��������

NEW YORK: Naomi Osaka’s last Labubu as the US Open was going to be Osaka herself.
For Osaka, that was the real bummer about losing one match short of the final.
“Oh, don’t make me cry, man,” the four-time Grand Slam champion said during her press conference early Friday morning after her 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 6-3 semifinal loss to Amanda Anisimova. “Oh my God, the most devastating question.”
Osaka had been toting a different version of the popular plush toy attached to her racket bag to each of her matches in Flushing Meadows. She gave them catchy names like Billie Jean Bling (for Billie Jean King), Althea Glitterson,” (a tribute to Althea Gibson ) and Arthur Flashe (as in Arthur Ashe, for whom the main US Open stadium is named.)
Had she been playing in Saturday’s final, Osaka said the Labubu would have been patterned after the green skirt she wore last year at the tournament she won in 2018 and 2020, which included a green bow over the white jacket she entered the court wearing.
“I would have had the bow, and I’m sick about it,” Osaka said. “Oh, my God, that’s like the worst thing. Honestly, I’m fine losing, but don’t ask me about this Labubu, man. Yeah, it would have been me.”

LIMASSOL, Cyprus: Defending champions Spain were eliminated from EuroBasket in the group stage when they lost 90-86 to Greece, who were led by Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 25 points and 14 rebounds Thursday.

Tyler Dorsey chipped in with 22 points as Greece advanced to the round of 16 atop Group C. They will face Israel on Sunday for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Spain entered the final group game with a 2-2 record, including a loss to Georgia in their opener that cost them a tiebreaker and left them in a must-win scenario. The Greeks had already qualified after winning three of their first four games.

Spain trailed 50-35 at halftime but rallied and twice took the lead in the fourth quarter before Kostas Sloukas made a layup and a pair of free throws in the final minute to seal the win.

Jaime Pradilla scored 14 points and Mario Saint-Supery added 13 for Spain, which had beaten France in the 2022 final.

In other late action Thursday, Belgium defeated already qualified Poland 70-69.

Nurkic leads Bosnia and Herzegovina

Utah Jazz center Jusuf Nurkic scored 15 points as Bosnia and Herzegovina beat Group C rival Georgia 84-76 to reach the knockout stage.

Bosnia and Herzegovina will play Poland on Sunday in the last 16.

Georgia trailed by 12 points at halftime but pulled even at 71-71 with just over seven minutes left in the fourth quarter in the Cypriot city of Limassol.

Nurkic stopped Georgia’s momentum with a hook shot to spark a nine-point run. The Georgians ran out of gas and its bench mustered just four points in the game.

Nurkic also had a game-high 12 rebounds for his third straight double-double of the tournament.

Toronto Raptors forward Alexander Mamukelashvili led Georgia with 20 points and eight rebounds.

Despite the loss, Georgia advanced in fourth place thanks to Spain’s defeat. Georgia will face France on Sunday.

Already-qualified Italy crushed rock-bottom Cyprus 89-54 in the group’s other game.

The Italians will play Slovenia on Sunday.

Slick France too strong

In remaining Group D play, Zaccharie Risacher led with 15 points as France routed Iceland 114-74 in Katowice, Poland.

Risacher, the No. 1 NBA draft pick last year, made three of five three-point attempts and had seven rebounds. France spread the scoring around with seven other players in double digits, and a strong bench contributed 66 points overall.

The Olympic silver medalists advanced atop Group D.

Dominant Doncic

Luka Doncic starred with 37 points as Slovenia beat Israel 106-96 for a third straight win in Group D.

The Los Angeles Lakers star added 11 rebounds, nine assists and three steals — along with seven turnovers. The crowd in Katowice chanted “MVP, MVP” when he came off near the end.

Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija led Israel with 34 points and nine rebounds.

Both teams had already qualified for the knockout phase in Riga, Latvia, which starts on Saturday.

Saturday’s round-of-16 matchups: Turkiye vs. Sweden; Germany vs. Portugal; Lithuania vs. Latvia; and Serbia vs. Finland.