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Close call Americans need overtime to top Brazil 106-98
Updated: Saturday September 08, 2001 12:09 PM
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) -- The Dream Team could be making a habit of falling asleep in the semis. The U.S. basketball lineup was taken to overtime Saturday against Brazil in the semifinals of the Goodwill Games after the scores were locked 90-90 at the end of regulation time, but escaped with a 106-98 win. The Americans also had edged Lithuania 85-83 in a high-pressure semifinal at the Sydney Olympics last year before going on to take gold against France. Argentina, a 69-63 winner against Australia in Saturday's other semifinal, will meet the Americans in Sunday's basketball decider. Cubans snared four of the six boxing gold medals on offer Saturday, each claiming a $6,000 winners' purse. American Ronald Siler won the first gold of the tournament when he beat Sergei Kazakov of the Ukraine 17-9 in the 48-kilogram class. A veteran of the U.S. squad at 21, Siler plans to put his winnings into a college trust fund for 1-year-old son Ronnikko. China swept all gold medals in diving, with Wang Tianling winning the men's 1-meter springboard with 466.98 points, more than 40 points clear of compatriot Wang Feng. Tian Liang and Hu Jia combined to win the men's synchronized platform with 360.93 points, edging Australia's Mathew Helm and Robert Newbery. Russian pair Aleksandr Varlamov and Igor Lukashin were third 325.56 points. Mexicans Eduardo Rueda and Fernando Platas placed fourth and U.S. pair Troy Dumais and Justin Dumais were fifth. World champion Guo Jingjing won the 3-meter springboard with 344.94 points, ahead of teammate Wu Minxia on 338.70. Kimiko Hirai-Soldati of United States was third. The figure skating continues later Saturday, with Russian Irina Slutskaya taking her short program lead into the women's free skate final. World champion Michelle Kwan of the United States is in second place. The ice dance will also conclude Saturday. The International Amateur Athletic Federation announced in Melbourne that Ato Boldon, an Olympic silver medalist in Sydney, had tested positive to the banned stimulant ephedrine Boldon, who tested positive at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, California in April, was a late withdrawal from the Goodwill Games 200 Thursday after a disappointing fifth in the 100 on Wednesday. An ephedrine positive carries a maximum penalty of disqualification from the meet and a warning. At the Brisbane Convention Center court, the United States got its first scare after three easy wins in basketball preliminaries against Mexico, Cuba and Argentina. The American team, stacked with young NBA stars, took a 19-7 lead early in the first quarter, but the Brazilians rallied to outscore them 20-10 in the second period. "We came out lackadaisical, we underestimated them," said Baron Davis of the Charlotte Hornets. "You can't let a team like this stick around." Both teams had a chance to win it in the final 30 seconds of regular time, but the score remained deadlocked to send the teams to a five-minute overtime period. The Americans, leading 101-98 with a minute left, took advantage of three Brazilian turnovers in the extra period. Andre Miller of the Cleveland Cavaliers clinched the game with a layup in the final 25 seconds. He finished with 16 points and six assists. "They got all the loose balls, they got all the rebounds and they bustled," Miller said of the Brazilians, who now play off for bronze against Australia. Miller said he wouldn't be taking Argentina lightly. "You can't take these teams for granted," he said. "These guys are a bunch of young guys, one thing they do is play hard." Jermaine O'Neal led the Americans with 22 points, Kenyon Martin had 18. For Brazil, Demetreus Ferraaiu and Helio Garcia had 24 points apiece. "We had a chance to win but we let it slip away," said Garcia, whose three-pointer tied the game in the final minute. "But we're happy. We played with the best in the world and we nearly beat them." After Siler's win in the boxing, Cubans collect four of the next five on offer. In the 75-kilogram class - the only division not containing a Cuban - Russia's Gaidarbek Gaidaibekov beat Australia's Paul Miller 9-5. Three of the four world champions on Cuba's 11-man squad won gold as expected on the opening day of finals, while the other, Damian Austin, is in action Sunday. Guillermo Rigondeaux outpointed Ukraine's Sergi Danylchenko 12-2 in the 54-kilogram class; Mario Kindelan had a 17-6 win over Russia's Aleksei Stepanov in the 60-kg final; and Odlaniel Solis held on for a 12-9 win over Yevgeni Arkhipov of Russia. Solis said Cuba was the best prepared squad at the Goodwill Games and he was expecting more gold medals to come Sunday. Cuba's Yudel Jhonson outscored American Anthony Thompson in the last round to clinch the 67-kg decider 19-16. "I'm not going to make excuses - he fought real good, but I really think I won," said Thompson, who lost to another Cuban in the world championship finals at Belfast, Northern Ireland, in June. Finals in the 51-, 57-, 63.5-, 71- and 81-kilogram and the
over-91 kilogram classes will be held Sunday.
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