Spain¡¯s forward Pau Gasol (right) vies with France's forward Boris Diaw during the 2014 FIBA World basketball championships in Granada on Wednesday. Spain won 88-64. ¡ª AFP

RICKY Rubio¡¯s quick hands set the tone and Marc Gasol had a game-high 17 points as Spain beat France 88-64 on Wednesday to remain undefeated at the Basketball World Cup in Granada.

Rubio had five assists nike air max 97 nz , three steals and two drives down the lane for layups in the first quarter in his 100th appearance for the national team, with the Minnesota Timberwolves point guard looking eager to atone for Spain¡¯s loss to France at last year¡¯s European Championship.

Rubio struggled later, but Spain was never threatened down the stretch.

France focused on containing Pau Gasol, but the Chicago Bulls player still scored 15 points to nearly match his brother Marc.

The closest France got was 19-19 nike air vapormax flyknit nz , but Juan Carlos Navarro sunk a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the first quarter. Navarro then drained another 3 followed by Marc also scoring from long range.

France, playing without star Tony Parker, was kept afloat by Nicolas Batum and Antoine Diot with 11 points each. Spain (4-0) returns to the raucous Palacio de Deportes to play Serbia (2-2), while France (2-2) faces Egypt (0-4) to close Group A.

Also in Granada nike air vapormax womens nz , forward Marquinhos Vieira made six 3-pointers in a 81-73 win for Brazil (3-1) after it weathered Serbia¡¯s explosive third quarter, when it erased an 18-point deficit.

At other venues, the US, Greece and Slovenia also improved to 4-0 to remain in first place in their groups with one game to go.

(Agencies)

LUSAKA nike air vapormax mens nz , July 4 (Xinhua) -- Former England player and Liverpool legend John Barnes said African team is unlikely to win the World Cup in the next 20 years, the Post of Zambia reported on Friday.

Barnes, being in Zambia to conduct soccer clinics, said that going by the performance of African teams at the ongoing World Cup in Brazil nike air vapormax 2018 nz , none could win it in the foreseeable future.

While acknowledging that African teams were improving, it would take a long time to reach the level of winning the World Cup.

"It is very difficult to win the World Cup, it is very difficult to get to the quarter-finals, very difficult to get to the semifinals nike air vapormax nz ," he was quoted as saying by the paper.

"I can't really see an African team winning the World Cup in the next 20 years," he added.

According to him, what was killing the continent was players failing to show desire at national team level like they do with their clubs, adding that there were problems with African players when they return to play for their countries.

"If you look at the African players nike air max 2017 mens nz , they are playing in top teams in Europe, they have to come back and help their country to do well. What would help is if the African players came back and probably played with the same attitude and desire for their country as they do with their clubs," he added.

All five African representatives at the 2014 World Cup have failed to progress to the quarter-finals of the tournament with only Algeria and Nigeria reaching the last 16.

RIO DE JANEIRO£¬ Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The first two quarter-final matches of the men's basketball tournament on Wednesday were not so excited as expected at the Rio Olympic Games.

Australia had no trouble to trounce Lithuania 90-64 as Lithuania finished the Rio trip with three consecutive losses£¬ while Spain led all the way to crush France 92-67 for another berth in semis.

After winning the first three games£¬ the European runners-up Lithuania lost 109-59 to Spain and 90-81 to Croatia.

Wednesday's loss was another prove that Lithuania were stuck in trouble£¬ but none of the coaches or players wanted to talk about it.

Australia buried eight three-pointers in the first half to open an over 20-point lead and extended the gap in every quarter. Patty Mills returned from injury to score 24 points to lead Australia.

In another match£¬ European champions Spain also had an easy win over France£¬ who never made any real challeng to the old rivals.

Spain led the first quarter by 19-16 when both teams were ready for an intense battle throughout the game.

Nicola Mirotic from Chicago Bulls came out to score 16 out of his 24 points in the first half£¬ including five three-pointers during the span£¬ to give Spain a 43-30 lead.

Toni Parker£¬ who did not play last game£¬ scored 14 points and delivered four assists£¬ which were not enough to help France recover.

France shot just 18-out-of-48 in the field when Spain were 25-out-of-39.

LONDON, March 31 (Xinhua) -- The distressing story of a mother forced to have the body of her son frozen for months while she saved to pay for his funeral nike air max 2017 mens , was told Thursday in a government report on the rising cost of funerals in Britain.

A committee of House of Commons politicians also heard evidence of how bereaved families were denied the cremated ashes of loved family members because of a shortfall in the final payments to funeral parlors.

MP Frank Field, who chaired the committee, said Thursday: "We heard clear evidence of the distressing circumstances and debt this is leading people into at a time when they are grieving and vulnerable. We do not want a return to the spectre of miserable 'pauper's funerals'."

The committee has called for the British government to follow the Scottish government's lead and carry out a review of burials, cremations nike air max 2017 womens nz , and funerals, with a view to making changes that have a long-term impact on funeral inflation so as to reduce funeral poverty.

The politicians said evidence on publicly-funded bereavement support suggests the funeral industry may not be operating in a way that serves the bereaved.

The maximum award for funeral costs from a government-run social fund has been fixed at 700 pounds (1,006 U.S. dollars) .