World champions Spain pounded Poland 90-68 on Wednesday to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals at the European basketball championship.
Spain never trailed against an overmatched Poland, and appear to finally be finding their rhythm after struggling earlier in the tournament.
Guard Juan Carlos Navarro led the world champions with 23 points, while Los Angeles Lakers center Pau Gasol chipped in with 20 points and five rebounds. US-born point guard David Logan led Poland with 20 points.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Spain, looking for a first European title after finishing runner-up six times, faced a stiff test in the quarterfinals yesterday against France. Led by San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker, the French team cruised through the first two rounds undefeated.
Serbia clinched the other quarterfinal spot up for grabs in Group F with a late barrage of 3-pointers to beat Lithuania 89-79.
Trailing 75-71 almost halfway through the fourth quarter, Serbia hit six straight 3-pointers over the next three minutes while holding Lithuania to one bucket to lead 89-77.
Point guard Milos Teodosic scored 20 points and handed out 12 assists to lead five Serbian players in double figures.
Center Nenad Krstic chipped in with 16 points and four rebounds.
Serbia play defending champion Russia in the quarterfinals.
Wednesday’s loss dropped Lithuania, a traditional power in the sport, to 1-6 in the tournament and last place in Group F.
“We controlled the game but they played patiently and killed us with late 3-pointers,” said Lithuania coach Ramunas Butautas, who announced after the loss that he was stepping down as coach.
Slovenia nabbed the top spot in Group F, beating Turkey 69-67 to hand the Turks their first loss of the tournament.
Turkey had a shot to win it at the buzzer, but guard Engin Atsur’s open 3-pointer from the corner bounced out as time expired and Slovenia hung on for the win.
Forward Bostjan Nachbar led Slovenia with 16 points, while forward Ersan Ilyasova scored 16 for Turkey.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
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