INDIANAPOLIS (Indiana), Sept 6: The United States suffered their second humiliating defeat in a row Thursday, losing 81-78 to Yugoslavia in the quarterfinals of the World Basketball Championships.
With the loss, the hosts were shockingly eliminated from medal contention and now go into Friday’s classification games, with fifth place the best possible showing for the Americans.
The victory puts the defending world champion Yugoslavians into Saturday’s semifinals against New Zealand, 65-63 winners over Puerto Rico in another quarterfinal game.
It has been a stunning turnaround for the Americans, who lost for the first time in 10 years and 58 international games when using NBA players to Argentina on Wednesday.
The two upsets came after the U.S. won its first five games at the tournament.
What was perhaps more stunning on Thursday was the crowd at Conseco Fieldhouse, which was once again relatively sparse and featured louder cheers from the large contingent of Yugoslavian fans than for the home team in the early going.
Perhaps rattled, the Americans fell behind 9-0 before they could get untracked.
The cheering fans were certainly noticed by the Yugoslavian players.
The teams were tied 20-20 after one quarter and Yugoslavia led 40-36 at halftime.
The U.S. rallied to lead after three quarters, but Yugoslavia dominated late in the fourth quarter to take the lead again, 72-71, with l:30 to play, and hung on for the victory.
The Americans were missing several of the NBA’s biggest stars, all of whom backed out of the event for one reason or another.
But Karl refused to make any excuses for the stunning back-to-back losses his team suffered here.
While the Yugoslavian fans celebrated in the stands and on the streets, the players still realise there is work to be done here, says Pesic.
Yugoslavia is still determined to defend its championship.
Predrag Stojakovic led the winners with 20 points, while Vlade Divac had 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Milan Gurovic added 15 points.
Paul Pierce and Andre Miller both had 19 points for the U.S., while Michael Finley had 12 points.
New Zealand continued its improbable run at the championships with a thrilling win over Puerto Rico.
There were seven lead changes in the game, as the Kiwis continued their strong defensive play to go to the semifinals for the first time.
Phil Jones had 21 points to lead the winners, while Pero Cameron had 16 points.
Elias Ayuso had 24 points for Puerto Rico, while Jose Ortiz had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
In other quarterfinal action, Dirk Nowitzki had 20 points and eight rebounds to lead Germany past Spain 70-62, putting the Germans into the semifinals for the first time.
Germany led 40-31 at the half, only to see Spain go on a 21-6 run to lead by six heading into the fourth quarter.
But the Germans slowly chipped away at the lead and stiffened on defense, allowing just 10 points in the final 10 minutes.
Marko Pesic added 14 points for the winners, while Ademola Okulaja added 11 points and eight rebounds.
Juan Carlos Navarro had 21 points for Spain, which shot just 31 percent from the field.
Pau Gasol added 14 points for the losers.
Argentina stayed unbeaten at the tournament, downing Brazil 78-67 to set up a semifinal match-up with the Germans.
Brazil led the game 39-36 halfway through the third quarter as Argentina appeared sluggish after Wednesday’s heroics.
But a 15-3 run at the end of the third quarter made it 51-42 and Argentina increased its lead to 16 points in the fourth quarter before coasting to the win.
Fabricio Oberto and Emanuel Ginobili both had 19 points to lead Argentina.
Andres Nocinoi added 16 points, with five Argentina players hitting double-digits.
Vanderlei Mazzuchini had 20 points for Brazil, while Marcelo Machado added 14 points.
Results:
Quarterfinals
Yugoslavia 81 United States 78
New Zealand 65 Puerto Rico 63
Argentina 78 Brazil 67
Germany 70 Spain 62.—Reuters