As the fat has been trimmed in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, only the best teams remain. After a rest day on Sept. 4, the tournament is advancing to the quarterfinals starting on Sept. 5. Team USA just experienced their first loss of the tournament against Lithuania. At this stage, all of the teams are filled with elite-level talent, and the Americans no longer have a walk in the park if they want to take home the Naismith Trophy. This article will explain everything you need to know before the FIBA World Cup quarterfinals tip off.

FIBA World Cup quarterfinals: Format

Eight teams remain and have advanced to the quarterfinals. There is no wiggle room anymore because if you lose, you are out of contention.

Quarterfinals games will take place on both Sept. 5 and Sept. 6. While previous games have taken place in Indonesia and Japan, all quarterfinals games will occur in Manila, Philippines, at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The four teams that win will advance to the semifinals on Sept. 8.

FIBA World Cup quarterfinals: Teams

Germany (5-0)

Latvia (4-1)

Canada (4-1)

Slovenia (4-1)

USA (4-1)

Italy (4-1)

Serbia (4-1)

Lithuania (5-0)

FIBA World Cup quarterfinals: Schedule

Sept. 5 games

Lithuania vs. Serbia, 4:45 a.m. ET

Italy vs. USA, 8:40 a.m. ET

Sept. 6 games

Germany vs. Latvia, 4:45 a.m. ET

Canada vs. Slovenia, 8:30 a.m. ET

FIBA World Cup Storylines

The eight teams remaining have been the clear eight best teams throughout the tournament. Team USA looked unbeatable, cruising past their competition in their first four games before losing their last match in Round 2 against Lithuania. While Lithuania has a great team and now is one of only two unbeaten squads, the outcome was still a surprise.

Lithuania only has one NBA player, Jonas Valanciunas, but the team put on an impressive display as a unit that saw them hand the United States their first loss, 110-104. Seven players scored in double figures for Lithuania as the team shared the ball to conquer the Americans.

Anthony Edwards scored 35 points in the contest, but he was the only American who showed up to play. Paolo Banchero's inexperience especially showed as the 20-year-old was a -14 in the game. Team USA couldn't stop Lithuania's 3-point shot as they scored at a 56% clip from deep. The Americans are still stacked with talent, as they are the tournament leaders in points per game (101.4), but Lithuania proved that they are beatable going forward. Team USA's next game is against Italy.

Italy has one of the best defensive units in the tournament, but it is their offense that may hold them back. They are only scoring 80.0 points per game and have been heavily reliant on Simone Fontecchio to carry the scoring burden (18.4 PPG). If Team USA can neutralize him, they should be in good shape to advance to the next round. Still, they will have to perform much better than they did against Lithuania, especially on the defensive end.

The undefeated Lithuanians are taking on Serbia in the first game of the quarterfinals. Serbia is second in the tournament in scoring with 100.4 points per game. Their unguardable weapon, Bogdan Bogdanovic, has looked like a tournament MVP while putting up 18.4 points per game.

Like Team USA, Team Canada looked unbeatable until facing stiffer competition in the second round. They lost 69-65 to Brazil but bounced back to knock out the defending champion team from Spain.

They are booked to take on Slovenia, a team led by Luka Doncic. Unsurprisingly, Doncic leads all FIBA World Cup players in points per game at 26.4. Doncic is one of the best players in the world and is a one-man wrecking crew of sorts, so it'll be interesting to see how he attacks Team Canada, a team full of NBA-level defensive players.

Germany and Latvia are also scheduled to face off in the quarterfinals. Dennis Schroder's skills have been on full display for the Germans. The guard is averaging 19.8 points and 6.8 assists per game. Latvia has six players averaging double figures in scoring.