The World Basketball Championship first knockout round is poised to produce a pair of classics after Serbia beat Argentina 84-82 in an enthralling Group A match Thursday to set up a meeting with Balkan neighbor Croatia. There will also be no love lost when the Argentines clash in the last 16 with traditional rival Brazil, which finished ahead of the Croats in Group B after beating them 92-74. The United States made it five wins in a row in the same group with a 92-57 drubbing of Tunisia and should have an equally straightforward task against Angola. Serbia forward Dusko Savanovic was the team's trump card against Argentina, coming off the bench to score 19 points including a crucial three-pointer with 18 seconds left. Playmaker Milos Teodosic added 16 and four assists and captain Nenad Krstic had 18 and eight rebounds, the trio doing enough to outmuscle Argentina's unstoppable center Luis Scola who finished with a game-high 32 points and seven rebounds. Croatia, devoid of a podium finish since winning the 1995 European Championship bronze medal, was swept aside by a fast-flowing Brazilian team. Marcelo Machado led the winner with 18 points and fellow guard Leandro Barbosa added 17 as the Brazilians nailed an impressive tally of 10 three-pointers from 19 attempts. Holder Spain takes on Greece after 19 points apiece from center Fran Vasquez and guard Rudy Fernandez steered it to an 89-67 rout of Canada while host Turkey, 87-40 winner over China, plays France for a berth in the quarterfinals. Despite their drubbing, the Chinese squeezed into the last 16 on a superior three-way points differential after Ivory Coast beat Puerto Rico 88-79, leaving all three sides on one win and four defeats in Group C. Russia beat Greece 73-69 on the back of 18 points by center Timofey Mozgov and their reward is a meeting with underdogs New Zealand, which stunned France 82-70 thanks to 25 points from outstanding guard Kirk Penney. Slovenia, aiming for its first medal in any major event, beat Iran 65-60 to set up an intriguing clash with Australia, whose guard Derrick Mills led it to a 76-55 victory over Angola with 11 points, three rebounds and as many assists. Dark horses Lithuania, missing several regulars through injury, finished top of Group D with five wins out of five after beating Lebanon 84-66 and will be strong favorites against China to advance into the last eight.
