LAS VEGAS (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Americas Qualifiers) — The United States national team will not get overly excited after their overwhelming victory against an unrecognizable Uruguay. The twice world champions are on a good path, but they still have work ahead of them to secure the ticket to China 2019 and defend their World Cup crown.

The squad led by Jeff Van Gundy had no mercy in front of an incomplete South American side and marked their presence at the beginning of the second round of the Americas Qualifiers.

“I thought we moved the ball well. Frank (Mason) got into the teeth of the defense exceptionally well, and we shared it. FIBA is not about trying to put up numbers. This is about getting connected with one another in a short period of time, enjoying the competition, forming a brotherhood,” pointed out Van Gundy at the press conference after their 114-57 triumph against Uruguay.

For this window, and very similar to what has happened in the previous ones, the United States presented a practically new roster — only repeating two players that have been in the Qualifiers. A total of nine players were, at some point of the 2017-18 season, in the NBA. The task of continuity always presents a challenge for the United States’ team.

The national team spent a week training in Las Vegas to establish the chemistry for this weekend’s duels.

“It’s really hard when you’re putting the guys together because they may know each other peripherally, but they don’t ever play with each other or share any deep connections. We’re a simple team trying to keep it as simple as we can. That’s really a challenge in seven days. That’s why it is so critical to pick the right guys,” said Van Gundy, who has had more than 40 players in his squad since the 2017 AmeriCup and during the four windows.- Jeff Van Gundy

 On Friday, the North Americans portrayed a balanced offense with six players in the double figures and four others with nine units. In his first experience at FIBA level, Mason was outstanding with 16 points and eight assists.

“It was a big adjustment, but coach Van Gundy did a great job of getting me and my teammates prepared for this game. I think we did a pretty good job of adjusting throughout practice every day, and he helped us with the little things,” Mason commented.

The defense was a key factor in the United States’ margin of triumph against Uruguay, but Van Gundy does not rely on that and acknowledged that the Uruguayans did not go to Las Vegas with their best weapons.

Our ball pressure was good. Again, so much of it was that they were undermanned, too. We did some good things and they were undermanned because they chose to rest their players back home. But, I was very proud of our guys. They played hard defensively,” pointed out Van Gundy, who now has a personal record of 11-1 in his time in charge of the United States national team.

The North Americans are at the first place of Group E, with 6-1; the same as Argentina, but with a greater difference in points.

On Monday, the United States will try to take an additional step to secure their ticket to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019, when they visit Panama.

FIBA