FIBA World Cup 2019: Top 5 individual performances from the semi-finals
The 2019 FIBA World Cup is almost at its conclusion following a thrilling day of semi-finals. In the day's first matchup, Australia succumbed to a thrilling 95-88 overtime defeat to Spain. Australia led for large periods of the game, and the Europeans needed a late comeback to force overtime. However, while the Boomers managed to take the game to a second overtime, Spain soon pulled away thanks to their accuracy from beyond the arc.
Meanwhile, in the second semi-final, Argentina continued its superb run at the tournament by defeating Team USA's conquerors, France. The surprise team of the FIBA World Cup will now face Spain in the championship round on Sunday.
Nevertheless, there were once again excellent performers on both the winning and losing sides, and here we will look at the top five individual performers from the semi-final stage of the 2019 World Cup.
#5 Frank Ntilikina - France
The French were desperately disappointing as they exited the World Cup to Argentina just days after beating Team USA. France was outscored in all four quarters as Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier struggled following excellent performances in the quarter-finals. Nevertheless, Frank Ntilikina followed up his breakout performance with another impressive showing.
The guard led his team with 16 points, while also looking like the only person who could get the French back into the game. Ntilikina traveled to China with his future in the NBA in serious doubt, although the 21-year-old looks set for a promising future after demonstrating his talents on an international stage.
France can still secure their best-ever showing with a win over Australia in Sunday's third-place game, and expect Ntilikina to play an important role.