One likely team -- Olympic champions Argentina -- and one unexpected one -- Angola -- have become the first teams to clinch second-round berths at the World Basketball Championship.
Argentina, 3-0, beat Venezuela 96-54 yesterday at Sendai, one of four Japanese cities hosting group games at the world titles.
Angola, which had previous wins over host Japan and Panama in Group B, easily beat New Zealand 95-73 at Hiroshima and also moved to 3-0 to officially clinch a spot in the Round of 16.
PHOTO: EPA
Although Angola has won eight African titles since the late 1980s, its best previous finish at the world titles was 11th at Indianapolis in 2002. But the team has had some good recent results under new coach Alberto de Carvalho.
Germany and Spain, both 2-0 in Group B, were playing each other Monday in one of four later matches.
Half of the 24 teams had the day off yesterday -- those in Group C in Hamamatsu and Group D in Sapporo -- including the United States, Italy, Greece and Turkey.
They'll be back today, with the US trying to make it three wins in a row when it takes on Slovenia, Turkey plays Brazil, Greece takes on Australia and Italy plays Senegal.
Walter Herrmann scored 25 points for Argentina. As in Sunday's 107-72 win against Lebanon, Manu Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs saw little playing time.
Chicago Bulls forward Andres Nocioni left the game with seven minutes left in the third quarter when he landed awkwardly on his ankle. Nocioni remained on the bench for the rest of the game and appeared in considerable pain when he left the court after the final buzzer.
PHOTO: AFP
Argentina coach Sergio Hernandez said that Nocioni should be ready for the team's next game against Nigeria tomorrow.
"He said he'll be fine," Hernandez said.
"The doctor looked at him and said he'll be OK after a rest day," he said.
Luis Scola, who like Herrmann plays in Spain, scored 17 points in the first half.
"I'm really happy because our team played with intensity," Hernandez said. "Many people in Argentina got up early to watch our game, so we wanted to put on our best performance."
Venezuela, which dropped to 1-2, got 15 points from Richard Lugo.
Eduardo Mingas scored 27 points to lead Angola, making his first nine shots from the field. He had 20 points and six rebounds as Angola took a 49-32 halftime lead.
Joaquim Gomes added 20 points for Angola.
Pero Cameron had 17 points for New Zealand, which was again without starting point guard Mark Dickel.
Dickel was suspended for 10 days by FIBA after a positive drug test last month. The results for the positive cannabis test were revealed on Aug. 11.
Inter on Sunday were given a letoff when they snatched a late 1-1 derby draw with AC Milan, while league leaders SSC Napoli were held by a late goal at AS Roma. Reigning champions Inter remain three points behind Napoli, who looked to be heading five clear as they led in Rome until Angelino volleyed in a stunning leveler in the first minute of stoppage-time. Angelino’s strike gave even more significance to Stefan de Vrij’s last-gasp equalizer at the San Siro. The defender forced home Nicola Zalewski’s knockdown just as it looked like Tijjani Reijnders’ opener would be enough for Milan. “I can
The Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets on Saturday did not disappoint in a thrilling midseason matchup in front of a fired-up sellout crowd of more than 18,500 fans. The top two teams in the NHL delivered with a combined nine goals, including the 877th of Alex Ovechkin’s career to put him 18 back of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record. That tied the score, the Jets pulled it out in overtime and just about everyone involved got their money’s worth out of the 5-4 game. “We knew how we were both sitting in the standings and both having real good years,” Winnipeg coach Scott
BACK-TO-BACK: The League One club, which is owned by stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, is sparing no expense to clinch promotion to the Championship Hollywood endings are pricey, even in England’s third division. In pursuit of their third straight promotion, Wrexham AFC splashed some cash at League One rival Reading to secure the services of striker Sam Smith. The Welsh club owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney confirmed the signing of the 26-year-old Smith on Friday. He is one of the top scorers in the third division. The transfer fee was not disclosed, but British media widely reported it to be about ￡2 million (US$2.48 million) — not extravagant, but a hefty price at this level and it would be about the same figure that
Less than a week after splashing out a world-record fee for Naomi Girma, Chelsea has spent big again to bring England midfielder Keira Walsh back to the English Women’s Super League. Walsh left European champions Barcelona after more than two years to join Chelsea for a reported ￡400,000 (US$496,000) on Friday. Walsh was the world’s most expensive player for two years after moving to Barcelona from Manchester City for a reported ￡400,000 in 2022. That status now belongs to Girma, the US defender who cost Chelsea a reported ￡900,000 to sign from the San Diego Wave. Still, it means 27-year-old Walsh — a technically
RSS