ITALY-- Dutch 16-year-old Max Verstappen had his first proper Formula One test on Wednesday as Toro Rosso ramp up preparations for his race debut next year as the sport's youngest ever driver.

The Italy-based team said in a statement that Verstappen, who will be 17 on Sept. 30, drove the 2012 Toro Rosso at the Adria circuit near the Faenza factory.

The son of former F1 racer Jos Verstappen attempted a mixture of short and long runs, as well as practice starts and pitstops, and completed 148 laps of the 2.702km circuit.

"I was looking forward to my first drive in a Formula One car on a proper race track and I really enjoyed it," he said.

"It was a good opportunity to work with Xevi (Pujolar), who will be my race engineer next year, as well as having a chance to get used to all the buttons on the steering wheel."

Team sporting director Steve Nielsen said the youngster had done "a very competent job, giving the impression he has been driving a Formula One car for quite a while, not like someone on their first day behind the wheel.

"He made no mistakes all day, seemed confident and once he was told something he remembered it. In general, he coped very well with this first test."

Toro Rosso's signing of the teenager has been controversial, with some questioning the wisdom of bringing a driver into the sport two years earlier than the previous youngest ever debutant.

However, Christian Horner, principal of sister team and champions Red Bull, defended the decision at last weekend's Italian Grand Prix.

"I think it's a case of if you're quick enough, you're old enough. Very seldomly a special talent comes along and warrants a place in Formula One," he said. "Verstappen quite clearly is a considerable talent."

BARCELONA, Spain-- Holders the United States ran riot in a 119-76 win over Slovenia while Lithuania beat Turkey 73-61 on Tuesday to set up a mouth-watering basketball World Cup semi-final.

Hosts Spain take on European champions France and Brazil clash with dark horses Serbia in the other two quarter-finals in Madrid on Wednesday.

The Slovenians held their own valiantly in the opening half against the Americans and were only 49-42 down at the interval as forward Domen Lorbek produced a superb performance.

The champions at times looked pedestrian in the first half as their captain James Harden missed his first seven shots, with fellow guard Klay Thompson and athletic centre Anthony Davis pulling the strings to keep them in the driving seat.

But the second period produced one-way traffic as the U.S. hit top gear with six players finishing in double scoring digits. Thompson had a game-high 20 points while Harden and Kenneth Faried added 14 each.

Having arrived in Spain with a squad missing top NBA talent who turned down invitations to play, long-serving U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski was pleased with the effort.

"We played hard but we just couldn't finish in the first half and then the floodgates opened after that," he told a news conference.

"We are beatable there is no doubt about that and that is why I am pleased how we handled it. Normally you get frustrated but we kept our composure and were mature.

"The team is not a powerhouse and we know from previous experience that it is not easy with a young team."

Slovenia coach Jure Zdovc said: "We tried and for the first 23 minutes or so we were close but the power that they have was too much for us.

"They are a good team but they are not unbeatable and I think that the semi-final will be very different."

Former European champions Lithuania, who finished third in the 2010 World Cup, needed a strong final quarter to see off Turkey who made a brighter start and took a 14-6 lead.

Lethal long-range shooting hauled the Lithuanians back into the game as they nailed 10 of 19 three-pointers to turn a 40-36 deficit early in the second half into an unassailable 12-point lead in the closing stages.

Shooting guard Renaldas Seibutis led Lithuania with 19 points, Martynas Pocius added 13 and towering centre Jonas Valanciunas amassed 12 to go with 13 commanding rebounds.

BARCELONA, Spain-- Holders the United States ran riot in a 119-76 win over Slovenia while Lithuania beat Turkey 73-61 on Tuesday to set up a mouth-watering basketball World Cup semi-final.

Hosts Spain take on European champions France and Brazil clash with dark horses Serbia in the other two quarter-finals in Madrid on Wednesday.

The Slovenians held their own valiantly in the opening half against the Americans and were only 49-42 down at the interval as forward Domen Lorbek produced a superb performance.

The champions at times looked pedestrian in the first half as their captain James Harden missed his first seven shots, with fellow guard Klay Thompson and athletic centre Anthony Davis pulling the strings to keep them in the driving seat.

But the second period produced one-way traffic as the U.S. hit top gear with six players finishing in double scoring digits. Thompson had a game-high 20 points while Harden and Kenneth Faried added 14 each.

Having arrived in Spain with a squad missing top NBA talent who turned down invitations to play, long-serving U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski was pleased with the effort.

"We played hard but we just couldn't finish in the first half and then the floodgates opened after that," he told a news conference.

"We are beatable there is no doubt about that and that is why I am pleased how we handled it. Normally you get frustrated but we kept our composure and were mature.

"The team is not a powerhouse and we know from previous experience that it is not easy with a young team."

Slovenia coach Jure Zdovc said: "We tried and for the first 23 minutes or so we were close but the power that they have was too much for us.

"They are a good team but they are not unbeatable and I think that the semi-final will be very different."

Former European champions Lithuania, who finished third in the 2010 World Cup, needed a strong final quarter to see off Turkey who made a brighter start and took a 14-6 lead.

Lethal long-range shooting hauled the Lithuanians back into the game as they nailed 10 of 19 three-pointers to turn a 40-36 deficit early in the second half into an unassailable 12-point lead in the closing stages.

Shooting guard Renaldas Seibutis led Lithuania with 19 points, Martynas Pocius added 13 and towering centre Jonas Valanciunas amassed 12 to go with 13 commanding rebounds.

PRAGUE-- The Czech Republic snatched a last-gasp 2-1 win over the Netherlands thanks to Vaclav Pilar's added time goal after a dreadful mistake by Daryl Janmaat in their opening Euro 2016 qualifier on Tuesday.

Defender Janmaat attempted to cushion a header back to Jasper Cillessen inside the area but it beat the Dutch keeper and struck the post only for Pilar to tuck the rebound into the net to the delight of the home fans watching the Group A clash.

"Three to five minutes before the end of the game, I would have taken a draw," said Czech Coach Pavel Vrba. "All my players tackled well and gave good indvidual performances. I can't single anybody out because it wouldn't be fair to the others."

The Czechs had started brightly and were rewarded in the 22nd minute when David Lafata controlled a cross into the box before laying it off to Borek Dockal whose left-foot shot slammed off the post into the net to give the hosts the lead.

The Dutch, third-place finishers at the World Cup in Brazil, responded with a Stefan de Vrij driving a header into the back of the net after a cross from Daley Blind in the 55th minute.

The Czechs kept their shape at the start in an effort to blunt a Dutch attack missing several key players, including Arjen Robben who was out with an ankle injury.

Dangerous Czechs

The Dutch, who finished third at the World Cup, began taking more control in the second half but they could not beat Czech keeper Petr Cech for a winner as both sides pressed forward.

The Czechs, who have been struggling in recent matches, always looked dangerous on the break and scored when the Dutch mix up gave them a dream start to their campaign.

The result also gave Vrba, who took over following their failure to qualify for the World Cup in Brazil, his first victory at the helm.

The match was Guus Hiddink's first competitive game in charge since his return to the national side after Louis van Gaal stepped down to take charge of Manchester United.

The coach bemoaned the mistakes that led to the winning goal and said the loss of Robben deprived the Dutch of the ability to really pressure the Czechs on the wings.

"The Czechs played well," Hiddink said. "We have to learn our lesson but it is too soon to analyse what happened. It (the winner) was an unlucky goal but the system doesn't matter if you make individual mistakes."

The loss made Hiddink the first Dutch national manager to lose his first two games since his previous reign in 1995.