ALLAN THE MAN

Philippines 70, Greece 82 (Group B)

Team Philippines suffered another loss after Greece ran away, 82-70, in their second matchup of Group B competition in the FIBA World Cup.

Georgis Printezis led the way for the Greeks with 25 points and Giannis Bourousis tallied a double-double of 12 points and 10 boards.

Gilas was only down by 10 at the half but Greece exploded to a 46-29 margin midway in the third period. Greece kept on using their size to their advantage to hold double-digit leads in the fourth quarter. 

The Filipinos, who had an overall poor shooting night, couldn't find any solutions as they lost for the second time in as many games. Coach Chot Reyes, however, was all praise for his troops who continued to fight until the end.

Andray Blatche was the main man for Gilas with 21 points, while Junemar Fajardo added 10. The Philippines' next opponent is Argentina on September 1 at 11:30PM local time. (JCA)

Dominican Republic 76, New Zealand 63 (Group C)

The national team of Dominican Republic went berserk in the fourth quarter to grab a 76-63 win over New Zealand in Bilbao and register its first victory in Group C of the FIBA World Cup.

Francisco Garcia scored a game-high 29 points on top of six rebounds to lead the Dominicans, while Jack Martinez added 12 markers.

The Tall Backs were only behind a single point, 51-50, to start the fourth period after rallying in the third behind Thomas Abercrombie and Kirk Penny - who finished with a combined 38 points. But Dominican Republic went on a 14-4 run midway in the payoff period to get the win, while handing New Zealand their second straight setback of the tournament.

Dominican Republic, who plays Finland next, shot 47.8-percent from the field and won the rebounding department, 43-34. New Zealand will take on United States in their next outing. (JCA)

Australia 89, Korea 55 (Group D)

Australia bounced back from their opening loss and defeated Korea in dominating fashion, 89-55. The Australians started the game with a 10-0 blast behind Aron Bynes, who finished 13 points and 10 rebounds.

The Koreans cut the deficit to one midway in the opening period but the Boomers staged another run, 13-0, right before the end of the first half and never looked back.

Joe Ingles had 17 points on a near perfect 7-of-8 shooting from the field for the Australians, while Cameron Bairstow chipped in 13 markers. Utah Jazz rookie Dante Exum only had four points in 13 minutes of action.

Australia, who limited Korea to just 26 points in the second half, ended the game with a 51.5-percent shooting clip and dominated the boards 47-18. Sunhyung Kim led the Koreans with 13 points. (JCA)

Croatia 90, Argentina 85 (Group B)

Krunoslav Simon had 18 points to lead Croatia to a surprising 90-85 win over powerhouse Group C team Argentina in Seville.

Simon was one of five Croatian players who finished in double figures. Bojan Bogdanovic and Dario Saric each had 16, while Oliver Lafayette and Luka Zoric scored 11 and 10, respectively.

Argentina was only down by two, 62-64, in the third quarter after Luis Scola made two freethrows but the Croatians went on an 11-1 run to end the period with a 75-63 lead.

A layup from Pablo Prigioni cut Argentina’s deficit to five, 78-83, in the last quarter but Bogdanovic ignited a 7-2 run in the ensuing plays as Croatia ran away with the victory, their second of the tournament.

Scola powered Argentina with 30 points and nine rebounds. Croatia’s next opponent is Senegal, while Argentina battles Gilas-Pilipinas on Monday, September 1 at 11:30PM local time. (JCA)

France 74, Serbia 73 (Group A)

The French national team notched its first victory in the FIBA World Cup after escaping Serbia, 74-73, in Group A action.

Joffrey Lauvergne led France with 19 points and six boards while Nicolas Batum of the Portland Trailblazers had 11 markers on 5-of-10 shots.

Late in the fourth quarter, Serbia held a slim two-point lead, 73-71, before Boris Diaw knocked down a jumper with 18 seconds remaining to tie the score. Bogdanovic committed an error to give the ball back to France, which had four seconds on the clock for a chance to win the game.

Lauvergne drew a foul with a second left and made the first freethrow, giving his team a one point lead. He intentionally missed the second and time ran out as France ran away with the victory. Miroslav Raduljica led the Serbians, who suffered their first loss, with a game-high 21 points to go along with seven rebounds. (JCA)

Finland 81, Ukraine 76 (Group C)

Shawn Huff registered 23 points and eight rebounds as Finland handed Ukraine its first loss of the tournament with an 81-76 win.

