University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Team USA, James Robinson Defeat Serbia 71-62
7/4/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
July 4, 2013
PRAGUE, Czech Republic—University of Pittsburgh freshman James Robinson (Mitchellville, Md./DeMatha Catholic H.S.) and Team USA improved to 6-0 in the FIBA U19 World Championships with a 71-62 win over Serbia on Wednesday. Robinson played 17 minutes, led the Americans with three assists and scored two points.
USA is now the only team in the field with a perfect 6-0 record. The win clinched the important No. 1 seed for the medal quarterfinals round which begins on Friday. The USA will face Group E No. 4 seed Canada (3-3) in a 2:15 p.m. ET game on July 5 at the O2 Arena. The contest will be streamed live by FIBA TV and ESPN3. Winners of the quarterfinal clashes will advance to the July 6 medal round semifinals and the championship finals are being held July 7.
Other quarterfinal round matchups on Friday include Lithuania (5-1) facing China (3-3), Spain (5-1) meeting Australia (3-3) and Serbia (5-1) vs. Croatia (5-1).
After five blowout wins, the USA team was tested by Serbia. The Americans made the plays required on the offensive and defensive ends to claim a hard-fought win. USA used an 11-2 run to take a 19-11 lead with 1:25 left in the first quarter. A 10-0 USA run gave the Americans a nine point (35-26) halftime lead.
In the second half, Serbia cut the margin to one point in the third quarter, but the Americans used an Aaron Gordon basket after a defensive stop and a key 3-pointer by Rasheed Sulaimon to keep the Serbians at bay. Jahlil Okafor led USA with 16 points, Saluaimon finished with 15 and Gordon added 11.
USA outrebounded Serbia 46-27, including 24 offensive boards. USA also forced 18 Serbian turnovers and limited the Serbs to 41.2 percent shooting.
Games are being broadcast on http://www.livebasketball.tv/ and live stats can be followed at http://fibalivestats.com. More information can be obtained at www.usabasketball.com or http://prague2013.fiba.com/.
USA'S 2013 FIBA U19 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
| Date | Matchup | Site | Tipoff/Outcome |
| Thursday, June 27 | Ivory Coast | O2 Arena | Win, 88-29 |
| Friday, June 28 | China | O2 Arena | Win, 113-57 |
| Saturday, June 29 | Russia | O2 Arena | Win, 115-47 |
| Monday, July 1 | Brazil, Second Round | Podvinny Mlyn Arena | Win, 91-66 |
| Tuesday, July 2 | Australia, Second Round | O2 Arena | Win, 94-51 |
| Wednesday, July 3 | Serbia, Second Rd. | Podvinny Mlyn Arena | Win, 71-62 |
| Friday, July 5 | Canada, Medal Quarterfinals | O2 Arena | 8:15 p.m./2:15 p.m. ET |
| Saturday, July 6 | Medal Semifinals | O2 Arena | TBA |
| Sunday, July 7 | Gold Medal Game | O2 Arena | TBA |
Prague, Czech Republic is +6 hours from Eastern Daylight Time
—PITT—
