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Friday, August 30
Updated: August 31, 3:38 AM ET
 
Brazil beats crowd, odds with late 3-pointer

Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS -- Marcelo Machado hit one of those shots that silences a wild crowd.

The 27-year-old guard drilled a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded Friday to give Brazil an 88-86 victory over Turkey in the opening round of the World Championships.

It was as close to a true road game a team can play in a tournament held in a neutral country.

The lower level of Conseco Fieldhouse had more red and white showing than an Oklahoma-Nebraska football game. Turkish fans waved flags and streamers for the entire game and the noise level never dipped below deafening. The coordinated cheers would have made the "Cameron Crazies'' envious. And when Turkey went into the fourth quarter with a 70-56 lead, it seemed the celebration was just going to keep on.

Until Machado quickly quieted thousands with his 23-foot jumper and set off an oncourt celebration with his teammates that headed toward the 50 or so Brazilian fans in the stands who had been muted all game.

"I had never hit a shot like that for the national team and I may have played better technically in my life, but that was the most important game of my career,'' Machado said.

Brazil (2-0) advanced to the second round with the win, while Turkey (0-2) has to beat Lebanon on Saturday to move on.

In other games Friday, it was: Spain 71, Yugoslavia 69; Puerto Rico 99, Lebanon 77; and Angola 84, Canada 74. In Friday's late games, Venezuela met New Zealand; Russia faced Argentina; Germany played the United States and Algeria met China.

Hedo Turkoglu hit a 3-pointer with 38 seconds left that gave Turkey an 86-82 lead. He tied up Sandro Varejao of Brazil 10 seconds later for a jump ball at center court. Turkoglu backtapped the ball and Anderson Varejao of Brazil was able to corral it and was fouled as he scored. His three-point play made it a one-point game with 26 seconds left.

Kerem Tunceri, Turkey's point guard who fouled Varejao on the previous play, was fouled with 15 seconds left. He missed both free throws, setting up Brazil's chance at the win.

Machado stood dribbling on the left side, waiting as the clock wound down. With two seconds left, he let fly and hit sixth 3-pointer in 16 attempts.

"That was the play,'' Machado said. "I like that shot whether I'm open or not.''

When the game was over, Turkoglu, who plays for the Sacramento Kings, stood staring with the ball behind his back. Another Turkish player was on his back on the court. They were as stunned as their fans.

"Over the last 28 seconds like that, you are not supposed to lose,'' Turkoglu, who had 25 points, said as he walked to the team bus.

Brazil coach Helio Garcia said the crowd only added to what his team accomplished.

"We showed, with a young team, that if you believe you can go forward,'' he said. "My team showed extra strength and heart.''

Spain 71, Yugoslavia 69

Pau Gasol, the NBA's rookie of the year with the Memphis Grizzlies last season, scored 25 points to lead Spain (2-0) over the defending champions.

Yugoslavia (1-1) trailed by 19 points in the first half, but was within 71-69 with 45 seconds left. Gasol then missed two free throws giving Yugoslavia a chance to tie, but Dejan Bodiroga missed a wide open 10-footer with 1.1 seconds left.

Bodiroga and Peja Stojakovic, who plays for the Sacramento Kings, each scored 16 points for Yugoslavia.

Puerto Rico 99, Lebanon 77

Elias Ayuso scored 20 of his record-breaking 37 points in the first quarter for Puerto Rico (2-0). The 6-foot-2 guard, who played at Southern California, scored 14 points in Puerto Rico's game-opening 21-2 run and had 20 points as his team took a 33-11 lead after one quarter.

Lebanon (0-2), making its first appearance in the World Championships, got within 54-50 with 4:42 left in the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Fady El Khatib, but Puerto Rico opened the fourth quarter with a 12-4 run to take control.

Ayuso was 10-for-14 from the field, 7-for-10 from 3-point range, and 10-for-11 from the free-throw line. He also had five assists and five rebounds. He broke Puerto Rico's record for points in a World Championships game which was set by Ruben Rodriguez, who had 36 in a 107-104 victory over China in 1978.

Joseph Vogel, who played at Colorado State and was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics in 1996, had 19 points and 12 rebounds for Lebanon.

Angola 84, Canada 74

Miguel Lutonda scored 22 points and Angola (1-1) advanced to the second round for the first time in three appearances.

Angola went 9-for-13 from 3-point range in the first half and opened up a 45-34 lead. It finished 13-for-28 on 3s.

Rowan Barrett, who played at St. John's, had 20 points for Canada (0-2).

New Zealand 98, Venezuela 85

Kirk Penney and Phil Jones each scored 20 points, Sean Marks had 13 points and nine rebounds and Mark Dickel added 10 points. Victor Diaz scored 26 points and Oscar Torres had 20 for Venezuela.

Argentina 100, Russia 81

Hugo Sconochini scored 26 points and Emanuel Ginobili added 21 for Argentina, which shot 52.4 percent (33-for-63) from the field. Russia (0-2) plays Venezuela (0-2) Saturday, with the winner moving on and the loser dropping to the classification round.

China 96, Algeria 82

Yao Ming dominated inside with 38 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocked shots to lead China (1-1). The 7-foot-5 Yao was 12-for-15 from the field -- almost everything either a layup or dunk -- and 14-for-17 from the free-throw line.





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