When Puerto Rico (1-4) and the Ivory Coast (0-5) faced off in an all-important final pool play game, each team had a goal in mind.

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Both teams had their own destinies in their hands as the match would determine which team would move on to the next round. The result not only affected Puerto Rico and the Ivory Coast, but also Team China (1-4).

If Puerto Rico won, they would have two victories, and automatically move on to the next round of the World Championships.

Ivory Coast needed to win by 12 points or more to qualify for the second round.

The Ivory Coast ended up upsetting Puerto Rico 88-79 for their first win at the FIBA World Championship.

Since the Ivory Coast won by less than 12 points, and Puerto Rico lost, China will move on to Istanbul, regardless of the outcome and score in their game against hosts Turkey.

From FIBA.com: The Ivorians led 88-76 on Mohamed Kone’s dunk in the last minute but David Huertas hit a three-pointer in the dying seconds to shatter their hopes. Effectively, that basket booked China’s trip to Istanbul.

“We had to win by 12 points. We tried our best to win the game by that margin. It didn’t happen. This tournament as a whole was a great experience for us and we will try to use it to move forward.” said Mohmed Kone, center for the Ivory Coast.

Behind Angolan superstar Olimpio Cipriano‘s 30 points, Angola continued Germany‘s disappointing tournament play by sending the Germans to their third loss in four games.

With the loss, it means that Germany will not advance to the second round.

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The entire game was closely contested.

After a tied frst quarter, the two teams were evenly-matched for most of the game.

Angola took a 10 point lead a couple time during the third quarter, but wasn’t able to maintain it as the Germans turned it around in the fourth; taking their own double-digit lead 74-64 with just under 4 minutes to go before the Angolans went on a late-game 14-4 rally.

Cipriano tied the game at 78 with two free throws with 16 seconds to go. Heinko Schaffartzik missed a layup at the end of regulation.

Joaquim Gomes hit two jumpers to get the African powerhouse off to a great start in the overtime, taking a lead they would never relinquish in the extra period.

After a three by Philipp Schweitheim brought the Germans to within two with 30 seconds to go, Cipriano draw a foul and hit both free-throws to keep the Angolans at a safe distance 89-85 with 10 seconds remaining.

Angola was led by Cipriano’s efficient 30 points. Cipriano shot 7-10 from two, 4-6 from three, and hit 4-5 from free-throws.

Gomes had 16 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, Miguel Lutonda had 13 points, and Eduardo Mingas 10 points for the winners.

Without Dirk Nowitzki, who withdrew from the World Championships, Germany was led by Jan Jagla’s 23 points, Schaffartzik had 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. Tim Ohlbrecht also contributed 17 points for Team Germany.

After the win, Angola improves to an all important 2-2 record in group A.

Spain has been knocked down again, this time being upset by Lithuania 76-73, giving up a 18-point second half lead over the basketball-crazy Baltic country.

(Discuss the Spain vs. Lithuania game in our World Championships forum)

After Spain scored the first four points of the fourth quarter, Lithuania used a 23-5 run the rest of the way to shock Spain into their second pool play loss.

Lithuania’s versatile power forward Linas Kleiza scored the final four points in the final 40 seconds to push his country to the three-point win.

Kleiza, a former NBA player, finished with 17 points to lead Lithuania. Martynus Pocius and Jonas Maciulis both put up 13 points. Spain was led by Marc Gasol and Juan Carlos Navarro who each scored 18 points each, while Rudy Fernandez had 13 points.

The game was played Tuesday in Izmir, Turkey.

With this loss, and their loss to France in their first game, Spain falls to 1-2. With the win, Lithuania is 3-0 in their group and can finish at the top of  Group D at the basketball world championship if they defeat the other undefeated team in their group, France.

Lithuania and France will play tomorrow for the top place in group D.

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The game everyone has been eagerly anticipating in Group C will be a must-see as Turkey take on rivals and neighbours Greece on Tuesday night.

(Find out where to watch the Greece-Turkey game live or discuss in our forum!)

The two teams enter the contest with perfect records (2-0) and neither side will settle for anything less than a win. The result of this game is likely to have a huge bearing on the pool’s final standings.

Greece head coach Jonas Kazlauskas tried to downplay the rivalry and the importance of the derby to put the focus back where he felt it belongs – on the fixture being just one of five in his team’s march to the next round.

