Greece beats New Zealand for final spot in 2nd round of WCup
Greece is headed to the second round of the World Cup after beating New Zealand 103-97 on Thursday in a showdown between teams that both had a shot at advancing.
Greece (2-1) was the last team to make the 16-team field for the second round. New Zealand (1-2) has to settle for the consolation bracket and will be one of the strongest teams in that 16-team pairing.
Greece jumped out to a nine-point lead in Nanjing after the first quarter, which was basically the winning edge in the Group F game.
Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks led Greece with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Corey Webster led New Zealand with 31 points.
CZECH REPUBLIC 91, TURKEY 76
At Shanghai, the Czech Republic made it to the second round, and Turkey completed its collapse.
Vojtech Hruban scored 18 points and Ondrej Balvin finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds to take the second and final second-round spot from Group E. Patrick Auda also scored 16 points for the Czechs (2-1).
"We fought hard and in the end we wanted this game more than anybody else," Balvin said.
Cedi Osman scored 24 points and Furkan Korkmaz added 16 for Turkey (1-2), which came within one-tenth of a second of beating the United States on Tuesday and wasted a five-point lead in overtime of that game before losing 92-91.
"We are very sorry," Turkish assistant coach Recep Sen said after the second of two disappointing losses.
UNITED STATES 98, JAPAN 45
At Shanghai, the Americans overpowered Japan to finish 3-0 in Group E, just two days after edging Turkey by one-point in overtime.
Jaylen Brown led with Americans with 20 points. Kemba Walker chipped in 15 and Harrison Barnes added 14.
Japan (0-3) was led by Yudai Baba with 18.
FRANCE 90, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 56
At Shenzhen, France and the Dominican Republic were both assured of making the second round. The French team's emphatic victory left no doubt that it was the best team in Group G.
Nando De Colo led France (3-0) with 15 points and Rudy Gobert added 13. Victor Liz had 12 to lead the Dominican Republic (2-1).
At Dongguan, Australia's victory allowed it to top Group H with Lithuania finishing 2-1. They both go to the second round.
Australia was led by Patty Mills of the San Antonio Spurs with 23 points, while Aron Baynes of the Phoenix Suns added 21. Baynes also pulled down 13 rebounds.
Marius Grigonis was Lithuania's top scorer with 19 points. Lukas Lekavicius added 15.
At Dongguan, Canada picked up its first victory in its final Group H game, and Senegal remained winless in three games. Both teams moved into the consolation round, playing for 17th to 32nd place.
Cory Joseph of the Sacramento Kings led Germany with 24 points and Kevin Pangos added 13 with five rebounds and five assists. Mouhammad Faye had 14 as Senegal's top scorer.
BRAZIL 84, MONTENEGRO 73
At Nanjing, Brazil finished 3-0 to top Group F and moved into the second round. Montenegro lost all three and is headed to consolation-round play. Brazil had three players in double figures: Marcelinho Huertas with 16 points, Marquinhos Sousa with 13, and Alex Garcia with 11.
Derek Needham led Montenegro with 16 points and 10 assists.
At Shenzhen, Germany salvaged a victory in its last Group G match, and Jordan finished winless. Both move into the consolation round.
Max Kleber of the Dallas Mavericks led the Germans with 18 points and Danilo Barthel had 13. Ahmad Al Dwairi had 17 points and eight rebounds to lead Jordan. Dar Tucker added 14.
FRIDAY SCHEDULE
SECOND ROUND
Group I: Poland (3-0) vs. Russia (2-1); Argentina (3-0), Venezuela (2-1).
Group J: Serbia (3-0) vs. Puerto Rico (2-1); Spain (3-0) vs. Italy (2-1).
CLASSIFICATION ROUND
Group M: Nigeria (1-2) vs. Ivory Coast (0-3); China (1-2) vs. Korea (0-3).
Group N: Angola (1-2) vs. Iran (0-3); Tunisia (1-2) vs. Philippines (0-3).