SLU recruit Cody Ellis’ numbers weren’t quite as good against Spain on Friday, which I figure is the second-best team in their first round group. Ellis had nine points and six rebounds on 4 of 10 shooting in 26 minutes of action. SLU’s other recruit at the U-19 world championships in New Zealand, Christian Salecich, was just 1 for 6 (it was a 3) from the field in 22 minutes. Here’s the boxscore and if you click on the tab for report, you can read an account of the game, which doesn’t mention Ellis or Salecich. You can also find video highlights of the game here, (on the right), but other than seeing Ellis run up the court after someone else made a basket, I didn’t see the SLU guys. Again, the image is small. From what I read, Spain doesn’t have much of a post presence so Australia extended its defense to stop its 3-point shooting.

Australia beat Spain 69-62 and, as best as I can tell, have clinched a spot in the next round going into a game later today our time against Syria, (I think it tips at 6 p.m. our time). The top three teams in each group advance but according to the standings on the website, even teams that lose get points. So while Syria is 0-2, it has two points and I can’t find a mention on the FIBA website of how it works.