August 26 Top Performers: Jones, Doncic, Thompson Jr, Romero and Bitadze

MANILA (PHILIPPINES) - August 26 at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 provided us with a couple of outstanding performances and a new tournament-high in efficiency.

Carlik Jones and friends arranged an instant classic for us, with South Sudan experiencing an agonizing 96-101 overtime loss against Puerto Rico. That extra session was a possibility thanks to Jones who forced overtime with a 3-pointer on top of an excellent performance of 35 points, 11 assists and 6 rebounds. That granted the point guard with 40 efficiency, the best in this World Cup so far.

Luka Doncic was right there with Jones, mightily helping Slovenia shake off Venezuela in a 100-85 finish. Luka Legend was his usual self as he gathered 37 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 39 efficiency in his FIBA World Cup debut. What especially gave the opposition problems was Luka's size. The Slovenian got to the free throw line a ton and made 13-of-16 shots from the charity stripe.

Stephen Thompson Jr was on the other side of the highly enjoyable overtime thriller between Puerto Rico and South Sudan. Not only did he steal the ball from Wenyen Gabriel for a crucial Ismael Romero dunk with 16 seconds left in regulation, but Thompson also scored seven points in the extra session. The guard ended the game with 21 points, a monstrous amount of 13 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 assists.

It takes two to finish such a fast break and it apparently takes two Top Performers to win such a game. Ismael Romero had six offensive rebounds just like Thompson did and was one of the four Puerto Ricans to notch a double-double. Romero left it all out there in nearly 37 minutes of playing time and ended the game with 16 points, 12 rebounds, 3 steals and an efficiency rating of 28.

Georgia also had their share of heroes in the country's first-ever World Cup win, an 85-60 triumph against Cape Verde. However, it was Goga Bitadze who excelled in regard to efficiency as his play off the bench was just too much for Cape Verde to handle. Bitadze was good for 15 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists, knocking down 9-of-10 free throws in the process.

You already know the drill. Who's your MVP of the day?

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