Donovan Mitchell (front) of the United States competes during the classification games 5-8 between the United States and Serbia at the 2019 FIBA World Cup in Dongguan, south China's Guangdong Province, Sept. 12, 2019. (Xinhua/Xue Yubin)
DONGGUAN, China, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Defending champions team USA finally confronted their biggest threat Serbia at FIBA Basketball World Cup on Thursday, only in the classification round 5-8, and they were beaten 89-94.
The Dream Team swallowed a second straight loss losing to France in Wednesday's quarterfinals, which means they will finish their World Cup seventh or eighth, a worst record in its World Cup (Championships) history. The previous worst result for them was sixth at the 2002 World Championships.
"There're no regrets in terms of what we've given, what we've sacrificed, the commitment everyone has made to be away from their families and away from their teams," said Harrison Barnes of the USA.
Serbia started the match as a lopsided affair and turned it into a down-to-the-wire win.
They led 91-81 with two minutes on the clock in the last quarter before Barnes hit a three from the corner to give hope to the U.S. as Walker added another three. The Americans were only four points down at 91-87 with one minute to go but could not survive with a foul strategy.
The Serbians shot the lights out in the first quarter, connecting eight times from beyond the arc for a 32-7 lead. The Americans found their groove, though, dominated the second quarter and trailed by just four points at the half.
Sharpshooter Bogdan Bogdanovic of Serbia made seven three-pointers to score a game-high 28 points plus six assists. Harrison Barnes posted 22 points and Kemba Walker added 18 for the USA.
Czech Republic beat Poland 94-84 also in the tournament's classification game. A dunk made by Pavel Pumprla help Czechs expand the lead to 6 within the last one minute and never looked back.
Tomas Satoransky had a double-double with 22 points and 12 assists. Vojtech Hruban scored a team-high 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Adam Waczynski scored 22 points for Poland.
Serbia will play for fifth place, facing Czech Republic, and Team USA will play Poland for seventh place this Saturday.
