STANBUL, (Reuters) – World championship favourites  the U.S. made it four wins out of four with an 88-51 victory  over Iran yesterday while Angola booked a place in the last  16 with a stunning 92-88 overtime defeat of Germany.

Serbia also reached the knockout rounds with a match to spare after a 94-79 victory over Australia and holders Spain  avoided an early exit, overcoming a poor start to demolish Lebanon 91-57.

The eagerly-awaited Group B clash between the U.S. and Iran  was played in sporting fashion, with pockets of rival fans  watching in a half-empty Abdi Ikpeci Arena.

Iran held their own in the first half and trailed by 14  points at the interval but the gulf in class was all too obvious  after the break, with all 12 players on the U.S. roster getting  on the scoresheet.

“We held our opponents for a long period and it was only in  the last seven minutes we ran out of steam,” Iran’s Serbian  coach Veselin Matic said.

“This is our first world championship and all this  entertainment was good for us, it helped motivate my players to  be at their best.”

The teams applauded the fans and embraced each other after  the match and Matic’s U.S. counterpart Mike Krzyzewski praised  Iran, whose centre Hamad Ehadadi finished as the game’s top  scorer with 19 points and five rebounds.

“The Iran team played really hard and had a really good game  plan,” he said.

Centre Tyson Chandler added: “It was a very good game and we  had a lot of respect for each other.”

Centre Kevin Love led the United States with 13 points,  forward Kevin Durant added 12, guard Derrick Rose chipped in  with 11 and Danny Granger scored 10 in a balanced team effort.
GERMANY OUT

Germany’s earlier win over Serbia turned out to be a flash  in the pan as they lost to Group A rivals Angola, defeat sending  them out of the 24-team event.

The African champions led throughout and although Germany  somehow forced five additional minutes, they were undone by  superb long-range shooting in overtime.

Olimpo Cipriano poured in 30 points and fellow forward  Joaquim Gomez added 16 to go with 14 rebounds as Angola sank an  impressive 18 three-pointers from 40 attempts.

Serbia welcomed captain Nenad Krstic back from suspension  and playmaker Milos Teodosic and they were instrumental in the  win over Australia that sealed a berth in the last 16.

Teodosic hit one three-pointer after another to keep Serbia  ahead when the Australians closed in, finishing with a game-high  19 points while Krstic had 14 and 10 rebounds.

“We committed too many turnovers but dominated the offensive  boards and today’s final Group A match against Argentina  should be a feast,” Serbia’s trophy-laden coach Dusan Ivkovic  said.

Still reeling from two defeats in their opening three Group  D games, Spain trailed Lebanon 22-21 after the first quarter but  eventually ran out comfortable winners on the back of 25 points  and eight rebounds from centre Marc Gasol.

Lithuania stormed back from a 24-11 first-quarter deficit to  beat France 69-55 in Group D. In Group C, hosts Turkey rallied to maintain their perfect  record with a 79-77 triumph over Puerto Rico and in Group B  Slovenia beat Brazil 80-77.