World champions Spain produced an electrifying comeback to shatter Olympic hosts China 85-75 after overtime in the men's basketball tournament yesterday.

Trailing by 14 points at the end of the third quarter, the Spaniards clawed their way back to 72-72 on a Marc Gasol lay-up with 19.7 seconds left.

Gasol's brother Pau, the Los Angeles Lakers forward, took control in overtime with a lay-up and then a dunk which brought giant Chinese centre Yao Ming's fifth and final foul.

His successful free-throw made it 79-74 to effectively seal Spain's second straight win in Group B.

Pau Gasol finished with 29 points and guard Rudy Fernandez added 21 for Spain, while Zhu Fangyu and Wang Zhizhi scored 15 points apiece for China.

The hosts were beaten by the US in their Olympic opener.

Results Group A: Iran vs Lithuania 67-99; Croatia vs Russia 85-78; Argentina vs Australia 85-68.

Results Group B: Greece vs Germany 87-64; Angola vs US 76-97.

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