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Earlier on Tuesday, Canada stunned Australia
93-83, while Spain overcame a tricky test to defeat Greece 84-77
in the second round of men's basketball Group A action.
Some 27,000 mostly French fans went wild and then cautiously
silent as the Japanese team overtook their Gallic rivals in an
uncomfortably close cat-and-mouse match, which ultimately tipped
toward France in a final five-minute tiebreaker.
"A win is a win, we're going to take it regardless," said French
shooting guard Isaia Cordinier. "I think this is the toughest
competition in a while, maybe in history in terms of talent and
level of basketball."
Germany started strongly against Brazil, leading by double
digits in the first quarter before sputtering and allowing their
South American rivals to tie the score at halftime.
German captain Dennis Schroder came to the rescue, scoring 20
points and providing the jolt necessary to rally his teammates
to clinch the win.
In Group A, Greece's Giannis Antetokounmpo brought all his NBA
experience as the Milwaukee Bucks small forward made 27 points,
hitting 11 rebounds and three assists.
However, he was not prepared for Spain guard Sergio Llull, who
combined with first-time Olympian and Memphis Grizzlies forward
Santi Aldama to make 32 points.
Canada were up to the task of upsetting third-ranked Australia,
who chased the North Americans throughout the game, but were
unable to keep up.
Chicago Bulls point guard Josh Giddey led the Australians with
19 points, seven rebounds and six assists. But Canada's superior
shooting, with the combined efforts of RJ Barrett and Shai
Gilgeous-Alexander making 40 points.
On Wednesday, the winners of the U.S.-South Sudan match will
also earn a spot in the quarter-finals.
The losers of that clash, along with Japan, Brazil, Puerto Rico
and Serbia, will tussle for the remaining spots to make it to
the next stage of the competition.
(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Lille, editing by Christian
Radnedge and Ken Ferris) [© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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