ALLAN THE MAN

PHILIPPINES VS CROATIA.

Croatia had to survive a gritty Philippine squad in overtime to register its first victory in the 2014 FIBA World Cup.

Bojan Bogdanovic had 26 points on an impressive 9-of-18 shooting in the team's 81-78 triumph. Naturalized Filipino Andray Blatche, meanwhile, had a game-high 28 points while adding 12 rebounds for Gilas.

Jeff Chan added 17 markers for the Philippines. Blatche struggled early in the first quarter going 1-of-7 from the field. But he was able to recover from the rough start and so was Gilas, as they saw themselves only down by six at the half, 37-31.

The Filipinos were able to carry the momentum entering the second half. They kept pace with their opponents for majority of the third quarter. But the Croats capitalized on a technical foul on Jayson William Castro for flopping and scored five consecutive points to lead 57-49 entering the final period.

Chan, Blatche and Ranidel de Ocampo connived in the payoff period as the Filipinos staged a comeback to force overtime. The steady shooting of the Croats during the extra period allowed them to escape with the narrow victory over the 34th ranked team in the world. (KNQ)

UKRAINE 72, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 62.

In Group B action, Ukraine banked on Pooh Jeter and Slava Krastov to come away with a 72-62 win over Dominican Republic.

Jeter scored 16 points to lead his team, while Krastov added 13 markers and seven rebounds.

The first two quarters of play was pretty even as the squads headed to the tunnel tied at 27. But it was an altogether different story in the second half.

The Ukrainians outscored Dominican Republic, 21-13, in the third quarter. Francisco Garcia paced his team with 18 points.

The Ukrainians will go up against Finland in their next game, while Dominican Republic will try to get win number one against New Zealand. (KNQ)

ANGOLA 80, SOUTH KOREA 69.

Reigning FIBA Africa champions Angola easily disposed South Korea to jumpstart their FIBA World Cup campaign, 80-69.

Angola led by ten points at the end of the first ten minutes of play and continued its onslaught in the second quarter as it took a 36-18 advantage at the half.

Yanick Moreira had 16 points and 10 rebounds to pace Angola, while Olimpio Cipriano added 16 of his own while going 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.

The Koreans exploded for 30 points in the third quarter behind the prolific play of Kim Sunhyung, who finished the game with 15 points, four rebounds and five assists.

But Angola asserted might in the fourth quarter by staging an 8-0 blast to open the period. Reggie Moore (10 points, 6 rebounds) and Milton Barros (10 points, 2 assists) teamed up to keep Korea at bay in the final frame.

South Korea will try to bounce back with a game versus Australia, while Angola faces a tougher challenge against Lithuania for its next game. (KNQ)

SERBIA 85, EGYPT 64
In Granada, Serbia had an easy outing against Egypt winning the Group A contest, 85-64.

The stingy defense of the Serbians was deadly as Egypt never scored more than 21 points after every end of quarter.

The one-sided affair saw Serbia's topscorer Milos Teodosic play only 18 minutes while tallying 15 points. Miroslav Raduljica, meanwhile, added 13 markers in just 14 minutes. Stefan Bircevic and Sretko Kalinić contributed 11 apiece.

Down by 12 at 52-64 with only 8:35 left, the 2010 FIBA World Championship silver medalists unleashed a searing run that took New Zealand out of the match.

Six straight markers by center Oguz Savas cut New Zealand's lead to only two at 72-70 with only 3:32 left, before Emir Preldzic drilled a huge triple that gave Turkey their first ever lead at 75-73.

New Zealand was never able to score a field goal after that point as they let the game slip away.

Savas made 16 points on five of eight from the field to lead the former World Cup hosts which outscored New Zealand in the second half 48-35, while Preldzic and Baris Hersek added 14 and 11, respectively. Corey Webster led the Tall Blacks with 22. (LVJ)

Slovenia 90, Australia 80

Goran Dragic had 21 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals to lead Slovenia to a 90-80 victory over Australia in Group D action of the FIBA World Cup. Dragic's younger brother Zoran added 10 markers with two three-pointers.

Aron Baynes, who plays for the NBA champions San Antonio Spurs, led the charge for Australia with 21 points.

The Australians staged a late rally in the fourth quarter, inching to as close as five points after a three-pointer by Ryan Broekhoff. But the trifecta turned out to be the last field goal for the Boomers.

Slovenia controlled the battle of the boards 32-25, and also had a slight edge in points inside the paint 46-44.