Down 38-39 early in the third frame, Finland took control of the game after going on a 19-0 explosion, 10 points coming from the tandem of Erik Murphy and Sasu Salin.

Ukraine, who were led by Eugene Jeter's 24 points and five rebounds, trimmed the lead to five, 52-57, late in the quarter but Finland scored the first eight points of the fourth period to create some cushion.

Back-to-back three-pointers from Maksym Pustozvonov and Olexandr Mishula inched Ukraine within four, 76-80, with 26 seconds left but Teemu Ranniko made a split from the charity stripe, which was enough for Finland to bag their first win in Group C. (JCA)

Slovenia 89, Mexico 68 (Group D)

The Slovenian national team used a strong second half to dispose Mexico, 89-68, and bag its second win in Group D of the FIBA World Cup.

Zoran Dragic went perfect from the field to lead Slovenia with 22 points, while brother Goran had 18 points and six assists. Gustavo Ayon paced Mexico with 23 markers.

Holding a 46-37 lead at the half, Slovenia came up with a 17-0 run bridging the third and fourth period to break away from Mexico. The Dragic duo kept pouring points in the final period to seal the second victory for Slovenia, while keeping Mexico winless.

The Slovenians posted an impressive 60-percent shooting clip and forced the Mexican team to 20 turnovers. (JCA)

Senegal 82, Puerto Rico 75 (Group B)

Mouhammad Faye scored 20 points to spearhead Senegal past Puerto Rico, 82-75, in Group B competition in Seville.

Faye shot 7-of-9 from the field and added four rebounds and three steals. Gorgui Dieng contributed 18 points and 13 boards for Senegal.

Puerto Rico was within three points in the early moments of the fourth period but Senegal unleashed a 7-0 blast to extend their lead to 10, 70-60. Puerto Rico came within three, 67-70, after a layup from JJ Barea but Senegal scored five consecutive points – capped by a jump shot from Dieng – to put the game out of reach for the Puerto Ricans.

Renaldo Balkman had 21 points and seven rebounds in the losing cause. Puerto Rico, who will face Greece next, remains winless with a 0-2 record. (JCA)

Brazil 79, Iran 50 (Group A)

The Brazilian national team used a strong second quarter to destroy Iran, 79-50, and notch its second win of the FIBA World Cup preliminary round.

Alex Garcia ended up with 12 points, three rebounds, and three steals to power Brazil, which shot 54.2-percent from the field as a team. Leandro Barbosa chipped in 11 markers.

Iran held a one-point lead after the first quarter but allowed Brazil to go on a 23-6 rampage in the second frame. The Iranians wouldn’t recover as they suffered their second loss in Group A competition. (JCA)

Lithuania 75, Angola 62 (Group D)

Jonas Valanciunas registered 11 points and 13 rebounds as Lithuania beat Angola, 75-62, to remain undefeated in Group D.

It was a tight contest up until halftime but Lithuania limited Angola to only 14 points in the third to take a double-digit lead, 63-49, heading into the final period. Angola cut the lead to nine early in the fourth but Lithuania cruised on to take their second win.

Eduardo Mingas had 14 points and nine rebounds for Angola. (JCA)

United States 98, Turkey 77 (Group C)

The U.S. national squad bucked a slow start to upend Turkey, 98-77, and get their second win in Group C early Monday morning local time.

Turkey held a five-point lead at the half but Team USA flexed their muscle in the succeeding quarters to take control of the match thanks to the superb play of Anthony Davis.

With already a 66-60 cushion after the third period, United States registered a 32-point outburst in the final frame to break away from Turkey and tally their second victory in the tournament.

Kenneth Faried led the Americans with 22 points and eight rebounds, while Davis had 19 points and six boards. James Harden and Kyrie Irving added 14 and 13 points, respectively.

Cenk Akyol was the lone player in double figures for Turkey with 12 points. (JCA)

Spain 91, Egypt 54 (Group A)

The Spain national team improved to 2-0 in the FIBA World Cup after a shellacking of Egypt, 91-54, in Group A competition.

Naturalized Spaniard Serge Ibaka led the way for the host team with 18 points and eight rebounds. Rudy Fernandez scored 14 points, while Pau Gasol penned in 12 markers.

Ibrahim Elgammal paced Egypt with 16 points, four rebounds, and three assists.

The Spaniards shot 49.3-percent from the floor and outrebounded Egypt, 47-32, to snag their second win in as many games. They are next scheduled to play Brazil, which is also undefeated so far in the tournament. (JCA) -- Sports Desk Online

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