The group stage came to an end in Beijing 2008 and eight teams already reached the medal rounds. Lithuania won Group A despite a 106-75 loss against Australia. Andrew Bogut led the Boomers with 23 points while Brad Newley of Panellinios added 16 for Australia. Ksistof Lavrinovic of Montepaschi Siena had 14 points for Lithuania. Argentina needed an outstanding Luis Scola to down Russia 91-79 also in Group A. Scola, still the Euroleague's all-time second top scorer, had 37 points to lead Argentina to its fourth straight win. Croatia thrashed Iran 57-91 behind 16 points each from Marin Rozic of Cibona and Marko Tomas of Real Madrid. The United States became the only unbeaten team in the men's basketball tournament with a 106-57 win against Germany. Also in Group B, Spain did not find much trouble to down Angola 50-98 with 31 points from Pau Gasol. Greece finished third in Group B by beating China 91-77 behind 19 points each from Vassilis Spanoulis of Panathinaikos and Giannis Bouroussis of Olympiacos. The quarterfinal matchups are: USA vs. Australia, Spain vs. Croatia, Lithuania vs. China and Argentina vs. Greece. The quarterfinals are set to take place on Wednesday, followed by the semifinals on Friday and the medal games on Sunday.
 Croatia assured itself third place in Group A by crushing winless Iran by 57-91 at the Olympic men's basketball tournament in Beijing on Monday. Croatia finished group play at 3-2 and will now face Spain in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. The victory also relegated Australia to fourth place and a quarterfinals matchup with the United States. Croatia made sure against Iran with an incredible 8-35 second quarter that established unbridgeable differences for the rest of the game. Iran finished its first Olympics in more than half a century with an 0-5 record. Four of Croatia's scorers finished in double-figures, with Marko Tomas of Real Madrid and Marin Rozic of Cibona popping for 16 points each. Niksa Prkacin of Cibona had 15 and Damjan Rudez of Bilbao 13. Croatia played without veteran guards Zoran Planinic and Marko Popovic, the latter out for the second game in a row. Iran got 25 points from Mohammadsamad Nikkhah plus a 17-point, 15-rebound effort from Hamed Ehadadi. Croatia broke an early 6-6 tie with a 0-13 blast in which Rozic, Davor Kus and Tomas blasted triples as the first quarter ended 8-19. The Croats then scored the first 15 points of the second quarter thanks to 4 each from Roko-Leni Ukic and Prkacin. A pair of triples by Rudez and another by Tomas soon made it an 11-46 score, and the rout was on. It was 16-54 by halftime, so the third and fourth quarters were given over to tit-for-tat scoring in which Iran actually came out on top as Nikkhah and Ehadadi had their way. Still there was no way Iran could dent the huge difference on the scoreboard, so Croatia got the third-place finish it wanted heading into the quarterfinals.
 Australia showed it was readier than ever for the quarterfinals by ending Lithuania's undefeated status in Group A with a blowout 106-75 victory on Monday at the Olympic men's basketball tournament in Beijing. The victory couldn't keep Australia from finishing fourth in the group with a 3-2 record because of tie-breaks, however. Australia will face Group B winner USA in Wednesday's quarterfinals. A pair of massive first-half runs established double-digit leads that Australia protected the rest of the game against Lithuania, which was already group champ and was only playing for the pride of staying undefeated. Tournament-best 16-for-25 three-point shooting saw six Australian players reach double figures, led by Andrew Bogut with 23 points. Brad Newley added 16, Chris Anstey and Patrick Mills 13 each, Glen Saville and David Barlow 10 each. Lithuania got 14 points from Ksistof Lavrinovic and 12 from his Montepaschi Siena teammate Rimantas Kaukenas. Linas Kleiza also added 12, while Euroleague MVP Ramunas Siskauskas of CSKA Moscow had 10. Australia broke an early 6-6 tie with a massive 20-2 run sparked by 5 points in a row by Bogut and continued with 3 triples in a row by Newley, Mills and Mark Worthington. By the time David Andersen of F.C. Barcelona hit free throws, the score was 26-8 as the Aussies rolled to a 28-14 first-quarter lead. With three-pointers from Kaukenas and Simas Jasaitis of DKV Joventut, Lithuania rallied to within 33-27, but again Australia blew the doors off the arena. This time, the run was 20-0 as C.J. Bruton and Barlow joined Newley in striking from downtown as Australia cruised to a 55-29 halftime advantage, having hit 10 three-pointers already. Bogut added the 11th to start the second half and soon added a pair of two-pointers to establish a 30-point lead, 64-34. Siskauskas and Mindaugas Lukauskis of Lietuvos Rytas could only lower the difference to 21 points before Saville's triple ended the third quarter with Australia leading 75-51. The fourth quarter was given over to more shooting feats as Australia finished with 16 triples, the single-game high for the tournament, breaking its own previous best of 13 against Iran.
