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BASKETBALL: Australia secure place in last eight with 106-75 win

Australia secured a quarter-finals berth in the men’s Olympic basketball tournament yesterday by handing Group A leaders Lithuania their first defeat in the final round of preliminary matches.

In Group B, world championship runners-up Greece beat China 91-77, which means the host nation — who had already advanced after beating Germany on Saturday — are likely to face the Lithuanians in the quarter-finals tomorrow.

China had a poor first half, missing all their 14 three-point shots, but went on to outscore the Greeks 30-23 in the third quarter and then 23-22 in the fourth.

Lithuania were beaten 106-75 by Australia, whose Andrew Bogut was the game’s highest scorer, netting 23 points. Lithuania’s Ksistof Lavrinovic was the biggest contributor to his team, with 14 points.

In other matches yesterday, Croatia beat Iran 91-57 to secure their quarter-final berth.

Russia also missed out on the quarter-finals since the wins by Croatia and Australia enabled them to advance along with Lithuania and Argentina.

Spain meanwhile handed Angola their fifth defeat in Group B, winning 98-50.

Later the US showed Germany why they are gold medal favorites dispatching a team led by Dirk Nowitzki 106-57.

The game was never in doubt as the NBA All Stars pressured Germany early with a stifling defense, while cruising with an attack led by 22 points from Dwight Howard and 18 from Cleveland Cavalier LeBron James.

Balanced scoring by the US was in evidence as Kobe Bryant finished with 13 and Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade had 10 each.

The US began the game by establishing Orlando Magic center Howard in the middle as they jumped out to a 20-5 lead that also featured explosive dunks by NBA scoring champ James.

Howard had eight of his points in the first quarter, while James notched 16 of his in the first 20 minutes.

Nowitzki, who finished with 14 points, knew he was in for a long night in the first minute when he suddenly found himself surrounded by four Americans as he tried to take the ball to the hoop.

The US team has prided itself on a swarming, pressuring defense, while its high-octane offence is geared to always find uncontested shots for unmarked players.

The US had won its previous four preliminary-round games by an average of 28 points, including a 119-82 win over reigning world champions Spain on Saturday.

In tomorrow’s quarter-finals, the US will meet Australia, while Spain faces Croatia. China goes up against Lithuania and Argentina meets Greece.
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