Olympics-Basketball-Furious rallies, physical battle in men's first games

Scoring by guard Behnam Yakhchalidehkordi in the fourth quarter almost brought the Iranians all the way back, cutting the lead to four points with a little over a minute left. But the Czechs held on for the win, helped by forward Blake Schilb's key baskets late on.

Italy pulled out a gutsy 92-82 win over Germany in a bruising encounter on Sunday characterised by sweet shooting, hard-nosed defense and physical play. Germany took an early 10-point lead but Italy's tough defense helped them close the first half down by only three points on the back of much-needed scoring off the bench by Danilo Gallinari. The NBA veteran of 11 years finished the game with 18 points.

Germany's Maodo Lo was scintillating for two and a half quarters, torching the Italians with 21 points, but he managed only three points the rest of the way. Lo told reporters after the game that Italy's aggressive defense in the fourth quarter had stifled Germany.

"I think we played OK for 36 minutes ... we really just folded at the end," Lo said. "We were in a position to win this game and we kind of gave it away." The final quarter was played at a furious pace with bodies flying all over the floor. The game was tied half-way through the quarter.

Simone Fontecchio gave Italy the lead with a three at under four minutes to play, while Nicolo Melli's three pushed the lead to four, the Italian bench roaring their approval at the comeback. Fontecchio had 20 points, a game high for his side, and was a perfect 5 for 5 from the three. Tough shots by Melli and Gallinari widened the gap in the final seconds and iced the game for Italy. The Italians gathered in a huddle and let out a roar at the end of the game that echoed in the spectatorless arena.

Later on Sunday, Australia overcame a 22 turnover performance to beat Nigeria by 17 points, 84-67. Both teams struggled to shoot, going under 50% from the field, and were sloppy at the offensive end. The two sides committed a total of 46 turnovers.

Australia's 11 threes eventually helped them secure the win. NBA champion and San Antonio Spurs guard Patty Mills led all scorers with 25 points. His 5 for 8 from the three point line was crucial for the Aussie's win. Nigeria shot only 29% from three and missed half of their free throw attempts.

"We didn't get great shots and we continued to turn the ball over," Nnamdi Vincent said afterwards. "It's hard to win games when we turn the ball like we did and we missed free throws all night."

Australia's coach Brian Goorjian credited Dante Exum, Josh Green and Matisse Thybulle for the team's defense. "Just the length and athleticism really helped us defensively...helped us get out on the break, helped us get the lead," he said.

CZECH REPUBLIC SURVIVES Earlier on Sunday, the Czech Republic withstood a furious late rally by Iran to win 84-78 in their first game at the Olympics.

Helped by a 52-point contribution off the bench, the Czechs led for most of the game and at one point had a 22-point lead. Scoring by guard Behnam Yakhchalidehkordi in the fourth quarter almost brought the Iranians all the way back, cutting the lead to four points with a little over a minute left.

But the Czechs held on for the win, helped by forward Blake Schilb's key baskets late on. Schilb ended up with 14 points for the game and back-up center Patrik Auda's 16 points off the bench was a game high for the Czech Republic.

Turnovers killed Iran, allowing the Czechs to score 31 points. But they came close to overcoming their struggles as they rode Yakhchalidehkordi's hot hand, who finished with a game high of 23 points.

Schilb veteran's steadiness got the Czech Republic over the line, with crucial baskets down the stretch. "Blake brought his experience," said coach Ronen Ginzburg. "We had so many open shots, he has the experience to make these shots."

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