BEIJING (China) - Poland collected their first victory on the world stage in 52 years as they defeated Venezuela 80-69 for an ideal start to their Group A campaign at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019. 

Michal Sokolowski paced five Polish players in double figures with 16 points to go with 9 rebounds while Mateusz Ponitka had 15 points and Adam Hrycaniuk picked up a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds for Poland, whose last World Cup win came on June 10, 1967 against Uruguay. Venezuela, who played their first World Cup contest since 2006, were paced by Pedro Chourio's 15 points. 

Turning Point: Poland had led by 8 points at halftime but saw Venezuela trim the gap to 2 points, 44-42. The Europeans answered however with a 16-2 run as Aaron Cel and Karol Gruszecki both nailed three-pointers to open a 14-point lead. Venezuela were able to get within 9 points after three quarters but that was the closest they would get the rest of the way. 

TCL Player of the Game: Mateusz Ponitka was great for Poland with 15 points - including 9 of 11 from the foul line. He also chipped in 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block. 

Stats Don't Lie: Poland used their tough defense and held Venezuela to just 39 percent from the field, including 26 percent from long range. The Europeans also converted 18 of 25 free throws compared to just 7 of 11 for Venezuela.

Bottom Line: Poland got their first victory out of the way as they ended their 52-year wait. And now Mike Taylor's team can look ahead to taking on the hosts China on Monday, September 2. Venezuela meanwhile look to rebound with their next game against Cote d'Ivoire on the same day.

They said: "I’m proud of our guys, great team victory. I’m proud we played to our identity which is unselfish basketball. I must give credit to Venezuela, they really came out on fire and showed their experience. We came out a little unconcentrated against Venezuela. They try to speed you up with pressure, so we had poor execution at the start but fortunately we hit our threes to stem the tide a little bit. We stuck through our identity and pulled it off." Poland head coach Mike Tayor

"That was an amazing game, amazing experience for us. We are so proud to win a game after 52 years of absence. Fantastic response by our team to the physicality of Venezuela and we knew that they are physical and scrappy. They hustle a lot so it was a great response from our team.” Poland forward Michal Sokolowski

"It was the first game at the World Cup, we were too anxious and we tried to overdo it. Poland played a very good game, they took advantage of every opportunity they had. But I respect the effort my players had tonight and hopefully we can get our focus back in our next two games." Venezuela head coach Fernando Duro

"I believe we didn't follow the game plan. They made us pay, we didn't play to our identity like we are used to. They were the aggressor from the start and we were behind most of the game. When we wanted to get back into the game, it was too late." Venezuela shooting guard Pedro Chourio

FIBA