Australia, which never led in the contest, trailed by as much as 16. (KNQ)

Argentina 98, Puerto Rico 75.

Luis Scola had a near double-double for Argentina as they limited fellow FIBA Americas competitor Puerto Rico to only 11 points in the third period for a 98-75 blowout.

The Indiana Pacers forward scored 20 points, grabbed nine boards, and was 70 percent from the field as Argentina had minimal trouble dispatching their opening day opponents.

Pablo Prigioni dished out 10 assists in the win that put their squad on top of Group B with Croatia, which edged Gilas Pilipinas 81-78 earlier.

The South American nation moved the ball better, dishing out 22 assists and finishing 52 percent from the floor. They also held Puerto Rico scorless in a six-minute stretch that broke the game wide open. JJ Barea paced the Puerto Ricans with 24 markers. (LVJ)

Brazil 65, France 63

Marcelinho Huertas carried Brazil past France in Group A action of the 2014 FIBA World Cup. The combo guard who plays for FC Barcelona in the Spanish League had a game-high 16 points and five assists.

The Brazilians pulled a close 65-63 squeaker over their No. 8 ranked opponents.

France actually had a better shooting clip at 42% compared to Brazil's 38%, but the latter controlled the boards 42-38 and had five fewer turnovers.

French forward Boris Diaw had an all-around game tallying 15 points, six rebounds and five assists. While, Nicolas Batum registered 13 markers and five boards.

After trailing by as much as nine in the first quarter, the Brazilians turned the game around by outscoring France 17-8 in the second quarter. (KNQ)

Lithuania 87, Mexico 74

Finding themselves down by five after the first ten minutes of play, the Lithuanians pounced on Mexico in the second quarter and never looked back to register an 87-74 decision.

Jonas Mačiulis shot a perfect 4-of-4 from the rainbow country and tallied 19 points, while Jonas Valanciunas scored 18 points on a pristine 8-of-8 field goal shooting clip.

In contrast, Mexico shot an atrocious 29% from the three-point line combining for 6-of-21 as a team.

Francisco Cruz was the game's topscorer with 21 points. (KNQ)

Greece 87, Senegal 64

Wildcard team Greece trounced FIBA Africa bronze medallists Senegal in Group B action of the 2014 FIBA World Cup.

The Greeks led from start to finish, once establishing a 33-point advantage en route to the 87-64 lopsided win.

Point guard Kostas Kaimakoglou came off the bench to lead the squad with 20 points going 6-of-8 from beyond the arc. As a team, the Greeks shot a solid 57% from the rainbow territory.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokoumpo played less than 19 minutes but was able to contribute 11 points, five boards and three steals.

Gorgui Dieng, who plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA, registered a double-double of 21 points and 14 rebounds for Senegal. However, the African team was outrebounded 43-31 by the Greeks.

The second stringers of Greece more than doubled the production of their counterparts, 53-24. (KNQ)

United States 114, Finland 55

The title retention bid of the Americans started on a winning note after the team registered a 114-55 demolishing of Finland in Group C action of the 2014 FIBA World Cup.

Klay Thompson led four US players in double figures scoring a game-high 18 points. Anthony Davis contributed 17, while Derrick Rose and Rudy Gay added, 12 and 10, respectively.

The Americans limited almost had a complete shutout of Finland in the second quarter allowing them to score just two points. The first half ended 60-18.

Petteri Koponen and Shawn Huff each had 12 points for Finland, which made its first ever appearance at the World Cup. US enjoyed a 46-31 rebounding advantage, while also producing 15 more assists than their opponents. (KNQ)

Spain 90, Iran 60

Host nation Spain annihilated Iran, 90-60, in front of a zealous crowd which gathered at the Palacio Municipal de Deportes de Granada.

The Spanish team had a rude welcome to the Iranians showing complete dominance in every statistical category.

Spaid had the advantage in rebounds (42-31), assists (22-11), steals (13-8), blocks (4-1), while also committing less turnovers (20-12).

The second ranked team in the world also won the battle in points in the paint (40-26) and fastbreak points (10-4).

Pau Gasol had a tournament-high 33 points to wrap up the first day of World Cup action, while Marc Gasol posted a double-double of 15 markers and 10 rebounds.

Iran's point guard Mahdi Kamrani had a team-high 18 points, while big man Hamed Haddadi added 16 points and 15 caroms.

Spain’s next assignment will be contra Egypt, while Iran is set to duel with Brazil. (KNQ) — Sports Desk Online

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