“I understand the importance of the games between Greece and Turkey. It is like the games we had between Lithuania and Russia,” he said. “But at the same time it’s one game.”

Kazlauskas’s words though will fall on deaf ears among the Turkish supporters.

Turkey have all the motivation in the world for this game. Of course they are playing at home and want to give their fans something to cheer about, but they would like to get a measure of revenge over the Greeks for last summer’s EuroBasket quarter-final defeat.

Erden Arslan sent that game to overtime with a lay-up at the end of regulation but then missed a potential game-winning three-pointer in the dying seconds.

Greece will get a huge lift with the return to action of team captain Antonios Fotsis and Sofoklis Schortsanitis, who missed the first two games through suspensions.

Efstratios Perperoglou sat out Monday’s practice because of an infection but is expected to recover and play.

Before the derby, Puerto Rico will approach their game against China as a must-win situation following tough defeats against Russia and Greece over the weekend.

“We have to make sure we beat China,” said guard JJ Barea who has had to carry the scoring load, especially after backcourt mate Carlos Arroyo went down with an injury.

“After that we have to come out and play against Turkey, do our best and see what happens. We have to take care of the Ivory Coast next time. If we win two games and China lose the rest of theirs, we will move on to the next round. That is what we are looking for.”

Arroyo has internal bleeding in his left quadriceps. There is no exact timetable as to when he can be expected back.

China will have to do a better job of closing out the game against Manolo Cintron’s side than they did against Ivory Coast. Leading 66-51 to start the fourth quarter, they ended up winning by a margin of 83-73 which was not very convincing.

Tuesday’s action will begin with Russia taking on Ivory Coast as they look to bounce back from their 65-56 defeat against Turkey.

The game will feature the return of the teams’ respective key players – Viktor Khryapa for the Russians and Pape-Philippe Amagou for the Ivorians.

“Viktor will play on Tuesday,” Russia head coach David Blatt said on Sunday. “We need him for the last three games to make sure we get through to the next round.”

The versatile forward missed the tournament’s first three games because of an injury to his left foot.

Amagou, meanwhile, has recovered from a sprained big toe and will regain his rightful place in his team’s starting backcourt, an area which suffered greatly in his absence.

“We were mentally ready but we did not perform well in the first two games. We lost one of our best players (Amagou) and then our other point guard (Issife Soumahoro) got injured against Turkey,” said head coach Randoald Dessarzin.

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The United States continued undefeated but came across a tough Brazilian squad in their third game, squeaking by Brazil 70-68 on Monday.

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The Brazilians came up short when Leandro Barbosa’s shot was out at the buzzer.

Kevin Durant led the United States with 27 points (and 10 rebounds), Chauncey Billups put up 15, and Derrick Rose 11 points for the Americans.

After the Americans trailed most of the first 2 1/2 quarters, Lamar Odom’s(notes) dunk with 7:14 left put them ahead 64-62. But they couldn’t build on the lead during a tense final few minutes, and Brazil had two chances to send the game to overtime.

Other than late in the game and in a small spurt during the third quarter, Brazil led the United States throughout the majority of the game.

And with 3.5 seconds remaining, Marcelo Huertas had a chance to tie the game after being fouled. Unfortunately for Brazil, the 6-3 guard missed the first free throw and with Brazil down two, was forced to intentionally miss the second. The miss set up Barbosa’s miss at the buzzer.

Without their big men Nene, Anderson Varejao, Brazil was led by Marcus Vinicius scored 16, Barbosa finished with 14 points and Tiago Splitter, who will join the San Antonio Spurs this season, added 13 points and 10 rebounds. Lamar Odom had 8 points and 8 rebounds.

Puerto Rico star Carlos Arroyo will not play against Greece on Sunday in Ankara after suffering an injury on Saturday.

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Arroyo took a knee from Andrey Vorontsevich in the second half of Puerto Rico’s 75-66 defeat against Russia. His status is day-to-day.

“Carlos is really hurt. He has a contusion in his quadriceps, very close to his left hip,” said Puerto Rico head coach Manolo Cintron.

“He is undergoing physical treatment and taking medication to make the swelling go down.”

The Puerto Rican team did not practice on Sunday ahead of their game against Greece.

Read the original article at FIBA.com.