Olympic Men's Basketball: Spain Dominates Croatia 72-59 In Quarterfinals; Host China Bows Out Of Medal Race

Beijing, China (AHN) - Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers pumped in 20 points and pulled down 10 boards to lead Spain past Croatia 72-59 in the Men's Basketball quarterfinals matchup Wednesday.

Reigning world champion Spain opened the first quarter with a 12-1 surge including nine points from the Lakers center, becoming the first semifinalist in the Men's Basketball tournament.

In the second quarter, Croatia managed a comeback capitalizing on a number of lapses by the Spanish team, but converted only once out of seven attempts from the three-point area. Spain was on top 37-26 at the halftime break.

The Spanish five were poised to take the game in the third period, but complacency forced them to commit five turnovers, resulting to a 10-3 Croatia run in the process.

Gasol re-entered the final period and Spain stretched their lead further following a 12-3 in four minutes and never looked back.

Felipe Reyes chipped in 13 points, while Toronto Raptors point guard Jose Calderon contributed 10 points for Spain.

Croatia, on the other hand, was lead by Marko Banic with 15 points and five rebounds. In the other quarterfinal match, the Lithuanian squad checked Houston Rockets All-Star center Yao Ming, while firing 42 percent from beyond the arc to record a 94-68 win, ousting China from the medal race.

Lithuania relied on defense registering 12 steals against China's three, but gave up 24 points from the stripe compared to the 13 free throws they converted.

The host country took the lead courtesy of Sun Yue's two free throws for the first points of the match. China went on to take the lead on two more occasions before Lithuania bounced back and hit the final shot of the period, for 19-17 advantage.

Lithuania continued their offensive, eventually outscoring the Chinese men 22-13 in the second period, finishing the half on top 41-30.

Yao led China's losing cause with 19 points, 11 coming from the stripes, and pulled down seven boards. Yi Jianlian added 11 points and nine rebounds, while Liu Wei chipped in 10 points.

Sarunas Jasikevicius led Lithuania with a game-high 23 points, while Linas Kleiza and Ramunas Siskauskas each pumped in 15 points.

Lithuania is set to face Spain in their semifinal match on Aug. 22.