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REUTERS
ATHENS, August 4: Italy sprang the biggest surprise of the World Basketball Championship, last night, when they beat well-fancied Yugoslavia, 61-60, in a thrilling second round group clash.
Both should still safely qualify for the quarter-finals, although Italy face a teasing match against Puerto Rico in the final group game tonight.
On a day when Russia underlined their title credentials with an impressive 60-48 victory over hosts Greece, Australia, inspired by veteran guard Andrew Gaze, battled to a precious 75-63 win over Brazil, stay in the hunt for a place in the quarter-final.
In other matches of the day contenders Lithuania scored a comfortable 84-75 win against Argentina and Canada slumped to their second big defeat in two days and went out of contention after a 94-81 loss to Puerto Rico.
With this win Puerto Rico kept alive their hopes of reaching the last eight while Canada were condemned to the 1th-12th place playoffs.
Yugoslavia led 29-25 at halftime but Italy, with Carlton Myers fully ATHENS, August 4: Italy sprang the biggest surprise of the World Basketball Championship, last night, when they beat well-fancied Yugoslavia, 61-60, in a thrilling second round group clash.
Both should still safely qualify for the quarter-finals, although Italy face a teasing match against Puerto Rico in the final group game tonight.
On a day when Russia underlined their title credentials with an impressive 60-48 victory over hosts Greece, Australia, inspired by veteran guard Andrew Gaze, battled to a precious 75-63 win over Brazil, stay in the hunt for a place in the quarter-final.
In other matches of the day contenders Lithuania scored a comfortable 84-75 win against Argentina and Canada slumped to their second big defeat in two days and went out of contention after a 94-81 loss to Puerto Rico.
With this win Puerto Rico kept alive their hopes of reaching the last eight while Canada were condemned to the 1th-12th place playoffs.
Yugoslavia led 29-25 at halftime but Italy, with Carlton Myers fullyback in harness and Gregor Fucka ever menacing, stretched to a 48-42 lead midway through the second period and then extended it to 54-46.
But the battling Yugoslavs, winners of the title in 1990, were back in it trailing only 56-55 with just two minutes left. From there it was drama all the way but Fucka coolly decided the issue with two successful penalty throws with 20 seconds left.
Australia took firm control of the game early in the second half when they broke away 46-39 after trailing 35-31 at the interval.
Gaze, 33, was the man who turned things round with a total of 16 second-half points after failing to score in the first half. Forward Paul Rogers top-scored for Australia with 20 points, keeping control of the boards with six rebounds.
Australia, who surprised Lithuania 71-61 on Sunday, play the United States in their final group game.
The Russian victory ended Greeks' unbeaten run of four games and stunned the capacity crowd in the 15,000-capacity stadium roaring their favouriteson.
Sergei Babkov had an outstanding game for Russia with 18 points. Many of them came at a critical period in the second half when the score went from 43-38 to Greece, to 52-43 for Russia.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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