EUROBASKET: HOSTS DOWN SERBS

By Mark Woods
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Updated: September 7, 2011

The second round of EuroBasket got under way in Vilnius with hosts Lithuania defeating Serbia 100-90.

Mantas Kalnietis had a team-high 19 points as the Lithuanians used a strong second quarter push to open a gap which the Serbs could not quite close.

France 68 Turkey 64

France all but secured their quarter-final sport EuroBasket with a 68-64 win over Turkey but they had to hold their nerve in a frantic finish.

Out of contention, the Turks went on a late 7-0 run and with 18 seconds remaining when Emir Preldzic buried a three-pointer to cut the gap to two.

However Tony Parker, who had 10 of his game-high 20 points in the third quarter hit two free-throws with made two from the foul line to give Les Bleus a three-point advantage with five seconds to go and then Turkey, with a chance to force overtime, saw their chances die when Preldzic failed to inbound the ball in time.

Spain 77 Germany 68

Spain pushed Germany to the brink of elimination with a 77-68 victory on Wednesday in the opening game the second round in Vilnius.

Marc Gasol hit a game-high 24 points but 19 from his brother Pau – all in the second half – did most to see off the Germans in a tight conclusion.

At the start of the fourth, Dirk Nowitzki hit a fade-away jumper over Serge Ibaka to put Germany in front, 57-56. Spain rallied again and although Chris Kaman brought his team back to trial 68-65, turnovers ended their hopes.

“Germany never gave up and it was a physical game,” Spain coach Sergio Scariolo said.

“We weren’t able to break away and Germany did a good job on defensive transition to stop us from making fast breaks.”

Here’s a full second round preview via ESPN.com.