World Cup Day 9: Group A dominates; Greece, Argentina headed home

Throughout the FIBA World Cup, most of the attention was on Team USA and Spain and their anticipated matchup in the gold medal game a week from today.

And while the Americans and Spaniards both stormed through their groups undefeated, so did Greece, running the table in Group B. The Greens, as they are known, won their first four games by double digits before dismissing Argentina, 79-71, to clinch the group.

As the last team to defeat the United States – winning the semifinals of the 2006 World Cup – Greece looked like a medal contender as the knockout stage began.

Not anymore.

Here’s a roundup of Sunday’s round of 16 games. The tournament is now down to eight teams, including all four qualifiers from Group A.

If you missed Saturday’s first four knockout games, they are summarized here.

BARCELONA GAMES

Lithuania 76, New Zealand 71

There was a Haka dance sighting, but there won’t be any more of those. There was also a Jonas Valanciunas sighting, and there could be more of those.

The Toronto Raptors center had by far his best game of the tournament, collecting 22 points and 13 rebounds as Lithuania remained on track for a potential semifinal matchup with Team USA.

Lithuania raced to a 23-9 lead after one quarter behind strong starts from Valanciunas and Rockets forward Donatas Motiejunas, But New Zealand pecked away and took a 59-58 lead on a 3-pointer by Corey Webster, who scored 26 points.

Valanciunas came alive again, scoring eight points in the final six minutes. The dagger came from Jonas Maciulis, whose 3-pointer with 1:05 to play rebuilt the lead to 72-65.

Turkey 65, Australia 64

Karma’s a bitch. Turkey advanced to the quarterfinals as Emir Preldzic made a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute, including the game-winner with five seconds remaining, to send Australia packing.

I will readily admit I wanted Australia to lose after it clearly tanked its final group game to avoid Team USA until the semifinals, increasing its chances of winning a medal. As a coach of teenagers, I’m not a big fan of teaching the finer points of intentionally losing. Now, tanking an entire season? That requires true commitment and is entirely a different story.

The Aussies led by eight points early in the fourth quarter and still held a 64-59 advantage after a floater by Cavs guard Matthew Dellavedova with 1:02 to play. But they never got off another shot, committing turnovers after each of Preldzic’s shots.

Preldzic and Sinan Guler scored 16 points apiece for the Turks. Aron Baynes scored 15 points and Dellavedova added 13 for the Aussies.

MADRID GAMES

Serbia 90, Greece 72

The Greeks picked an awful time for their first loss of the tournament. In the second half, they could not stop Serbia, which shot 54 percent overall and rode a balanced attack into the quarterfinals.

Suns rookie stash Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 21 points, NBA free agent Miroslav Raduljica added 16, Milos Teodosic had 13 and Nikola Kalinic 12 for Serbia, which drained 9-of-17 from the arc.

Grizzlies guard Nick Calathes scored 14 points for Greece in his last game until about Thanksgiving. The president of the Hair Club for Men still has 13 games remaining on a 20-game suspension he received prior to the start of the playoffs.

Brazil 85, Argentina 65

What was supposed to be a hotly contested game between South American rivals who truly do not like each other turned into a rout as the Brazilians used their size and speed to make the once-proud Argentines look old and slow, which they are.

You have to wonder about Argentina’s international future. Luis Scola and Andres Nocioni are 34. Walter Herrmann is 35. Leo Gutierres is 36. Pablo Prigioni is 37. And Manu Ginobili, who did not play in this event, is 37. Next year, the Argentines will have to qualify for the 2016 Olympics through the FIBA Americas Tournament.

Brazil trailed, 36-33, at halftime but used its size advantage to take control with a big third quarter. In the final period, a series of jumpers by backup point guard Raul Neto turned it into a blowout.

Neto, whose rights are held by the Jazz, scored 21 points and Marquinhos Vieira added 13 for Brazil, which shot 53 percent, held a 39-26 advantage in rebounds and gave coach Ruben Magnano an extremely satisfying win. A native of Argentina, Magnano guided his homeland to the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics.

Prigioni scored 18 points for Argentina.