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.
Tainan TSG Hawks slugger Steven Moya, who is leading the CPBL in home runs, has withdrawn from this weekend’s All-Star Game after the unexpected death of his wife. Moya’s wife began feeling severely unwell aboard a plane that landed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday evening. She was rushed to a hospital, but passed away, the Hawks said in a statement yesterday. The franchise is assisting Moya with funeral arrangements and hopes fans who were looking forward to seeing him at the All-Star Game can understand his decision to withdraw. According to Landseed Medical Clinic, whose staff attempted to save Moya’s wife,
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt yesterday backed Nick Champion de Crespigny to be the team’s “roving scavenger” after handing him a shock debut in the opening Test against the British and Irish Lions Test in Brisbane. Hard man Champion de Crespigny, who spent three seasons at French side Castres before moving to the Western Force this year, is to get his chance tomorrow with first-choice blindside flanker Rob Valetini not fully fit. His elevation is an eye-opener, preferred to Tom Hooper, but Schmidt said he had no doubt about his abilities. “I keep an eye on the Top 14 having coached there many years
Ukrainian coal miner Andrii’s face lit up when he talked about meeting Oleksandr Usyk. “Wow,” the 36-year-old said in English. Andrii and more than a dozen other war veterans were on hand when Usyk beat Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night to become the undisputed world heavyweight champion. It was a rematch of their 2023 bout that Andrii viewed under vastly different circumstances. “I watched this fight on the front line on my phone,” he said through an interpreter during a stop on Friday at the Ukrainian Embassy in London. “We were watching very quietly, but when he won there was loud
Saudi Arabia yesterday were drawn to take on Iraq and Indonesia in the fourth phase of Asia’s preliminaries for next year’s FIFA World Cup, with back-to-back Asian Cup winners Qatar to face the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman. The winners of each of the three-team groups, which are to be played in October, would join already-qualified Australia, Japan, South Korea, Uzbekistan, Iran and Jordan at next year’s expanded 48-nation finals in the US, Canada and Mexico. Saudi Arabia, who are attempting to qualify for a seventh World Cup finals since 1994, are to host Group A and open against Indonesia on
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