Team USA won their first two FIBA World Cup warm-up games vs. Puerto Rico and Slovenia (without Luka Doncic) by an average of 36.5 points, but Sunday’s game, the second of a rare international back-to-back vs. Spain should be more of a test. The Americans and Spaniards are FIBA’s top two ranked teams, depending on the day, and the game is in Malaga, Spain. To to make things even more momentous for Spain, it is part of a 100th anniversary celebration of the Spanish basketball federation, the FEB.
Spain, seeking its features a cross-section of NBA and European stars, including Alex Abrines, Willy and Juancho Hernangomez, Santi Aldama, Rudy Fernandez, Sergio Llull and Usman Garuba but not Ricky Rubio, their long-time star and point guard.