USA vs. Spain: 29-28

Yesterday felt more like they were just messing around. It wasn’t like there was some second version of Entrerios waiting in the wings—especially since he’s looking a bit heavy lately—but those Spaniards have such deep rosters that their bench doesn't really hurt them much.

It was almost like Lino decided to blow a five-point lead by halftime just to let the Spaniards gloat about how they handled Dominikovica. Honestly, though? It’s probably a decent psychological move—it'll keep future opponents on edge when they see our starting lineup, even if we end up down by six.

Veli Pero:

"I've been hearing half the country acting like we’re total idiots—claiming we should have just taken the loss so we could face someone else in the quarterfinals. But honestly, what if we had played nice and then got knocked out by Iceland instead? What would the narrative be then? That we lacked grit or some other nonsense? Man, you really can't win with people sometimes."

darkbear51 said:Paul Bunyan:

"I've heard half the country calling us idiots, saying we should've just folded so we could face someone else in the quarterfinals. But what if we actually let them walk and then got knocked out by Iceland? What would they be saying then? That we have zero competitive spirit or something. It’s impossible to please everyone here."

Paul Bunyan is a legend.
I don't know, I guess I'd rather see them play fair even if they lose, but honestly, they earned that medal.
The whole tournament format is pretty rigged. The group winners should go straight to the semifinals. It's kind of a joke that you can go 7 for 7 and still miss the podium, while guys like the Russians can take three losses and still finish first.