NBA stars slam dunk Aussies

SAITAMA – A US all-star squad overwhelmed Australia 113-72 to reach the World Basketball Championship quarter-finals here Sunday while China’s dream run was halted by European champion Greece.

Carmelo Anthony’s 20 points paced the US National Basketball Association stars, who will play for a semi-final berth Wednesday against Dirk Nowitzki-led Germany, which edged Nigeria 78-77 in a knockout-round thriller. Asian champion China, trying for a chance at a best-ever showing in global competition, were ousted 95-84 by the unbeaten Greeks, whose quarter-final foe Wednesday will be France, a 68-62 winner over stubborn African champion Angola.Chinese star Yao Ming managed only 10 points against an impressive Greek squad, led by 19 points form Theodoros Papaloukas, that rallied from an early 12-point hole and made a 24-6 third-quarter run to blow open a tight game.Other quarter-final pairings were set Saturday with Olympic champion Argentina to play Turkey and unbeaten Spain to meet Lithuania on Tuesday.The unbeaten US squad, the heart of a line-up preparing for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, had blown out round-robin rivals by an average of 23 points and had flattened the Aussies by half-time, leading 59-29.While looking like the team to beat now, American NBA players have been humbled in recent years, a disappointing sixth at the 2002 worlds and a bronze-medal finish at the 2004 Athens Olympics keeping them from getting too cocky.The best African finish in this event remains Egypt’s fifth-place showing in the 1950 debut.Nampa-AFPAsian champion China, trying for a chance at a best-ever showing in global competition, were ousted 95-84 by the unbeaten Greeks, whose quarter-final foe Wednesday will be France, a 68-62 winner over stubborn African champion Angola.Chinese star Yao Ming managed only 10 points against an impressive Greek squad, led by 19 points form Theodoros Papaloukas, that rallied from an early 12-point hole and made a 24-6 third-quarter run to blow open a tight game.Other quarter-final pairings were set Saturday with Olympic champion Argentina to play Turkey and unbeaten Spain to meet Lithuania on Tuesday.The unbeaten US squad, the heart of a line-up preparing for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, had blown out round-robin rivals by an average of 23 points and had flattened the Aussies by half-time, leading 59-29.While looking like the team to beat now, American NBA players have been humbled in recent years, a disappointing sixth at the 2002 worlds and a bronze-medal finish at the 2004 Athens Olympics keeping them from getting too cocky.The best African finish in this event remains Egypt’s fifth-place showing in the 1950 debut.Nampa-AFP