Serbia celebrated its third successive World Cup win after a majestic performance by guard Bogdan Bogdanovic helped lead it to a 92-77 win over Italy, while Argentina overpowered Russia 69-61 on Wednesday.
Spain, the 2006 champion, made it three wins out of three with a labored 73-65 victory over Iran as did Poland after it beat Cote d'Ivoire 80-63.
Puerto Rico booked its berth in the second group stage after edging Tunisia 67-64 and it was joined by surprise package Venezuela, which brushed aside China 72-59 and knocked the host nation out of the 32-team tournament.