September 1 Top Performers: Waters, Feliz, Fontecchio, Towns, Tobey

MANILA (PHILIPPINES) - Group I produced some very memorable Second Round battles, as well as the majority of our Top Performers for September 1.

There were a number of players who helped Puerto Rico get out of a hole and celebrate a 102-97 victory over the Dominican Republic to create further confusion in Group I. However, Tremont Waters truly deserves to be singled out after collecting 37 points, 11 assists, 7 rebounds and 4 steals. His shot percentage was also excellent, especially the 7-of-13 effort from three-point range.  The point guard came, oh, so close to tying Josh Hawkinson for the single-game high of efficiency in this World Cup as the Japan center had a rating of 44.

Dominican Republic guard Andres Feliz was on the other side of that tight ending, despite making all of his shots in the fourth quarter and also dishing out 2 important, clutch assists. Matter of fact, Feliz missed only one shot all game long and closed the game with 22 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, made 7-of-8 shots from the field and all of his 4 attempted free throws. Sometimes it's just not enough...

Italy have relied on Simone Fontecchio all World Cup long and, boy, did that confidence in him pay off in a 78-76 victory against Serbia. He set things off with a powerful right-handed hammer dunk and gradually took over in the second half, with Italy in a double-digit deficit. A one-on-one exhibition was turned into a 30-point, 7-rebound and 3-assist performance, with Fontecchio making 9-of-11 shots from two-point range and proving that the mid-range is still alive and kicking.

Karl-Anthony Towns had one of those games where it seemed like he can do anything on the court, but it's just a reminder that every NBA All-Star experiences losses in the World Cup. Thunderous dunks, mean rejections and three-pointers from waaay downtown were all a part of his repertoire as he racked up 39 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks and 9-of-9 shooting from the charity stripe.

 
It's hard to imagine that Mike Tobey could have ended up fourth in efficiency on any Gameday after that one heck of a game he had in Slovenia's 91-80 affair against Australia. It's already a given that he has perfect chemistry with Luka Doncic in the pick-and-roll, however, the center also did some creating of his own in a performance of 18 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists, repeating his single-game high when playing for Slovenia.

FIBA