LJUBLJANA, Slovenia -- France, Lithuania and Serbia have each advanced to the quarterfinals of the European basketball championship, with France and Lithuania winning their games Friday and Serbia moving on despite a loss to Ukraine. Sam Hubbard Bengals Jersey . France cruised past Latvia 102-91 and Lithuania beat Belgium 86-67. Frances victory also cleared the way for Serbia and Lithuania to advance. Pooh Jeter carried Ukraine to an 82-75 victory over Serbia and revived his teams hopes of also making the quarterfinals, depending on the results of the final day of second-round play Saturday. The American-born point guard scored 20 points and made several key baskets with the game on the line as Ukraine bounced back from a 34-point loss to Latvia. "The team effort was what won the game for us," said Jeter, the brother of American sprinter Carmelita Jeter. "Latvia really punched us and caught us off-balance. But going against a powerhouse like Serbia we knew that we could win it. Everybody else doubted us. Everybody else counted us out. But we as a team believed that we could get this win." Maxym Korniyenko added 21 points and eight rebounds for Ukraine. Serbia improved to 3-1, while Ukraine moved to 2-2. The Serbs will next play France and Ukraine meets Lithuania in their final second-round games. Latvia takes on Belgium and needs to win to have a chance of advancing. France is also 3-1 and Latvia is 2-2. Alexis Ajinca scored 25 points for France, which led by as many as 22 before slowing down in the final quarter, allowing Latvia to pull within nine. But San Antonio Spurs star Tony Parker finished with 23 points to help France slow the rally, while Nicolas Batum of the Portland Trail Blazers added 19 points and 10 rebounds. "We controlled the game but they never gave up," Ajinca said. Dairis Bertans led all scorers with 28 points for Latvia. "We trailed by 20 at halftime and against a team such as France its hard to come back from such a margin," Latvia guard Janis Blums said. "But we are still alive." Jeter hit a 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter to give Ukraine a nine-point lead, which increased to 11 at the start of the fourth. With Serbia trying to close the gap, Jeter sank back-to-back 3s, added a jumper and then a steal before making one of two free throws. The flurry put Ukraine up by eight with 1:05 remaining. "We knew that if we wanted to win we had to play our best game at both ends of the court," Ukraine coach Mike Fratello said. "Today we had the energy and the effort and we came back from the embarrassment against Latvia." Toronto Raptors centre Jonas Valanciunas scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Lithuania, which appears likely to clinch one of the top four places in its group. "We used our big guys real well and that was the key," said Lithuania power forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas, who added 12 points and eight rebounds. Jonathan Tabu led Belgium with 15 points. "We missed some open shots at the beginning but we knew the scoring would come," Lithuania coach Jonas Kazlauskas said. Serbia struggled with 11 turnovers -- Ukraine scored 15 points off the giveaways -- and shot 50 per cent (12-of-24) from the free throw line. "We were fortunate. Things happen on the court, like they drop the ball at half court, that you cant explain," Fratello said. Bjelica, who led Serbia with 22 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, acknowledged that his team had underestimated Ukraine after its big loss to Latvia. "Jeter gave us a lot of problems, he hit a lot of easy baskets," Bjelica said. Sam Hubbard Jersey . While coach Doc Rivers high-fived fans and pumped his fist at the crowd, Blake Griffin and Chris Paul quietly congratulated each other. Malik Jefferson Bengals Jersey . The Raptors have been outscored 88-66 in the opening quarter over a three-game span to begin the month of February. Their most recent loss, 109-101 in Sacramento on Wednesday, was eerily similar to Saturdays defeat at the hands of the Trail Blazers. http://www.bengalsauthenticproshop.com/Customized/ . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91.PHILADELPHIA – Maple Leafs general manager Dave Nonis spoke to Florida Panthers boss Dale Tallon on Thursday morning about the prospects of trading up for the first overall pick in Fridays draft. "But at this point," Nonis said a few hours after the conversation, "I dont think theres a deal there for us." Despite interest in moving up the ladder of the first round – from where they currently stand at eighth overall – Nonis didnt believe the current price-tag fit the bill for his club, particularly if it meant sacrificing young talent. The cost was simply too high. "It is for us," Nonis said of the first overall pick. "It may not be for other teams. I know that Dale is serious about moving it – I think hes happy to keep it as well – but hes not going to give that pick away. "Theres been dialogue, but we havent made any traction and as it stands right now, I would expect that were going to stay at eight." Having hoarded a slew of promising building blocks in recent years (including Aleksander Barkov with the second overall selection in 2013) and with the draft lacking in a consensus, slam-dunk superstar, Tallon is inclined to give up the rights for the top spot. But hes labeled the price for the pick as including a top young player, one who can step right into the Panthers lineup, and perhaps a pick or something of similar value. "Somebody has to knock our socks off for us to make the move," Tallon told TSN recently. In a different draft, Nonis might be prepared to pay that price. He was second in command to Brian Burke at the time of the 2009 draft when Burke spoke openly and aggressively about his pursuit of the first overall pick in a draft that featured star John Tavares. "That price-tag is different than possibly moving up to take the player whos going to go [first] here," Nonis said. Billy Price Bengals Jersey. "It doesnt mean that the player who goes [first] is not going to be a great player, but those price-tags are different and I think every team in the league would tell you that. Theres a number or a value that we place on moving up and it wouldnt include our top young players, no." Beyond Aaron Ekblad, theres a definite aura of unpredictability at the top of this draft, making the possibility of the Leafs landing a quality asset at eight all the more likely. Toronto has demonstrated a strong inclination toward selecting North American players in recent years, picking just seven Europeans since 2009 and none in the first round since 2006 when Jiri Tlusty was picked 13th overall. They may not be able to land the top centre theyve long desired with the eighth pick – Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart and Leon Draisaitl all figure to be off the board – but theres potential to add front-line skill at wing, perhaps in the form of Nick Ritchie or Jake Virtanen (Nikolaj Ehlers and William Nylander are both intriguing, but neither seem to fit the current Toronto mold). "This [draft] may not have the superstar at the top, but I think most teams would agree theres some pretty good players in this draft that are going to be useful players on good teams," said Nonis. "Its important when youre picking at eight that you get one of those players." Back in 2008, with Cliff Fletcher minding the helm, Toronto moved up two spots in the draft to land Luke Schenn with the fifth overall pick, sending their first round selection (seventh overall) to the Islanders along with picks in the second and third round. The Leafs selected hulking centre Frederik Gauthier with their top selection a year ago (21st overall), adding Morgan Rielly to their young mix in 2012. Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Jerseys From China Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap NFL T-shirts Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Discount NFL Jerseys ' ' '