FIBA Worlds Daily Three: Yi Jianlian looming large

Yi's on fire. China dropped to 1-2 with a loss to Puerto Rico, but don't blame Yi Jianlian. The 22-year-old scored 24 points with seven rebounds on Tuesday, which was actually below his tournament averages in both categories (now sitting at an imposing 25.3 points and 10.0 rebounds per game). Yi has been maddeningly inconsistent as a pro, but is coming off career-highs of 12.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per game last season and could be on the cusp of a significant breakthrough with the Wizards in 2010-11. And even if you're not ready to believe in Yi, the photo above establishes one thing we can all agree on: his fully-groomed armpits are too much for Renaldo Balkman (lower left) to handle.

Number five is alive. Nicolas Batum has built a reputation as a defensive stopper, but he's known to go on scoring binges from time-to-time as well. Last season for Portland, Batum averaged a modest 10.1 points per game, but that included five 20-plus point outbursts in just 37 games and a career-high 31 in late February. On Tuesday, Batum (wearing No. 5 for France - hence the earlier Short Circuit reference) was something resembling a point-scoring cyborg, pouring in 24 points in a win over Canada while no other member of his team had more than eight.

The "S" in Spain is short for "scuffling." The reigning world champion and 2008 Olympic silver medalist, Espana blew an 18-point lead and dropped to 1-2 with a 76-73 loss to Lithuania on Tuesday. It should be noted that the "S" in Spain could also stand for "sure" (as in, it sure would be nice to have Pau Gasol on this team). But even with Gasol's notable absence, it has been a surprisingly sub par tournament for Spain thus far, which needs better production from a player whose name prominently features the letter "R": Ricky Rubio. The 19-year-old had eight points, four rebounds and 11 assists in Spain's lone win (over New Zealand), but has averaged just 4.5 points and 2.5 assists in the team's two losses. That performance can be summed up with a very brief phrase beginning with Rubio's favorite letter: rather disappointing.