iro.In Turin, Italy defeated Croatia 67-60 in Group B. Marco Belinelli led the hosts with 19 points while Bojan Bogdanovic score

Italy and Latvia claimed their second straight victories Tuesday to advance to the semifinals as group winners in their respective qualifying tournaments for mens basketball at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.In Turin, Italy defeated Croatia 67-60 in Group B. Marco Belinelli led the hosts with 19 points while Bojan Bogdanovic scored 26 for the 1992 silver medalists. Croatia can still reach the semifinals with a win in its final group game against Tunisia.In Group A, Francisco Cruz scored 12 points in the final quarter to help Mexico beat Iran 75-70. Despite a game-high 20 points by Behram Yakchali, Iran had its second straight defeat and was eliminated from the competition.Mexico and Greece have already secured their semifinal spots before playing each other Wednesday.In Belgrade, Dairis Bertans scored 18 points in Latvias 71-59 win over the Czech Republic to earn the Baltic state top spot in Group B. The Czechs will play Japan for the second semifinal berth.In Group A, Puerto Rico bounced back from Mondays opening defeat against host Serbia by beating Angola 91-81. Led by Carlos Arroyos 18 points, Puerto Rico saw a 27-point lead reduced to just 10 in the final quarter.Earlier Tuesday in Manila, France rallied from a 10-point deficit against the hosts to beat the Philippines 93-84, and Canada defeated Turkey 77-69 on the opening day of their qualifying tournament.Nando De Colo scored 11 points in the third quarter and 27 overall to help France overcome a strong start by the Philippines. New Zealand is the third team in Group B.In Group A, NBA point guard Cory Joseph led Canada with 21 points, while Turkeys Sinan Guler scored 14. Canada can secure a semifinal spot as group winner by beating Senegal on Wednesday.The winners of the three six-nation qualifying tournaments will be added to the 12-team draw in Rio. DeMarcus Cousins Kings Jersey . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Skal Labissiere Kings Jersey . -- The Sacramento Kings are set to become the first major professional sports franchise to accept Bitcoin virtual currency for ticket and merchandise purchases. https://www.kingslockerroom.com/Bruno-Caboclo-City-Edition-Jersey/ . Walcott is available for Saturdays home match against Southampton as Arsenal looks to extend its two-point lead at the top of the Premier League. The Gunners are currently the second highest scorers in the league but Wenger insists Walcott will add something extra to his team. Tyler Lydon Jersey . Fellow centre Pavel Datsyuk remains out because of a concussion. Zetterberg has 11 goals and 19 assists for a team-high 30 points, and Datsyuk has a team-high 12 goals and 11 assists. Zach Randolph Jersey . Tests earlier this week revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain for Sabathia, who was hurt in last Fridays start against San Francisco. Its an injury that will require about eight weeks to heal. He finished a disappointing campaign just 14-13 with a career-worst 4. Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard offered a blunt assessment of his team after Thursday nights 126-109 loss to the Houston Rockets.We kind of suck right now, he told reporters. Its that simple.The loss was Portlands second straight, following Tuesday nights 113-88 home loss to the Chicago Bulls, and dropped the Blazers record to 7-6, putting them squarely in the middle of the pack in the Western Conference.Thursdays performance also continued a disturbing trend for the team, which has allowed 111.3 points per game, second worst in the NBA. The Blazers rank 27th in the league in defensive efficiency (107.3), which measures the number of points a team allows per 100 possessions.On Thursday, after entering halftime tied at 62, the Blazers were outscored 38-21 in the third quarter. Houstons James Harden finished with 26 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds for his third triple-double of the season.Were just not very good right now, said Lillard, who ranks fourth in the league with 28.8 points per game. Weeve just got to keep fighting.dddddddddddd Its important for our team to stay together, and I think thats one of the biggest strengths of our team, is we stay together. If we try to stay positive, and we just keep working and keep fighting, I think at some point itll click.Well get it right, and things will be fine. But I think everybodys frustrated.The Blazers are off to an up-and-down start after finishing 44-38 last season and advancing to the second round of the playoffs, where they fell 4-1 to the?Golden State Warriors. Theyll look to turn things around Friday in the second game of a back-to-back at New Orleans.We cant get no worse, right? forward?Evan Turner said. Its got to go somewhere. Obviously, communication just has to pick up. As a unit, we just have to be accountable and, once again, draw the line with stuff. Just continue to take it more personal and draw the line. ' ' '