Preliminary Round
The top four finishers in each of the four preliminary round groups advanced to the sixteen team, single-elimination knockout stage, where Group A teams would meet Group B teams and Group C would meet Group D. European teams proved the most successful in the first round, as nine of the ten teams advanced to the knockout stage (only Germany did not progress). Both Oceanian teams qualified for the next round, as did three of the five FIBA Americas teams. The three African and four Asian teams struggled, with only Angola and China reaching the knockout stage after each finished fourth place in their group.
There were few surprises in the early round; each team that advanced to the knockout stage was ranked in the top 20 of the FIBA World Ranking at the time of the tournament. Defending champions Spain struggled early, losing two of their first three games before recovering to finish second in Group D. Argentina and the USA, the two top teams in the FIBA rankings, both cruised to the knockout phase, as the USA went 5–0 and Argentina went 4–1, with their only loss coming to Number 5 ranked Serbia.
Read more about this topic: 2010 FIBA World Championship
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