The second round of the World Basketball Championship tournament opened with a few surprises. Angola had several chances to hand Brazil its first loss of the tournament, Monday. But several missed shots and controversial officiating, in the closing minutes, allowed Brazil to erase an 11-point deficit and tie Angola at 74, as regulation time expired. In overtime, Brazil scored the first six points and held on to win, 86-83.
Brazilian Coach Helio Rubens Garcia says his team was fortunate. "Our players had three different aspects: mental, physical and emotional," he said. "This emotional part has been played within the last three games, very very tight competition. Angola deserved to win this game because they were playing better."
Angolan coach Mario Palma says he thought his team played well. "We have a young team; but a small team that worked very hard. We were not lucky, so Brazil wins."
In other action, Puerto Rico dealt defending champion Yugoslavia its second loss, 85-83. Spain beat Turkey, 87-64. Germany beat New Zealand, 84-64. Argentina had no trouble with China, 95-71. The host United States took care of Russia, 106-82.
Among teams battling for 13th through 16th place, Canada defeated winless Lebanon, 91-67. Venezuela sent Algeria to its fourth loss, 98-83.