SAPPORO, Japan, 21 August 2006 — US and Argentina teams loaded with National Basketball Association standouts rolled to victory yesterday at the World Basketball Championship while two European powers remained winless after narrow defeats.
The Americans routed China 121-90, with NBA hero Dwyane Wade’s 26 points leading an overwhelming performance, while 2004 Olympic champion Argentina ripped Lebanon 107-72 behind 22 points from Walter Herrmann.
But European champions Greece edged perennial favorite Lithuania 81-76 in overtime and two-time defending champion Serbia and Montenegro slid to 0-2 as NBA standout Boris Diaw scored 20 points to spark France to a 65-61 triumph.
Italy and Turkey also matched the Greeks with an 0-2 start among the Europeans. The Italians overcame a woeful start to beat Slovenia 80-76 while the Turks staged a gritty fightback to bounce Australia 76-68.
Two more European nations improved to 2-0 in Group B as NBA star center Pau Gasol scored 26 points to power Spain past Panama 101-57 and Demond Greene scored 18 points as Germany buried New Zealand 80-56.
Noone has been eliminated from the 24-team event but the odds of advancing to the knockout rounds that begin Saturday have dipped for some fancied sides. Four teams from each of four six-team groups will qualify.
Vassilis Spanoulis, set to join Chinese star Yao Ming on the NBA Houston Rockets, led Greece with 15 points and sank four free throws in the last seconds to spoil NBA standout Darius Songaila’s 18 points for Lithuania.
“This team has discipline, confidence and desire,” said Greece coach Panagiotis Yannakis. “My team has shown they can play against anyone.”
Joining Greece at 2-0 in Group C was Turkey, with NBA Milwaukee star Ersan Ilyasova’s 17 points leading the way.
“Australia are an excellent team and we didn’t find the baskets in the first half. In the second we grew up physically and defensively and we found our way,” said Turkish coach Bogdan Tanjevic.
Brazil bounced back from an upset Group C loss to Australia to defeat Qatar 97-66.
“The key for us was that from the beginning to the last we played with intensity,” Machado said. “Our team is a team that needs to play having fun and that worked for us.”
African champion Angola rallied to defeat Japan 87-62 in Group B. Puerto Rico downed stubborn Senegal 88-79 in Group D and Nigeria, coming off a Group A victory over the Serbs, lost 84-77 to Venezuela.
The Americans enjoyed what amounted to a clinic against China, with fast break slam dunks and aerial moves coming fast and furious over the outmatched Asians, led by Yao’s 21 points.
“Every team that meets the US team has the same problems — turnovers, transition and rebounds,” said China coach Jonas Kazlauskas. “In the last two quarters, we fought. This is good. Maybe we found the team again.”
Argentina, which boasts National Basketball Association stars Manu Ginobili and Andres Nocioni, took care of a Lebanese team that upset Venezuela 82-72.
“I’m happy because tonight we played with great concentration against Lebanon,” Argentinan coach Sergio Hernandez said. “We concentrated for 40 minutes and we didn’t care about the score but played hard for the whole game.”
Lebanon’s team serves as an inspiration to its war-ravaged homeland.
“This team is dedicated to play our hearts out for our country,” said Fadi El Khatib.
France’s win came thanks to Real Madrid star Igor Rakocevic’s missing three free throws in the final 14 seconds.
“We are still trying to find team chemistry out there, we are playing right now with a lot of athleticism instead of pure basketball so we still have to try to find that,” France’s Diaw said.
Marco Belinelli scored 26 points to lead the third-quarter fightback that sparked Italy’s victory.
“In the third quarter we were fighting for every ball. It was a tough game. We expected that,” he said.
