Cup dream over for Smith-Milner, Dech

Defeats in the final round of group stage matches have ended the FIBA World Cup dreams of Adelaide 36ers pair Sunday Dech and Tohi Smith-Milner.

Dech and his South Sudan World Cup debutants fell to Serbia 115-83, while Smith-Milner’s New Zealand lost to Greece 83-74, with both nations finishing third in their group and missing out on a place in the final 16.

The Tall Blacks shot out to a convincing 11-point half-time lead to keep the dream alive, but scored just 11 points in the third quarter to allow Greece back into the contest.

Greece continued with their momentum away going into the final 10 minutes and outscored New Zealand by a further 13 points to take home the nine-point win.

Five-time Greek Basketball League champion Ioannis Papapetrou led the way for Greece with 27 points, while Giannoulis Larentzakis added 20 of his own.

South Sudan kept pace with world powerhouse Serbia for the bulk of their clash, but a 14-point final quarter deficit blew out  to a 32-point defeat and ensured Serbia finished the first group stage on top of Group B.

The Bright Stars’ star guard Carlik Jones was blanketed by the Serbian defence for the entire game, but Dut Jok Kacuol and Nuni Omot picked up the scoring slack.

Kacuol finished the game with a team-high 21 points, while Omot added 17 point and Dech (five points, four assists) was tasked with defending Atlanta Hawks swingman Bogdan Bogdanovic.

New Zealand will now face Egypt and Mexico in the next stage of competition, while South Sudan will play Angola and the Philippines.