The August window of the FIBA World Cup qualifiers started on Thursday with two Spurs participating. Both of their national teams won, but their experiences were very different. Victor Wembanyama was a star for France, while David Jones-Garcia underwhelmed for the Dominican Republic and got ejected at the worst possible time.
Wembanyama, who admitted to being a little rusty in the warm-up games against Nikola Jokic’s Serbia, stepped up against a much inferior opponent. France, which leads Group L
with a 6-1 record after Thursday, took care of business against a Luka Doncic-less Slovenia squad in a rout, winning 92-67 to set themselves up for what looks like an easy qualification with four games left, as they have a group-leading 6-1 record and the top three teams get to Qatar 2027.
Wemby was a monster in the matchup, finishing with 22 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks. France outscored Slovenia by 22 points when he was on the floor, and the game was essentially over at halftime.
Les Bleus will face Sweden next, who are coming off a great win. They took down Finland thanks to a fantastic performance by Miami Heat wing Pelle Larsson, who finished with 31 points and five boards. The matchup will take place in Stockholm on August 30. The Swedish team needs the win, but they don’t seem to have anyone with the size to match up with Wembanyama, who should feast again. If France wins, the qualification should be all but secured even though there are two more windows left in which NBA players won’t be able to suit up, as they happen during the regular season.
While Wembanyama’s performance was fantastic, his teammate David Jones-Garcia didn’t have as good of a day. The Dominican Republic beat Brazil, which was undefeated heading into the matchup, but Jones-Garcia struggled on offense in the 94-90 win. The Spurs’ two-way wing finished with just eight points in 14 shots, hit only one of his seven three-point attempts, and had no assists while turning the ball over twice. He did a good job on the boards, pulling down six rebounds, and made plays on defense as his two steals and two blocks show, but he couldn’t stay on the floor to end the game.
Jones-Garcia committed two flagrant fouls in the matchup and was ejected early in the fourth, leaving his team in a precarious position. His first flagrant came in the first half, when he hit Bruno Caboclo in the head as the big man was trying to dunk the ball, a dangerous but understandable foul. The second flagrant, however, was completely avoidable. As Brazil was inbounding on its own side, Jones-Garcia hip-checked Raul Neto. Neto embellished the contact, but after a review, it was called an unsportsmanlike foul, and DJS was sent off. He was lucky the DR still pulled off a narrow win, because it was a lapse of judgement at a terrible time.
The Dominican Republic, currently in third place in Group E behind the U.S. and Brazil with a 5-2 record, will face bottom-dwelling Chile on August 31. Hopefully, Jones-Garcia will have a better game.
The 2027 FIBA World Cup has two more qualifying windows in December and March. NBA players are not expected to participate, as the dates coincide with the regular season.