 Greece faced down a home crowd in Beijing to win a showdown for third place in Group B by 91-77 over China in the Olympic men's basketball tournament on Monday. Greece finished with a 3-2 record and will face Argentina in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. China finished 2-3 and will go against Group A winner Lithuania in the quarters. Greece's defense gave up only 24 points in the first half and withstood 9 three-pointers by China in the second without seeing its lead fall below double digits. Vassilis Spanoulis of Panathinaikos and Giannis Bouroussis of Olympiacos paced the winners with 19 points each, while Antonis Fotsis added 17. Yao Ming had 18 points in as many minutes for China, while Wang Zhizhi added 14 and Yi Jianlian 11. Three layups by Spanoulis and his alley-oop assist to Fotsis spirited Greece to a quick 10-3 lead. China had only free throws from Yao until Yi buried 4 points in a row to make it 12-7. China got other scorers involved but Spanoulis struck for 5 more points, Fotsis for a triple and Dimitris Diamantidis for a steal and layup as Greece roared ahead 27-15 after one quarter. With 5 points by Bouroussis and 4 by Nikos Zisis of CSKA Moscow early in the second quarter, the Greek lead topped 20 points, at 38-17. China used a zone now, but Fotsis busted it from downtown. Greece's defense was relentless, allowing China just 5 points by Yao over more than 7 minutes as the difference held at 46-24 at halftime. China came out swinging after the break, with Zhu Fangyu dropping his team's first three-pointer after 14 tries and Yao adding the next 7 points to get within 50-34. Spanoulis, Andreas Glyniadakis of Maroussi and Sofoklis Schortsianitis of Olympiacos restored the 20-point difference, but Wang Shipeng scored 7 straight points as China cut it again to 57-42. When teammates Li Nan and Sun Yue joined him with shots from downtown, Greece's lead was down to 58-48. Despite more sharpshooting by China, Bouroussis, Fotsis and Theodoros Papaloukas kept Greece comfortably ahead, 69-54, after three quarters. Greece added to the advantage before Yi and Wang Zhizhi buried 3 triples in a row for China to threaten again at 75-65 with 6 minutes left. Bouroussis and Zisis answered then for Greece, and when China threatened once more, Panagiotis Vassilopoulos buried a triple to end the suspense and turn the attention of both teams to Wednesday's quarterfinals.
 Spain bounced back from its loss against the United States by overwhelming Angola 50-98 in Group B at Wukesong Arena. Spain finished second in Group B with a 4-1 record and faces Croatia in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Angola registered its fifth loss in as many games and was sixth in this group. Pau Gasol paced the winners with 31 points on 13-for-14 two-pointers and 9 rebounds. Juan Carlos Navarro of FC Barcelona added 12 points, Berni Rodriguez of Unicaja got 11 while Jorge Garbajosa of Khimki had 10 and 7 rebounds for Spain. Eduardo Mingas led Angola with 10 points. Spain just needed 3 seconds to score on a layup by Navarro but Mingas and Vladimir Geronimo gave Angola a 5-3 lead. The African champs kept using short possessions but Ricky Rubio of DKV Joventut, Carlos Jimenez of Unicaja and Garbajosa were all over the passing lines. Meanwhile, Pau Gasol put Spain back ahead, 7-12, after a 0-7 run. Carlos Morais and Geronimo fueled a 9-0 Angolan run to get back the lead, 16-12. An outstanding Armando Costa and Mingas boosted the Angolan lead to 23-15 after 10 minutes. Spain tried a small lineup with Rudy Fernandez and Jimenez at both forward spots but its shooters stayed off-target. Both teams went scoreless for almost 3 minutes until free throws by Morais gave Angola a double-digit lead, 25-15. It didn't last long, however as Felipe Reyes of Real Madrid and Pau Gasol stepped up for Spain, making Angola call timeout at 25-20. Pau Gasol and Rodriguez combined for 12 points in a 0-17 run that Rubio called with a layup off another steal, good for a 25-32 Spanish lead. Pau Gasol added three more dunks to boost his team's lead to 30-40 at halftime. Fernandez took over after the break while free throws by Raul Lopez of Real Madrid soon made it a 15-point game, 32-47. Angola could not find the way to the basket the Spanish man-to-man defense. Meanwhile, Garbajosa struck from downtown to break the game open, 34-55. Navarro foung his scoring rhythm with 7 quick points while Rodriguez sank a buzzer-beating corner triple for a 30-point Spanish lead, 41-71, after 30 minutes. Even the outcome was clear, Spain kept trying different lineups for its do-or-die game against Croatia. Mumbru buried consecutive triples and soon added free throws for a 44-81 Spanish margin. Everything was said and done up to that point, as Spain confirmed its status as a top contender to come back home with a Olympic medal.
