While the U.S. team is doing well as expected, there are a few teams in the current FIBA World Championships that are providing pleasant surprises. Turkey, for one, is playing well beyond expectations. With four straight wins, Turkey is on its way to the next stage of the tournament. France too is playing well, pulling off a huge upset over defending champion Spain. Brazil nearly won over the highly fancied U.S. team. But Angola, by far, is the biggest surprise of the tournament. It is the only African nation to advance to the next stage despite being tipped off as one of the first teams most likely to get eliminated. Coming in a close second as the surprise package of the tournament is New Zealand. Like Angola, New Zealand was not given much of a chance to get past the elimination stage. But New Zealand has proven its critics wrong by barging into the next round.
FIBA World Championships is truly a good watch because no one knows for sure which team will end as champion. Even the NBA players of the U.S. team can ill-afford to be complacent if they plan to top the tournament. So far, Serbia and Spain are the only teams assured so far of passage into the round of 8. There are just too many great teams in the tournament to accurately predict who will emerge champion. A truly exciting tournament indeed.
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