Serbia join US, Lithuania in semis

Serbia routed Brazil 84-56 to join defending champions US and Lithuania in the semi-finals of the Basketball World Cup.

Brazil and its trio of NBA centers in Varejao, Tiago Splitter and Nene beat Serbia 81-73 in the group phase last week. But Serbia bettered the bigger Brazilians inside and out and turned a five-point halftime advantage into a blowout by outscoring Brazil 29-10 in the third period.

Earlier, US ran riot in a 119-76 win over Slovenia while Lithuania beat Turkey 73-61 to set up a mouth-watering semi-final.

The Slovenians held their own valiantly in the opening half against the Americans and were only 49-42 down at the interval as forward Domen Lorbek produced a superb performance.

The holders at times looked pedestrian in the first half as their captain James Harden missed his first seven shots, with fellow guard Klay Thompson and athletic centre Anthony Davis pulling the strings to keep them in the driving seat.

But the second period produced one-way traffic as the U.S. hit top gear with six players finishing in double scoring digits. Thompson had a game-high 20 points while Harden and Kenneth Faried added 14 each.

Former European champions Lithuania, who finished third in the 2010 World Cup, needed a strong final quarter to see off Turkey who made a brighter start and took a 14-6 lead.

Serbia will take on Spain or France in the last-four.