February 10, 2012
2010 World Championships: Day 5, September 1
Group A: Serbia 94-79 Australia, Germany 88-92 (OT) Angola, Argentina 88-79 Jordan

Milos Teodosic - Serbia (Photo: www.fibaeurope.com)Serbia took a pivotal showdown in Group A by beating Australia 94-79 in Kayseri on Wednesday. Serbia improved to 3-1 and will fight for first place with Argentina on Thursday. Australia dropped to 2-2 but will advance if it beats Angola. Reigning Euroleague MVP Milos Teodosic of Olympiacos led the winners with 19 points. Novica Velickovic of Real Madrid added 18, Nenad Krstic had 14, Marko Keselj of Olympiacos 11 and Dusko Savanovic of Power Electronics Valencia 10. Brad Newley of Lietuvos Rytas led Australia 13 points. Patrick Mills had 12 while Aleks Maric of Panathinaikos and Matt Nielsen of Olympiacos each added 10. Teodosic struck twice from downtown and got some help from Velickovic and Krstic to keep the European finalists ahead, 16-12, after 10 minutes. A floating layup by Savanovic and a big triple by Rasic boosted the Serbian lead to 21-14 early in the second quarter. David Barlow and Mills tried to get things for the Boomers but Savanovic and Keselj joined the three-point shootout to make it a double-digit game, 36-26. Mark Worthington and Maric got Australia within 43-37 at halftime. Velickovic took over after the break and got some help from Savanovic and Stefan Markovic of Benetton Treviso to keep Serbia way ahead, 69-61, after 30 minutes. A huge dunk by Maric, an outstanding Newley and a big triple by Nielsen gave Australia some hope, 81-78, with over 2 minutes left. Teodosic buried his fifth three-pointer right when it mattered and soon added free throws to seal the outcome, 86-78, allowing Serbia to grab a big win.

Angola came back from 10 points down in the fourth quarter to force overtime and then beat Germany 88-92 to secure a ticket to the eighthfinals from Group A. Olimpio Cipriano was the hero for the African champs with 30 points and Joaquim Gomes added 16 points and 14 rebounds for the winners, who improved to 2-2 and could finish the group in third place with a win over Australia on Thursday. Miguel Lutonda added 13 for the winners. Jan Jagla of Asseco Prokom scored 23 before fouling out to lead Germany, which was eliminated with the loss. Heiko Schaffartzik of Turk Telekom scored 18 and grabbed 7 rebounds and Tim Ohlbrecht netted 17 in defeat. Angola jumped out to an early lead thanks to baskets from Gomes and Carlos Morais. Jagla got Germany going with a pair of triples to take the lead and then another to stretch the cushion to 15-8. But Angola responded quickly with threes from Lutonda and Cipriano to regain the lead. Ohlbrecht knotted the score at 19-19 after 10 minutes. Lutonda remained hot and paced Angola to a 25-32 lead midway through the quarter. A Carlos Almeida three made it a 9-point game, but Schaffartzik and Jagla managed to limit the damage to 35-40 at halftime. Angola opened the second half in style with a Cipriano triple and Lutonda score for a double-digit edge. Morais stamped Angola’s authority with a steal and slam to make it 40-50 midway through the quarter. Steffen Hamann’s basket-plus foul inspired Germany, but Angola remained ahead. Back-to-back triples from Philipp Schwethelm and Schaffartzik halped trim the gap to 54-58 heading into the fourth quarter. Albe Berlin shooter Lucca Staiger came off the bench to stick a pair of threes and give his team its first lead of the half. A Jagla triple and a three-point play from Ohlbrecht put Germany up 68-60. Cipriano connected from downtown to bring Angola within 4 midway through the quarter. Jagla reached 20 points with his sixth triple of the night and then put Germany up 10 with his seventh. Cipriano gave Angola hope with a dunk in traffic and Ambrosio got it to 77-73 with 80 seconds to play. Ambrosio then banked in a deep triple with 26 seconds left to bring his team within 1. Schaffartzik made 1 of 2 free throws with 22.6 seconds left and Cipriano tied the game from the line at 78-78 with 16.8 seconds remaining. Germany came up empty on its final possession, sending the game to overtime. Gomes stepped up with the first 4 points of the extra period and Cipriano added another two baskets to make it 80-86 with two minutes to play. A clutch triple from Schwethelm made it 85-87 with 31 seconds left, but Cipriano answered with 2 free throws and Germany missed three times from downtown on its next possession, setting the stage for Almeida to wrap up the win from the line.

