USA BASKETBALL DUNKED IN SEMIS

USA Basketball will get its long-anticipated FIBA World Cup showdown with Canada on Sunday, but the North American neighbors will be playing for bronze, not gold.

Displaying poise from start to finish in a nip-andtuck semifinal, Germany upset the U.S., 113-111, at Mall of Asia Arena in the Philippines on Friday, ending the Americans’ hopes of reclaiming World Cup supremacy.

The Germans will face Serbia, which knocked off Canada, 95-86, in Friday’s other semifinal, for gold on Sunday.

The U.S. couldn’t find reliable defensive answers against a German squad that featured four NBA players. But the Americans’ biggest challenge was Andreas Obst, a smooth-shooting Bayern Munich guard who scored a game-high 24 points and hit a 3-pointer to help seal the win.

Soccer

Neymar scored his record 78th and 79th goals for Brazil in a 5-1 World Cup qualifying win over Bolivia, putting him two above the total of threetime World Cup winner Pelé as Brazil’s top goal scorer.

Golf

Shubhankar Sharma and Jordan Smith shared the halfway lead of the Irish Open at at 13 under.

• Peiyun Chien of Taiwan holed out for eagle on the sixth hole and finishes with an 8-under 64 to build a four-shot lead in the Kroger Queen City Championship in Cincinnati.

Local prep football

Sidaron Wilson, given the task of replacing the legendary Rob Gilster, is out after four games as Valley Center High School’s football coach.

Longtime assistant Bill Dunckel has been named the interim coach.

Valley Center is 0-4 and has been outscored 154-45.

JOHN MAFFEI

Local colleges

Austin Brummett had a goal and two assists to lead the San Diego State men’s soccer team to a 3-0 victory over visiting George Washington (2-1-2). Rommee Jaridly also scored for SDSU (3-0-1).

• The San Diego State women’s volleyball team posted its second straight sweep with a 3-0 blanking of Denver 25-19, 25-17, 25-22 at the UC San Diego Invitational. The Aztecs (3-5) were led by Taylor Underwood and Julia Haynie with nine kills.

• SDSU junior Justin Hastings tied a school record with a 62 and leads after the first round of the Maui Jim Intercollegiate at the par-71 Mirabel Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. Hastings paced an Aztecs team that is 21-under, three shots off Auburn’s lead.

• The San Diego men’s soccer team fought to a 0-0 draw with visiting UC Riverside, playing short-handed for much of the second half. Donovan Parisian had four saves for the Toreros (3-1-1).

• The San Diego women’s volleyball team completed its first sweep of 2023, dominating Marist from start to finish at the Trojan Invitational at USC, winning 25-7, 25-9, 25-12. Led by 11 kills from both Amber Stivrins and Leyla Blackwell, San Diego (2-4) out-aced the Red Foxes (2-6), 10-1.

• In its road opener, the UC San Diego men’s soccer team fell to No. 17 Denver, 4-0. The Tritons drop to 0-4-1 while the Pioneers move to 3-0-2.

Sports and courts

A special grand jury issued new aggravated murder indictments against Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. , accused of fatally shooting three University of Virginia football players last year. If convicted, Jones would serve a mandatory life sentence.

Also

• Jonas Vingegaard and teammates crushed their rivals in the Spanish Vuelta’s 13th stage, leading a 1-2-3 finish for Jumbo-Visma. American Sepp Kuss, the overall leader, and Primoz Roglic, also pulled away from the last riders who tried to match their pace.