Holders Spain and surprise package Macedonia advanced to the European basketball championship semi-finals in contrasting fashion on Wednesday after beating their respective opponents.
Spain, who won their first title at Eurobasket 2009 in Poland, blew away Slovenia 86-64 while Macedonia, playing in only their third tournament as an independent nation, stunned hosts Lithuania 67-65.
The two will meet in today’s opening semi-final, while the winners of the Russia-Serbia and France-Greece quarter-finals, scheduled for yesterday, will clash in the other semi-final.
Photo: AFP
Macedonia entered the 24-team tournament in Lithuania with slim hopes of advancing from their preliminary pool, but instead shocked one more heralded rival after another to send their colorful band of supporters into raptures.
Lithuania, the 2003 champions, were one of the favorites for a podium finish, but will now have to work hard to secure even an Olympic qualifying berth available to just two of the four losing quarter-finalists.
American point-guard Lester Bo McCalebb again inspired the Macedonians, who now have a 7-2 record in the tournament, with a game-high 23 points, but it was Vlado Ilijevski who emerged as the match-winner.
Ilievski capitalized on a turnover with 11 seconds remaining and slotted an audacious three-pointer as the Lithuanians watched in disbelief before failing to score on their last possession.
“I’ve never had emotions as strong as these in my entire career. We were written off as complete underdogs before the tournament and now we have the whole nation behind us,” Macedonia center Pero Antic said.
“We have silenced our critics and 14,000 home fans in Kaunas, we dedicate this victory to the Macedonian people,” he added.
Thousands of fans thronged the central square in Macedonia’s capital Skopje to celebrate after watching the game on giant video screens, sporting national flags and team shirts.
Unlike Macedonia, fellow former Yugoslavs Slovenia never looked capable of springing an upset against classy Spain, who produced their best performance of the tournament to stay on course for a second successive title.
Having weathered an early seven-point led by the Slovenians, Spain quickly regained their composure as center Marc Gasol dominated in the paint and Juan Carlos Navarro found his shooting range.
The Spaniards led 35-31 at halftime and opened the third quarter with a 19-2 run which effectively sealed the contest, with Navarro scoring nine points in that rally.
He finished with a game-high 26 points, Pau Gasol poured in 19 and collected 16 rebounds, while Jose Luis Calderon added nine points for the Spaniards, who had 15 rebounds and seven assists more than their rivals.
Slovenia, who have never enjoyed a podium finish as an independent nation, will now enter the 5th-8th place playoff along with the losers of the other three quarter-finals.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and