 The United States of America stayed unbeaten and entered the quarterfinals as the Group B champion by thrashing Germany 106-57 at Wukesong Arena. The U.S. became the only team to stay unbeaten before the quarterfinals, while Germany finished fifth in Group B with a 1-4 record. Dwight Howard led the winners with 22 points on 9-for-10 two-pointers. Lebron James added 18 on 4-for-5 three-pointers, Kobe Bryant had 13 while Chris Paul and Dwayne Wade each got 10 for the United States. Dirk Nowitzki had 14 points for Germany while Jan Jagla of DKV Joventut added 10. Meanwhile, Patrick Femerling of Alba Berlin played his final game with the German national team. Femerling took part in his 214th game with Germany, more than anybody. Carmelo Anthony needed just 3 seconds to score, igniting a 8-0 U.S. highlighted by Jason Kidd's corner triple. Sven Schultze tried to change things with a triple but Howard dunked it twice while James struck from downtown to boost the United States' lead to 16-3 after 6 minutes. Germany called timeout and switched to zone defense but James followed a monster dunk with an alleyoop layup. Nowitzki and Chris Kaman got Germany within 31-12 at the end of the first quarter. Deron Williams and Paul took over early in the second period to make it a 24-point game, 36-12. The United States kept rolling with outstanding man-to-man defense, double-teaming Nowitzki as often as possible. Konrad Wysocki took over with a reverse layup and a three-pointer but only got Germany within 39-17. James sank back-to-back three-pointers while Bryant added a driving layup for a 51-21 U.S. lead. Nowitzki led a 0-8 run that made Germany cut its deficit to 53-29 at halftime. Germany tried to keep Nowitzki involved after the break, but Bryant and Howard took over to restore a 30-point U.S. lead, 59-29. Demond Greene of Alba Berlin took over with 5 quick points but an outstanding Bryant answered in the other end. Nowitzki found his scoring rhythm but the U.S. kept playing with high intensity to make the most of its physical skills. Wade provided a highlight with a dunk-and-foul, Paul sank a corner triple while Howard made it a 39-point game, 78-39. A three-pointer by Jagla and a free throw by Wade fixed the score at 83-46 after 30 minutes. The outcome has already clear and the U.S. played with less intensity, allowing Germany to trade baskets early in the fourth quarter. In the end, the U.S. showed it is in top shape and stays as the top contender to come back home with the Olympic gold medal.
 Argentina registered its fourth consecutive win in Beijing 2008 by edging Russia 91-79 in the final game in Group A at Wukesong Arena. Argentina was second in Group A and is set to face Greece in the do-or-die quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Russia finished fifth in Group B with a fifth and could not advance to the quarterfinals. Two-time All-Euroleague forward Luis Scola paced the winners with 37 points in 12-for-16 two-pointers and 8 rebounds, but stayed all 40 minutes on court, which could be important for the upcoming game against Greece. Former All-Euroleague second team selection Andres Nocioni added 19 points and 9 rebounds, former Euroleague Final Four MVP Manu Ginobili had 11 points while two-time All-Euroleague second team guard Pablo Prigioni scored 11 points and dished 10 assists for Argentina, the defending Olympic champion. Andrei Kirilenko led Russia with 23 points and 9 rebounds. Two-time Euroleague champion J.R. Holden added 19 points while Andrei Vorotnsevich of CSKA and Sergey Bykov of Dynamo Moscow each had 10 for the reigning European champs. Scola and Kirilenko traded baskets in the opening seconds, as Russia powered the offensive board early in the game. A four-point play by Nocioni, however, kept Argentina ahead, 8-6. Holden and Kirilenko stepped up for Russia but Ginobili and Scola gave the reigning Olympic champs a 16-10 edge. Holden shined with a power layup but Ginobili, Nocioni and Carlos Delfino of Khimki struck from downtown to boost the Argentinian lead to double digits, 27-16, at the end of the first quarter. Argentina kept shining in defense, not allowing any easy shots. Meanwhile, Roman Gonzalez and Nocioni kept pacing Argentina, 32-18. Bykov shined with 5 quick points to make Argentina call timeout at 32-23. Scola and Prigioni combined for all points in a 7-1 run but Russia did not panic, as an alleyoop dunk by Kirilenko brought his team within 39-32. A reverse layup by Vorontsevich and a seven-meter bomb from Kirilenko made it a two-point game, 41-39. Back-to-back jumpers by Scola and Prigioni gave Argentina some fresh air, 45-39, at halftime. Holden and Bykov kept pacing Russia after the break but Argentina had found a go-to guy in Juanpi Gutierrez. He found some help from Scola and Nocioni to make Russia call timeout at 55-44. Nikita Morgunov and Holden tried to change things for Russia but Prigioni and an unstoppable Scola soon made it a 16-point game, 66-50. Vorontsevich had consecutive triples in a 3-12 run that got Russia within 72-64 after 30 minutes. Kirilenko and Andrey Savrasenko of CSKA brought Russia back in the game, 73-72. Scola stepped up in crunch time with 7 quick points while Prigioni struck from downtown for a 83-75 Argentinian lead. Russia did not recover, as Scola and Prigioni made sure that Argentina walked off court with another triumph, while a fast break dunk by Ginobili sealed the win in style.
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