SHENZHEN (China) - Australia, France, Spain and United States all reached the Quarter-Finals of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019, and chances are good that one of them will hoist the trophy - and that one Utah Jazz player will get bragging rights.

Each of those four teams have a player who was on the Jazz last season in Joe Ingles of Australia, France's Rudy Gobert, Ricky Rubio of Spain and USA's Donovan Mitchell. Rubio this off-season moved to the Phoenix Suns after two seasons in Utah, but there is still a very Jazz feel to the Quarter-Finals.



Actually there is probably a lot of different world music going on in the Jazz locker room as in addition to Gobert, Ingles and Mitchell, Utah's current roster also includes Ingles' Australian compatriot injured Dante Exum, Gobert's fellow Frenchman William Howard, Croatian Bojan Bogdanovic and Emmanuel Mudiay of Democratic Republic of Congo - resulting in the Jazz earning the nickname 'United Nations of Utah'.

"It is great. It shows that we have some good players in Utah," Gobert said.

The ultimate bragging rights of having captured the crown will not be decided until September 15 in Beijing. But Ingles did earn some initial ammunition for his basketball banter as Australia beat France 100-98 to capture first place in Group L.

"It was really just another game. I play against him every summer and play against him at practice all the time. We're constantly at battles, it feels like - even on the road trying to steal each other's seats," said Ingles, who had 23 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. "I love playing against great players and Rudy is a great player. I'm glad that we got the win tonight but I'm also glad he's my teammate at Utah."



Gobert picked up 8 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks before fouling out in 32 minutes.

"We're competitors, we're here to win. It was fun," said Gobert, who is averaging 11.0 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and 2.2 assists.

By taking first place in Group L, Ingles and Australia will next face off against Czech Republic in the Quarter-Finals, with a possible date against Rubio and Spain in the Semi-Finals. Gobert and France will get their next Utah Jazz matchup as they square off with Mitchell and the United States in the Quarter-Finals.

Ingles said the communication among the Jazz players has been understandingly more limited during the competition.

"I LOVE PLAYING AGAINST GREAT PLAYERS AND RUDY IS A GREAT PLAYER."



"We are in touch probably not as much as we are during the season. I have spoken to Donovan a little bit. Spoken to Rubio a little bit. I have spoken to other guys as well. I have got teammates that I have played with before in Brazil and other teams. Definitely not as much as during the season when we are playing together but I guess at the end of the day, we are still friends. I still want to beat them if we end up playing against them," said Ingles, who has averaged 11.4 points, 6.2 assists and 5.8 rebounds.

"We send some texts here and there. I try to let them focus on their team and me on mine. But we know it's bigger than that and we have a big goal in Utah. but it's all about being focused on our teams now," Gobert said. "Once the competition is over we become friends again."



While Gobert and Ingles have long been mainstays in their respective national teams, Mitchell is playing for the United States for the first time. And he and the rest of the Americans saw just how good the rest of the world can be as Turkey gave away the game against USA in losing 93-92 in overtime during the First Round.

That prompted Rubio, who has played for Spain's senior national team since 2008 including the Final of the 2008 Olympics and the Olympic bronze medal in 2016, to message Mitchell and say "Welcome to FIBA."



"It was about the physicality. It's pretty cool to have a teammate who has been around FIBA. He's told me about it," Mitchell said about the message from Rubio, who is averaging 14.6 points, 4.8 assists, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals.

Mitchell, a member of the 2018 NBA All-Rookie Team, said he has learned a lot from the likes of Rubio, Gobert and Ingles.

"It gives me a better understanding of what's to come at the FIBA games. They really help me out: whether it's Rudy, Joe, Dante, Ricky. Guys just show me the way and really help bring me along in this process," said Mitchell, who has averaged 10.2 points, 4.4 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals.

Donovan Mitchell playing for USA for the first time

Gobert said it's a good thing for Mitchell that he is in China playing for USA.

"I was really excited having Donovan play the World Cup. It's better to do that than be at home and play pick-up games. You want to be able to play against competitive teams and learn how to win," Gobert said. "At the end of the day it's about winning. All of the players coming here to the World Cup don’t make money. It's about winning and learning how to play with teammates and win as a team."

And beat your friends for bragging rights.

FIBA