Four teams make it to quarterfinals at FIBA World Cup

GUANGZHOU - Serbia, Spain, Poland and Argentina remained unbeaten and reached the last eight of the 2019 FIBA World Cup after games on Friday.

Serbia, regarded as one of the trophy contenders, smashed Puerto Rico 90-47, while Spain edged Italy 67-60 in Group J. The two winners all got four victories so far in the tournament.

Serbia and Spain will clash on Sunday to decide the winner of their group and their rivals in the quarterfinals.

From group I, Poland, who played on FIBA World Championships or FIBA World Cup for the first time in 52 years, clawed back from an 11-point deficit to defeat European powerhouse Russia 79-74 and Argentina crushed Venezuela 87-67 as both reached last eight.

In the classification round, Guo Ailun's five points in last two minutes helped China beat South Korea 77-73, and Nigeria trounced Cote d'Ivoire 83-66, both winners getting two victories after four games and keeping alive their hopes of qualifying directly for the Tokyo Olympics.

In Group N, Tunisia, who had five players score in double figures, led from start to finish as the winner over the Philippines 86-67 and top the group rankings on six points, while Iran beat Angola 71-62 for its first victory and will battle for the Asian Olympic ticket.