BERLIN — Marco Belinelli nailed a three pointer with 20 seconds remaining in overtime and then made two free throws to secure Italy's 89-82 victory over Germany at the European basketball championship on Wednesday. Italy will now play Serbia for first place in the tough Group B. Serbia stayed unbeaten by defeating Turkey 91-72 earlier Wednesday. Defending champion France needed to overcome a 13-point deficit before beating winless Russia 74-67 at home in Group A in Montpellier. France (4-0) trailed by six before putting together a 10-0 run that gave it the victory. Jeoffrey Lauvergne had seven points in that run. Nando de Colo led France with 13 points, while Vitaly Fridzon had 20 for Russia. Guard Milos Teodosic had 17 points and 13 assists, as Serbia stayed perfect with a 4-0 record, while Turkey fell to 2-2. Italy is 3-1, while Germany is 1-3 and needs to beat Spain on the final group day Thursday to advance. Spain eased past Iceland 99-73, but not before seeing the newcomer take a four-point lead in the second quarter. But Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic quickly restored order. Mirotic had 22 points and Gasol 21. Greece also improved to 4-0 and booked a place in the knockout stage by beating Slovenia 83-72 in Group C in Zagreb, Croatia. Georgia notched its first by topping Macedonia (1-3) 90-75. Host Croatia (3-1) struggled before beating the Netherlands 78-72. Finland beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 88-59 to go 2-2, while Bosnia dropped to 1-3 in a Group A game in Montpellier. Israel (3-1) edged Poland (2-2) 75-73. The Czech Republic beat Belgium 66-64 in Group D in Riga, Latvia, for its third win. Belgium is 2-2. Ukraine won its first by surprising host Latvia (2-2) 75-74, while Lithuania (3-1), playing with the ill star center Jonas Valanciunas, needed two free throws from Jonas Maciulis with two seconds remaining to beat Estonia (1-3) 64-62. The top four teams in each group advance to the knockout stage that will be held in Lille, France. Mexico beats Argentina Gustavo Ayon scored 16 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter and Mexico overcame a 15-point deficit to hand Argentina its first loss of the Olympic qualifier, 95-83 Wednesday night in the last game of the second round. Ayon also grabbed 14 rebounds, while Jorge Gutierrez scored 23 points and Francisco Cruz added 21 for the Mexicans. They earned the No. 2 seed and will face Argentina again Friday night in the FIBA Americas semifinals. Earlier, Canada beat the Dominican Republic 120-103 to finish first and will play Venezuela in the other semifinal. The winners will get the two Americas' berths into the 2016 Olympics. The losers will play in the 2016 FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament. Mexico is trying to qualify for its first Olympics since Montreal in 1976. Luis Scola scored 26 points and Andres Nocioni added 21 for Argentina. Canada won its seventh straight game as Cory Joseph scored 17 points to lead a balanced attack. Anthony Bennett and Nik Stauskas each scored 14 points for a Canadian team that features nine NBA players and is one of the favorites to earn one of the berths in Rio. Venezuela qualified for the semifinal round with a 75-62 victory over Panama. John Cox scored 21 points and Heissler Guillent came off the bench to add 13 for the Venezuelans, who are trying to qualify for their first Olympics since Barcelona in 1992. Also Wednesday, J.J. Barea scored 19 points, Renaldo Balkman added 17 and Puerto Rico got an 80-69 victory over Uruguay to finish fifth and clinch a spot in the 2016 FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament, to be played July 4-10. — Agencies
