Gonzaga freshman Chet Holmgren produced another efficient effort as the U.S. cruised to another lopsided win at the FIBA U19 World Cup. Holmgren and five teammates scored in double figures in a 100-52 blowout over Mali on Sunday in Riga, Latvia.

Former Gonzaga forward Ira Brown has secured a spot in the Summer Olympics and former Zags Domantas Sabonis and Filip Petrusev are closing in on a trip to Tokyo.

Gonzaga director of basketball operations Jorge Sanz’s summer was unfolding as planned, until a few days ago. Sanz has spent the better part of three weeks as an assistant coach on Spain’s U19 team. Now, with Spain scheduled to leave Wednesday for Riga, Latvia, and the start of the FIBA U19 World Cup just days away, Sanz is in a Spanish hospital bed battling tonsillitis.

Twenty teams are still chasing an NBA championship, but eight face a longer, winding road. Those eight are in the play-in tournament. That’s where former Gonzaga standouts – Rui Hachimura (Washington), Domantas Sabonis (Indianapolis) and Brandon Clarke and Killian Tillie (Memphis) – face long odds of making a prolonged playoff run.

While Sabonis is the most decorated ex-Zag in the NBA, he represents a rapidly growing pool of players who've not only found their way into the league after suiting up for the Jesuit school in Spokane, but have become household names in their respective NBA cities.

Inside the Indiana Pacers pro shop at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, navy jerseys with gold trim featuring the names of Domantas Sabonis and Doug McDermott hang on adjacent racks.

Stephen Curry shot his way to another 3-point title and Domantas Sabonis made sure the Skills Challenge still belongs to the bigs.

Kevin Durant will be out through the All-Star break because of a hamstring injury, sidelining the Brooklyn Nets star from a game for which he was chosen to serve as a captain.

Rui Hachimura starred with Bruce Willis in a TV commercial for a Japanese corporation. Domantas Sabonis got engaged. Kelly Olynyk had the shortest offseason of his eight-year NBA career. The NBA offseason didn’t last long, but former Gonzaga standouts found time to attend to important matters.

The Gonzaga vs. Baylor showdown – one of, if not the biggest non-conference matchup in the upcoming college basketball season – has will tangle at 10 a.m. PT Saturday, Dec. 5, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse – home floor for former Zag and current Indian Pacers All-Star forward Domantas Sabonis – in Indianapolis.

The NBA bubble has seen Zag vs. Zag, Zag replacing Zag, Zags hurting and Zags thriving.

Several former Gonzaga Bulldogs are close to resuming their NBA seasons.

Kevin Durant and Trae Young will lead a 16-player field of NBA players in an NBA 2K20 tournament airing on ESPN.

Several days before the sports world was sidelined by coronavirus, Sabonis had 20 points and 17 rebounds against Dallas on March 8, which gave the ex-Zag 50 double-doubles on the season, a Pacers franchise record.

For the first time in 20 years, Gonzaga will be represented in the NBA All-Star Game.

John Stockton is the only former Gonzaga player to make an All-Star game roster, but that could change in the near future. The 23-year-old Sabonis has put together an impressive resume in just his fourth NBA season.

NBA roundup:

James Harden scored 44 points and the Houston Rockets used a big fourth quarter run to beat the Indiana Pacers 111-102 on Friday night.

Kyle Wiltjer heated up late and Kevin Pangos never got untracked as Canada closed the FIBA World Cup with an 82-76 loss to Germany.