Argentina tops Brazil in OT to set up date with U.S.

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Argentina, which trailed by 17 points early in the second half, scored the last six points of regulation and beat Brazil 86-79 in overtime to remain unbeaten in the FIBA Americas tournament.

Argentina (6-0), which had already secured a semifinal berth, will close the second round Thursday against the United States (6-0), which remained undefeated with a 118-79 victory over Uruguay on Wednesday night.

Regardless of the outcome of the matchup of unbeatens, Argentina did what it had hoped to accomplish: avoid the U.S. in the semifinals. They will finish as the first and second seeds and can't meet until the championship game.

The top two teams in this tournament receive berths in the Beijing Olympics and the third-, fourth- and fifth-place finishers advance to an Olympic qualifying tournament next July.

Luis Scola, who signed with the Houston Rockets, had 23 points and 12 rebounds for Argentina.

"The United States really dominates," Scola said. "They have a really good team. Everybody is really committed but we are committed, too. We go out there and play to win like we play every game else. Maybe we lose by 50, maybe we win, who knows, but we have to go out there and compete. That's why we are here."

Scola had 11 points in the fourth quarter, including the first and last of the six straight that closed regulation and tied the game at 71. His free throw with 1:01 to go tied the game and Brazil (3-3) missed two shots at the win in the final 18 seconds.

Paolo Quintero, who had 19 points, hit a 3 with 2:24 left in overtime that gave Argentina the lead for good at 79-76, and Argentina scored on four its last six possessions as Brazil missed four shots and a committed a turnover in the final two minutes.

Brazil's Leandro Barbosa, who plays for the Phoenix Suns, entered the game as the tournament's leading scorer with a 23.3 average. He had 15 points at halftime, but solid defense by Carlos Delfino, who plays for the Toronto Raptors, and foul trouble limited him to four points in the second half and overtime. He went 0-for-7 from the field in the final 25 minutes, including missing a 3-pointer at the regulation buzzer.

Marcelo Machado had 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for Brazil, which closes the second round against Uruguay. A win would clinch a semifinal berth and Brazil could still advance with a loss in some tiebreaking scenarios.

Brazil built a 42-28 halftime lead by shooting 56 percent from the field, including 6-for-8 from 3-point range, while holding Argentina, which came into the game shooting 50 percent, to 10-for-29 (34 percent).

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