STANDINGS
Group A W-L
Argentina 4-0, +36
Serbia 3-1, +107
Australia 2-2, +19
Angola 2-2, -53
Germany 1-3, -42
Jordan 0-4, -67
Argentina held off pesky Jordan 88-79 to remain undefeated and keep Jordan winless. The result also sets up a top-of-Group A clash between Argentina and Serbia for Thursday, with the winner finishing atop the group standings and the loser in second. Jordan will play Germany in a game for protocol only seeking its first ever World Championships win. It would be hard to tell Jordan’s status as it played fearlessly against one of the world’s best sides. But former All-Euroleague big man Luis Scola had too much and tallied 30 points and 13 rebounds to lead Argentina. Carlos Delfino added 18 points and Alfredo Quinteros 11. Rasheim Wright paced Jordan with 22 points, Ayman Idais had 10 and Zaid Abbas posted 17 and 10 rebounds in defeat. Roman Gonzalez scored the game’s first two baskets to set the tone for Argentina, but Jordan matched with scores from Abbas and Osama Daghles. Before Jordan got too much confidence, Scola and Delfino teamed up to score the game’s next 11 points and give Argentina control. Despite the double-digit deficit, Jordan continued to fight, however Argentina held on for a 35-19 lead after 10 minutes. Quinteros sank a pair of threes as the South American giants stretched the lead to 20, but Mousa Alawadi ignited Jordan to a 3-11 finish to the half to keep Jordan alive, 49-37, at the break. Jordan took the same momentum into the second half, using a three from Wright and two from Idais to get within 49-46. Argentina came back with a 12-3 charge led by Scola and Juan Gutierrez to regain a double-digit lead. Still Idais and Wright scored to keep Jordan within 61-55 after three quarters. Daghles made it a 4-point game before Delfino and Leonardo Gutierrez countered with threes. Abbas and Wright still had Jordan within 4 and on the verge of an upset midway through the fourth quarter. And in the final minute, Alawadi made it 84-79 from the line. However there was no more Jordanian magic and Real Madrid playmake Pablo Prigioni iced the win from the line in the closing seconds.



Group B: Brazil 77-80 Slovenia, Croatia 84-64 Tunisia, Iran 51-88 USA

Bostjan Nachbar - Slovenia (photo FIBA.com)Slovenia survived a late Brazil charge to record a 77-80 win, securing second place in Group B in Istanbul. Slovenia used a 0-14 second-quarter run to take control for good, but Brazil came back with 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. However in the final minutes and with Slovenia struggling, Regal FCB forward Jaka Lakovic drilled a pair of clutch three-pointers and Efes Pilsen forward Bostjan Nachbar iced the win with another three with 21 seconds remaining. Slovenia improved to 3-1 and plays Iran, which was eliminated with this result, in its only remaining game. Lakovic finished with 20 points, Primoz Brezec had 16, Nachbar 15 and Goran Dragic 10. Marcelo Machado, who keyed Brazil’s comeback, scored 20 points, All-Euroleague center Tiago Splitter added 19, Leandro Barbosa 12 and Marcelinho Huertas of Caja Laboral scored 8 and dished 10 assists in defeat. The game was even early with neither team leading by more than a basket in the first nine minutes and Slovenia holding an 18-20 lead after 10 minutes. Slovenia made its move early in the second quarter as Brezec scored inside, Sani Besirovic buried a jumper and Nachbar created space for Brezec to make it 18-26. Even after a Brazil timeout, Slovenia continued its charge with 14 unanswered points while holding Brazil scoreless for five-plus minutes until Splitter converted to make it 20-34. Splitter scored on the next two possessions, but Slovenia had an answer and went into the locker room for halftime up 30-44 after a Lakovic triple. Lakovic opened the second half with another three, but Brazil didn’t fold and with threes from Huertas and Guilherme Giovannoni plus a Splitter slam cut the gap to 9 points. Alex Garcia narrowed the gap to 8 later in the half, however Slovenia scored the last 7 points of the third period to end it with a 51-67 lead. Just when it seemed that the game was destined for Slovenia, Machado drained three three-pointers and a layup in a 15-0 charge and the Brazilian defense held Slovenia scoreless for more than five minutes as the Slovenian lead practically evaporated to 68-70. Lakovic finally connected on a triple to awake slumbering Slovenians with 3:30 to play. Lakovic tacked on another three a minute later to allow his team some breathing room and with Brazil reeling, Nachbar buried a three from the corner to ice the game with 21 seconds remaining.

