Win or Go Home Time for Team USA

By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)

Following victories over the Dominican Republic and Ukraine the last two days, the United States squad finished a perfect 5-0 in the group stage, with the halftime deficit to Turkey serving as the only moment of consternation for the tournament favorites. Considering 4 of the 6 teams from each group advance out of the preliminary round, you could hardly blame fans if they didn’t attach too much importance to the initial week of the tournament from the American perspective. However, that’s all about to change as Team USA will now enter the win-or-go-home elimination stage of this World Cup, with a round of 16 match-up against Mexico set for Saturday at 10am EST.

The Mexican national team entered play with some recent international success, having earned gold at the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship, defeating Argentina and Puerto in the semifinals and finals, respectively. Participating in this particular FIBA World Cup (previously known as the FIBA World Championship) tournament for the first time since 1974, Mexico finished just 2-3 in the group stage, with victories over Korea and Angola, and losses to Australia, Slovenia, and Lithuania. Still, it was enough to finish 4th in Group D and advance to the elimination stage of this tournament for the first time in Mexico’s history.

The biggest (and most crucial) deterrent to the hopes of the United States will be 6’10” Mexican center Gustavo Ayon. Ayon has played for 4 different teams in his three NBA seasons, spending last year with the Atlanta Hawks where he earned 14 starts. Currently a free agent, Ayon has reportedly received interest from the Spurs in the past week, to no one’s surprise. He would be a perfect fit with the flock of international players they have down in San Antonio, where he’d certainly be molded into a highly effective role player for them. In this tournament, Ayon has led the team in both points (15.8) and rebounds (7.5) per game, and will represent the most skilled offensive big man Anthony Davis will have faced thus far in World Cup play.

The other Mexican player with NBA ties is guard Jorge Gutierrez. After playing his college ball at Cal, the former Golden Bear bounced around internationally and the NBA D-league for a couple seasons. Then, Gutierrez signed two ten-day contracts with the Brooklyn Nets last season, appearing in 15 games including 2 starts. His play earned him a contract with the Nets at just under $900k for the upcoming season. He averaged 9.6 points per game in the group stage, doing most of his damage driving to the hoop without much of a perimeter game.

The rest of the Mexico roster, as you might expect, plays professionally in Mexico, with the lone exception being reserve Paul Stoll who plays overseas in Turkey. Other key players for them include Francisco Cruz, who has been second on the team with 13.4 ppg and the leading assist man at 3.0 apg, and Hector Hernandez, third at 11.2 ppg, and the team’s biggest outside threat, making over 2 threes per game on 44.4% shooting from behind the arc. Unquestionably, the United States are expected to dispatch of Mexico, currently going off as about 40-point favorites for tomorrow’s contest. Still, it never hurts to know your foe, and respect the team that’s had one of the more successful runs in its nation’s basketball history.