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Olympic Basketball Recaps: 30 July (Day 11)

Men's Basketball / Quarterfinals

AUS vs. CRO

Australia Shocks Croatia on RONALDSON's Four-Point Play

Australia used a four-point play by small forward Tony RONALDSON to defeat heavily favored Croatia, 73-71.

With 34.1 seconds remaining and the game tied at 66, RONALDSON took a pass outside the arc and fired towards the basket as he was fouled by Dino RADJA (CRO). The ball sailed through the nets as the whistle blew for the foul on RADJA. RONALDSON coolly stepped to the line and sank the free throw to complete the four-point play. The remainder of the game became a free throw shooting contest as Croatia continually fouled Shane HEAL (AUS). The Australian guard was up to the test as he connected on 3-of-4 shots from the charity stripe in the final 17 seconds.

Australia jumped out to a big lead in the first half, leading 34-18 with 6:00 remaining in the first period. During the opening run, international veteran Andrew GAZE (AUS) ripped the net for 16 points. Croatia turned up the heat on defense in the final five minutes of the half to get some easy baskets in transition and close the gap to 41-33 at halftime.

An 18-8 run by Croatia to open the second half tied the game at 51-51 with 13:23 left in regulation. Toni KUKOC connected on a 3-point basket with 12:50 on the clock to give Croatia its first lead of the game at 56-53. Croatia built the lead to eight points as Vladan ALANOVIC dropped in a pair of trifectas within a span of 30 seconds. Australia again came back with a 14-2 run that culminated with RONALDSON's four-point play.

GAZE led Australia with 26 points, hitting 8-of-13 from the field, including five three point field goals. RONALDSON added 17 points and Shane HEAL chipped in 11 points and dished out 7 assists. Croatia was led by ALANOVIC's 18 points, while Stojan VRANKOVIC added 16 points and 11 rebounds.

With the victory, Australia advances to the semifinals to meet the United States on Thursday. Croatia will play Brazil in the classification round.

Final Score: AUS 73, CRO 71.


Men's Basketball / Quarterfinals

USA vs. BRA

United States Runs Into Semifinals With Big Win Over Brazil

After building a big first-half lead, the United States cruised to a 98-75 victory over Brazil to advance to the semifinals of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games.

In the first half, Brazil's Oscar SCHMIDT single handedly kept the game close as he tickled the nets for 19 of his game-high 26 points. Brazil opened the game with a 7-2 lead before the United States stormed back to take a 10-9 advantage with 15:24 remaining in the first half. With the United States ahead by eight points, SCHMIDT hit a long jumper to pull Brazil to within six points with 5:21 on the clock. SCHMIDT was then taken out of the game for the first time and the USA took advantage of the situation. With the Brazilian scoring legend on the bench, the United States closed the half with a 15-7 run to take a 52-36 halftime advantage. Brazil could not close the gap in the second half as Team USA continued to build towards another victory.

Anfernee HARDAWAY led the U.S. squad with 14 points, while Scottie PIPPEN added 13 points and 6 assists. Shaquille O'NEAL added 11 points and 11 rebounds for the United States. For Brazil, Caio CASSIOLATO added 11 points to SCHMIDT's 26.

Final Score: USA 98, BRA 75.


Men's Basketball / Classification

ARG vs. KOR

Argentina Pulls Away for Victory Over Korea

Argentina used a strong surge late in the second half to defeat Korea, 97-79, in the classification round of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games.

Behind 66-49 with 13:44 remaining, Korea closed the gap to 70-60 a little over six minutes later with an 11-4 run. Korea then closed the gap to eight points with just 3:37 to play, but could get no closer as Argentina closed the contest with a 15-5 run.

Juan ESPIL led Argentina with 26 points, while Korea was led by HYUN Joo-Yeop's 16 points.

Final Score: ARG 99, GRE 66.


Men's Basketball / Classification

PUR vs. ANG

Puerto Rico Outlast Angola for Win

Puerto Rico, which held many leads just to see Angola continually come back, made a run in the final two minutes of the game to notch a 76-67 victory. Ahead 68-63 with 2:43 remaining in regulation, Puerto Rico outscored Angola 8-4 the rest of the way by hitting some key free throws. The victory for Puerto Rico came after a hard fought game between the two teams. The squads traded the lead several times in the opening half before Puerto Rico took the lead for good with a 38-36 halftime advantage.

Jose Piculin ORTIZ, the number two scorer in the 1996 Olympic Games behind Brazil's Oscar SCHMIDT, led Puerto Rico with 19 points. Anibal MOREIRA led Angola with 15 points while teammate David DIAS added 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Final Score: PUR 76, ANG 67.


Men's Basketball / Quarterfinals

LTU vs. GRE

Lithuania Breezes to Victory Over Greece in Medal Round

Lithuania, which was seeded second out of Group A, opened its game against Greece with a 16-2 run in the first 5 minutes and breezed to a 99-66 victory. The game was the first for both squads after advancing to the medal round. The next opponent for each team will be determined after action on Tuesday evening.

Lithuania was led by NBA guard Sarunas MARCIULIONIS' 16 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Arvydas SABONIS, the runner-up for the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 1996, and shooting guard Rimas KURTINAITIS chipped in with 15 points each for the Lithuanians. Giorgos SIGALAS led Greece with 18 points.

One of the keys to the win for Lithuania was the defense played on Greece's Nikos ECONOMOU and Panayotis FASSOULAS. The Greek duo, which had averaged over 30 points and 9 rebounds per game during the preliminary round, tallied a combined 8 points and 1 rebound on Tuesday.

Final Score: LTU 99, GRE 66.


Men's Basketball / Quarterfinals

YUG vs. CHN

Yugoslavia Stays on Hot Pace Toward Gold Medal Game

After posting a 5-0 record in the preliminary round, there was a little concern that Yugoslavia may take its game against China in the first game of the medal round a little lightly. Let's face it, Yugoslavia did coast into the medal round while China barely qualified as the number four seed out of Group A.

Well, unfortunately for China, the Yugoslavian squad took this game very seriously and arrived at the Georgia Dome ready to play. The result was a 128-61 win for Yugoslavia, as it continues on what many think is the road to a gold medal meeting with the United States.

As the game began, China appeared ready for an upset as it trailed just 14-10 with 15:03 remaining in the first half. But, the final 15 minutes of the first half set the tone for the rest of the game as Yugoslavia outscored China 49-19 during this stretch and opened up a 63-29 halftime advantage.

It was again a balanced attack leading the way for Yugoslavia as six players scored in double-figures. Zeljko REBRACA led the way for Yugoslavia with 22 points. China's WANG Zhi-zhi paced his squad with 13 points and 4 rebounds.

Final Score: YUG 128, CHN 61.


This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department.


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Olympic Factoid
An estimated 5.3 million visted Centennial Olympic Park between opening day - 13 July - and closing day - 4 August, making the park the most single most visited Olympic site during the Games.