2-1 62
4 Puerto Rico 2-1 -5
  • Serbia vs. Puerto Rico, Friday at 4:30 a.m. ET
  • Spain vs. Italy, Friday at 8:30 a.m. ET
  • Puerto Rico vs. Italy, Sunday at 4:30 a.m. ET
  • Spain vs. Serbia, Sunday at 8:30 a.m. ET

Group K

Streeter Lecka / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The United States was taken to the overtime by Turkey in the opening round, but then the Turks fizzled out of the tournament with a loss to the Czech Republic. Despite falling to Brazil, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece could present the Americans with another challenge when they face off on Saturday.

Seed Team W-L +/-
1 USA 3-0 75
2 Brazil 3-0 20
3 Greece 2-1 30
4 Czech Republic 2-1 7
  • Brazil vs. Czech Republic, Saturday at 4:30 a.m. ET
  • USA vs. Greece, Saturday at 8:30 a.m. ET
  • Czech Republic vs. Greece, Monday at 4:30 a.m. ET
  • USA vs. Brazil, Monday at 8:30 a.m. ET

Group L

Seed Team W-L +/-
1 France 3-0 77
2 Australia 3-0 34
3 Lithuania 2-1 72
4 Dominican Republic 2-1 -28
  • Australia vs. Dominican Republic, Saturday at 4 a.m. ET
  • France vs. Lithuania, Saturday at 8 a.m. ET
  • Dominican Republic vs. Lithuania, Monday at 4 a.m. ET
  • France vs. Australia, Monday at 8 a.m. ET

Don't see your country listed above? The teams eliminated from medal contention in Round 1 still have a pair of games to play, which will help determine their place in the FIBA rankings. But for all intents and purposes, their time in China is over.

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