Bojan Bogdanovic - Croatia (photo FIBA.com)Croatia essentially wrapped up a berth in the round of 16 by walloping winless Tunisia 84-64 in Wednesday’s first game in Istanbul. Croatia led from start to finish as it improved to 2-2. It will have its place in the eighthfinals sealed if USA beats Iran later Wednesday. Croatia made 7 of 11 three-pointers in the first half as it took a promising 20-point lead and never looked back. Bogdan Bogdanovic of Cibona paced the winners with 19 points, Marko Popovic of Unics Kazan tallied 16 points and 5 assists, Ante Tomic of Real Madrid posted 15 points and 9 rebounds and Luksa Andric added 10 points. Macram Ben Romdhane was the lead man with 23 points for Tunisia, which dropped to 0-4 and will bow out of the World Championships after Thursday’s game against USA. Ante Tomic and Marko Tomas each scored twice in a 10-0 run to start the game that set the tone. frankiereturns: Croatia eased up a bit too much and Mohamed Dhifallah took advantage with 6 points in Tunisia’s 0-8 response, but that was as close as it would get. Popovic drilled a three and dished to Tomas for a slam. A second Popovic three made it a 10-point game and he soon added another to help Croatia to a 23-12 lead after 10 minutes. Croatia remained red hot from the three-point line as both Zoran Planinic and Bogdanovic connected to make it 31-14. Hamdi Braa tried to change the momentum with a block on Bogdanovic at one end and a two-handed slam-plus-foul at the other, but a Bogdanovic triple restored Croatian control and Kresimir Loncar added his team’s seventh three of the half just before the halftime buzzer to make it 43-23 at the break. Despite an impressive Radhouane Slimane slam early in the third quarter, Tunisia never built up any serious momentum and Croatia began to coast, with Andric throwing down some highlight reel slams along the way to a 65-40 lead after three quarter. The fourth quarter turned out to be for protocol only as Tunisia never got closer than 18 and Croatia coach Josip Vrankovic was able to divvy the minutes on the way to the important win.

STANDINGS
Group B W-L
USA 4-0, +89
Slovenia 3-1, +12
Brazil 2-2, +26
Croatia 2-2, +6
Iran 1-3, -61
Tunisia 0-4, -72
USA remained undefeated and clinched first place in Group B after stomping Iran 51-88. Kevin Love scored 13 points off the bench to lead USA, Kevin Durant added 12, Derrick Rose 11 and Danny Granger 10. Iran dropped to 1-3 and could be eliminated by the end of the day if Slovenia beats Brazil. Hamed Ehadadi paced Iran with 19 points and Arsalan Kazemi added 14. Iran slowed the game down at the start and took an early lead on a Mahdi Kamrany triple. Back-to-back threes from Durant and Andre Iguodala helped USA pull ahead, but Ehadadi made it 10-12 as Iran continued to play hard. Even though USA answered with the next 7 points, Kamrany kept Iran within 13-19 after 10 minutes. USA started to pull away in the second half with a Russel Westbrook steal and layup putting it up by double figures. Kazemi and Ehadadi showed great effort for the Iranians, but Love matched them to keep USA up by double figures and Durant stretched the lead to 15 before USA settled for a 28-42 halftime cushion. The Americans scored the first 8 points of the second half as Iran began to lose hope. Iran tried to put together a late charge and got within 19 in the fourth quarter, but USA finished the game on a 2-16 march to secure another easy win.



