Australia, France advance to last eight
BEIJING: Australia and France reached the basketball World Cup quarterfinals with a match to spare after tight wins over their respective rivals while holders the United States edged closer to the last eight with the 69-53 defeat of Greece on Saturday.
The Czech Republic also boosted their hopes of advancing to the knockout stage of the competition with an impressive 93-71 victory over Brazil thanks to an effervescent performance by their Chicago Bulls guard Tomas Satoransky.
Australia overcame a strong challenge from the Dominican Republic in an 82-76 win over the Caribbean nation while France ground out a dramatic 78-75 victory against Lithuania.
The Americans enjoyed plain sailing although Giannis Antetokounmpo, last season’s most valuable player in the NBA regular season, made a bright start as he netted seven of Greece’s opening nine points.
A steely defence by the US forced the Greeks to take a barrage of difficult perimeter shots while the champions took advantage of their athleticism at the other end of the court. The US had six players in double scoring digits, with Kemba Walker leading the way on 17 points. Harrison Barnes got 15 and Myles Turner added 14 while Jaylen Brown, Joe Harris and Donovan Mitchell chipped in with 11 each.
France produced three perfect quarters against Lithuania but almost spilled a 16-point lead in the final period. A Jonas Maciulis three-pointer allowed the Lithuanians to nose ahead 72-70 in the home straight before Evan Fournier and Nando De Colo forced the final twist in the last two minutes.