Sports

US defeat Spain 95-81 to make Tokyo 2020 basketball semifinals

Durant scores 29 to be key player for US victory; Spain's Rubio, on fire, racks up 38 points for his team

Can Erozden  | 03.08.2021 - Update : 03.08.2021
US defeat Spain 95-81 to make Tokyo 2020 basketball semifinals

ANKARA

The US men's national basketball team Tuesday reached the Tokyo 2020 Olympics semifinals with a 95-81 win over Spain, setting the Americans up for a showdown with Australia.

Superstar Kevin Durant scored 29 points against Spain in the quarterfinal clash at Saitama Super Arena.

Jayson Tatum scored 13 points and Jrue Holiday racked up 12 for the US.

On the opposing side, Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio showed a powerhouse performance, scoring 38 points.

Sergio Rodriguez, another Spanish guard, had 16 points.

Willy Hernangomez of Spain scored 10 points and had 10 rebounds to make a double-double.

Slovenia over Germany

In another quarterfinal match, Slovenia slammed Germany 94-70 at Saitama Super Arena, putting the pieces in place for it to face France.

Slovenian guard Zoran Dragic scored 27 points, while Luka Doncic tallied 20 points and 11 assists.

Doncic also had eight rebounds.

Germany's Maodo Lo was his team's top scorer with 11 points, and German forward Niels Giffey added 10.

Lo and Giffey were the only German players to reach the double digits in points.

France move to semifinals

France also reached the semifinals by beating Italy 84-75 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

Rudy Gobert led France with 22 points and nine rebounds, while Evan Fournier scored 21 points.

Nicolas Batum also contributed 15 points and 14 rebounds for France.

For the losing side, Simone Fontecchio added 23 points and Danilo Gallinari racked up 21 points.

France is set to face Slovenia in the semifinals on Thursday.

Australia beat Argentina to go to semifinals

Australia also knocked Argentina out of the Tokyo Olympics with a 97-59 victory, qualifying for the semifinals.

Patty Mills scored 18 points and Matisse Thybulle and Jock Landale racked up 12 points apiece to lead Australia to victory.

Nicolas Laprovittola grabbed 16 points while Gabriel Deck scored 12 points for Argentina.

Australia will take on defending Olympic gold medalists Team USA in the semifinals on Thursday. Anadolu Agency website contains only a portion of the news stories offered to subscribers in the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS), and in summarized form. Please contact us for subscription options.