Group C: Turkey 79-77 Puerto Rico, Cote d'Ivoire 60-97 Greece, China 80-89 Russia

Ersan Ilyasova - Turkey (photo FIBA.com)Turkey remained unbeaten and won Group C despite the best efforts of Puerto Rico. Asvel Basket forward A.D. Vassallo missed a contested three to win the game at the buzzer allowing Turkey to celebrate a 79-77 win and a 4-0 record. Puerto Rico dropped to 1-3 and must either win its lone remaining game against Cote d'Ivoire or hope for Turkey to beat China on Thursday in order to advance. Hedo Turkoglu led the host nation with 16 points, Ersan Ilyasova added 13 points and 13 rebounds and Fenerbahce Ulker guard Omer Onan scored 12. Vassallo paced Puerto Rico with 19 points, P.J. Ramos posted 15 and 12 boards and Carmelo Lee scored 11 in defeat. Ramos was active underneath as Puerto Rico build an early lead, but Onan’s three-point shooting helped Turkey stay close. Vassallo and Turkoglu traded threes in the closing seconds of the first quarter to keep things even at 19-19. Triples from Lee and Vassallo helped Puerto Rico race to a 21-29 lead. Oguz Savas and Cenk Akyol connected from downtown as Turkey narrowed the gap, but J.J. Barea gave Puerto Rico a 30-37 cushion at halftime. Lee hit from downtown to put Puerto Rico up 10 early in the third quarter, but Turkey reacted to get within 37-40 quickly. Turkey continued to claw away, however Puerto Rico maintained a slim 56-57 lead after three quarters. Backed by an incredible crowd, Turkey shifted gears for the fourth quarter, first taking the lead for good on a Kerem Gonlum basket-plus-foul and scoring 10 in a row overall. Daniel Santiago scored Puerto Rico’s first points of the fourth quarter nearly four minutes into the period, but Turkoglu had Turkey up 10 with a triple a minute later. Though the outlook was bleak, Vassallo connected on a pair of threes and Renaldo Balkman dunked to make it 78-77 with 7 seconds left. Kerem Tunceri made just 1 free throw with 6 seconds remaining, but Vassallo was unable to hit a contested three to win the game at the buzzer.

Nick Calathes - Greece (photo FIBA.com)Greece crushed Cote d'Ivoire 60-97 in the day’s second game in the Turkish capital to improve to 3-1 in Group C, while eliminating the African power. Cote d'Ivoire started strong, but Greece took over with a 5-27 second quarter and never looked back. Panathinaikos guard Nick Calathes shined with 15 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds to lead Greece. His Green teammate Kostas Tsartsaris and Unicaja forward Georgiois Printezis added 12 apiece and Vassilis Spanoulis of Olympiacos and Sofoklis Schortsanitis of Maccabi scored 10 each. Brice Assie paced Cote d'Ivoire with 11 points. The African underdogs started strong with Guy Edi drilling a triple and Mouloukou Diabate and Kinidinnin Konate adding baskets for a 7-0 lead. Tsartsaris finally got Greece on the scoreboard after nearly two-and-a-half minutes with a basket-plus-foul. Soon Spanoulis and Ioannis Bourousis drilled threes to put Greece ahead and Spanoulis tacked on 4 more points to make it 14-20 after 10 minutes. Tsartsaris and Calathes stepped up to complete a 0-12 Greece run that bridged the first two quarters. Assie ended a four-plus minute Cote d'Ivoire scoring drought, but Greece turned to Schortsanitis, who continued the romp. Greece scored the game’s next 16 points and held Cote d'Ivoire to just 5 in the entire second quarter en route to a 19-47 halftime cushion. Cote d'Ivoire did have an easier time scoring in the third quarter, but still could not match Greece, which took its lead to 30 on a Calathes layup just one minute into the half and to 40 on a Nikos Zisis jumper. Charles Abouo tried to spark Cote d'Ivoire, but Greece was sitting pretty at 38-81 after three quarters. The lead peaked at 45 on a pair of Zisis free throws early in the fourth as Greece coasted to an easy win.

STANDINGS
Group C W-L
Turkey 4-0, +61
Greece 3-1, +37
Russia 3-1, +15
Puerto Rico 1-3, -6
China 1-3, -15
Cote d'Ivoire 0-4, -92
Sasha Kaun - Russia (photo FIBA.com)Russia registered a critical win in Group C by downing China 80-89 in Ankara on Wednesday. