Sept. 29, 2014

ISTANBUL, Turkey – After an exhibition schedule that ended in a 4-1 record, the USA Basketball opened the 2014 FIBA World Championship with a pair of wins in preliminary round action over the weekend. With South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley on the sideline in an assistant coach role, the Americans claimed their victories by an average of 25.5 points and are set to take on Angola on Tuesday in the final game of the preliminary rounds in Group D.

The U.S. squad was storming through exhibition action, defeating Canada in Bridgeport, Conn., before topping Australia and China in Paris. The French were the first to upend the Americans, claiming a 76-72 win in Paris after erasing an 18-point deficit. The U.S. then traveled to Prague, where it bounced back with a dominant win over the host Czech Republic.

Now in Istanbul for the 2014 FIBA World Championships, Team USA opened with an 87-56 win over China in the first game of Group D preliminary round action. The Americans followed that by holding off a tenacious Serbia for a 94-74 victory on Sunday.

The last game of the preliminary rounds is set for Tue., Sept. 30. The U.S. will face Angola at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBA TV and ESPN3/WatchESPN. The undefeated Americans are in the driver’s seat to win Group D, which would advance them into the quarterfinals on Fri., Oct. 3. The second- and third-place teams from each group will play in a quarterfinal play-in game on Wed., Oct. 1. Following Saturday’s semifinals, the gold medal game is set for 1:30 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN2.