Hosts Spain passed their first real test at the Fiba World Cup with flying colours on Monday when they beat Brazil 82-63 to book a last 16 berth alongside a Greek team who brushed aside Puerto Rico 90-79.
Both teams improved their records to 3-0 but Croatia’s passage into the knockout stage of the competition was put on hold after a shock 77-75 defeat by Senegal, whose centre Gorgui Dieng shone with 27 points and eight rebounds.
Having strolled to easy wins over Egypt and Iran, the Spaniards expected a tougher clash against an athletic Brazilian team but they pulled away after a blistering first quarter gave them a 30-14 lead in Granada.
Hitting top gear on the road to an expected final against holders United States, who can seal their last-16 berth when they meet New Zealand on Tuesday, Spain excelled with a hugely entertaining high-tempo performance.
The depth of the Spanish and the American rosters, packed with NBA quality, has made other medal contenders look second best but the host nation’s Chicago Bulls forward Pau Gasol was confident there was still room for improvement.
“It’s impossible to play 40 perfect minutes but we were good in terms of intensity and in the first and third quarters we played at a very high level,” he told Cadena Ser radio.
Gasol enjoyed another stellar night with 26 points and nine rebounds, overshadowing his fellow NBA stalwarts Nene Hilario, Tiago Splitter and Anderson Varejao who netted a combined total of 23 points for Brazil.
Greece dominated against the Puerto Ricans from start to finish in Seville with four of their players ending up in double digits, while on defence they confined the opposition to just 24 field goals from 62 attempts.
The Senegalese had won just two of 15 games in their previous three World Cup campaigns and arrived in Spain as one of the also-rans with little or no chance of making an impact.
Having upset Puerto Rico after an opening defeat by Greece, however, the West Africans produced the shock of the tournament against Croatia to the delight of several hundred of their fans who danced joyfully in the stands.
“We joked around coming here saying we were trying to make history, but we really had in mind that we wanted to make history,” Senegal centre Hamady Ndiaye told Fiba’s website.
Captain Maleye Ndoye added: “We rode the wave from (Sunday’s win over Puerto Rico) and got another great win. It would be great to keep riding the wave and we will be just as focussed for the next game against Argentina.”
Croatia coach Jasmin Repesa made no excuses for his weary outfit, who had clearly failed to recover from Sunday’s bruising 90-85 win against Argentina in which forward Dario Saric had six teeth knocked out after being elbowed by an opponent.
“We have suffered before in games like this because of our Balkan mentality and allowing Senegal to collect so many offensive rebounds in the first quarter was unacceptable,” Repesa told Croatian media.
“If you play with fire you will get burnt but although we have made it difficult for ourselves, I am confident because our fate is still in our own hands.”
Argentina came from behind to beat the Philippines 85-81, European champions France hammered Egypt 94-55 and Serbia laboured to an 83-70 defeat of Iran as all three sides stayed on course to reach the knockout rounds.
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SPECS
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica
Best Agent: Jorge Mendes
Best Club : Liverpool
Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)
Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
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FIXTURES
December 28
Stan Wawrinka v Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Milos Raonic v Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 29 - semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Stan Wawrinka / Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Milos Raonic / Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 30
3rd/4th place play-off, 5pm
Final, 7pm
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Feeding the thousands for iftar
Six industrial scale vats of 500litres each are used to cook the kanji or broth
Each vat contains kanji or porridge to feed 1,000 people
The rice porridge is poured into a 500ml plastic box
350 plastic tubs are placed in one container trolley
Each aluminium container trolley weighing 300kg is unloaded by a small crane fitted on a truck
The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz C200 Coupe
Price, base: Dh201,153
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 204hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 300Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.7L / 100km
Salah in numbers
€39 million: Liverpool agreed a fee, including add-ons, in the region of €39m (nearly Dh176m) to sign Salah from Roma last year. The exchange rate at the time meant that cost the Reds £34.3m - a bargain given his performances since.
13: The 25-year-old player was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.
57: It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for the Reds in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino's attempted lob.
7: Salah's best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.
3: This season Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win the player of the month award three times during a term. He was voted as the division's best player in November, February and March.
40: Salah joined Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only players in Liverpool's history to have scored 40 times in a single season when he headed home against Bournemouth at Anfield earlier this month.
30: The goal against Bournemouth ensured the Egyptian achieved another milestone in becoming the first African player to score 30 times across one Premier League campaign.
8: As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season's Champions League. Only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
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Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
THE BIO:
Sabri Razouk, 74
Athlete and fitness trainer
Married, father of six
Favourite exercise: Bench press
Must-eat weekly meal: Steak with beans, carrots, broccoli, crust and corn
Power drink: A glass of yoghurt
Role model: Any good man
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