SAITAMA -- Relentless and selfless.

These are the chief qualities of Greece's world-class basketball team, on this day a team worthy of Homer's mighty pen of yore.

The gutsy Greeks played a sensational second half en route to a 95-64 victory over China in Sunday's fourth and final second-round contest.

The beast of the East vs. the best of the West was an intriguing matchup to wrap up a day of great basketball at Saitama Super Arena.

China, longtime power of Asian basketball, captured the FIBA Asia Championship last year; Greece won EuroBasket 2005.

Greece faces France in Tuesday's 4:30 p.m. quarterfinal.

Yao Ming and Co., meanwhile, left the arena wondering what might've been. Instead, the Chinese star had little impact on the game. Ten points, eight rebounds and five shots from the field are hardly the type of production this team needed from its 226-cm giant.

"They were up 10 points," Greece coach Panagiotis Yannakis said, "but we didn't lose our concentration and our desire to play good defense. We tried to press them more and we tried to make them have a quick-decision offense, so the team who made more mistakes (lost) the game.

"I think it was one of the good games of my team, and I'm going to try to play the same in the next game."

How zoned in were the Greeks? They made 13 steals, forced 24 turnovers and held China to 48 shots in 40 minutes. And they led by 20-something points throughout the fourth quarter, but still made a point of diving after every loose ball and fighting with all their might for every rebound in sight.

Case in point: With 6:30 remaining, Sofoklis Schortsianitis, a 206-cm player who reminds some observers of Robert "Tractor" Trayler, rumbled upcourt after his steal. He missed a layup, but teammate Mikhalis Kakiouzis was there to snatch the rebound.

It gave the Greek offense another shot, a Kakiouzis 3-pointer and a 78-53 advantage Greece's Theodoros Papaloukas provided the fitting finishing touches for hit team: back-to-back baskets in the closing seconds, including a powerful slam dunk that pushed the lead to 31. Papaloukas led all scorers with 19 points. Shipeng Wang was China's top scorer with 16.

Facing a defense that wouldn't let up, that wouldn't stumble out of place for even a split second, China self-destructed in the third quarter. It made nine turnovers in the quarter, which sparked Greece to a 26-6 quarter-long run.

China held an 18-11 advantage after one period. But the opportunistic Greek defense, utilizing a nasty press, gained momentum as the game progressed, forcing 12 turnovers in the opening half while it committed just one.

In an entertaining second period, the Greeks gained their first lead of the game, 28-27, on Vassilis Spanoulis' 3-pointer. China took a two-point lead on Yue Shun's 3-ball.

With 3:29 left before halftime, Dimos Dikoudis drove the lane and was rewarded with two fouls shots. Both were good, and Greece had a 32-30 edge.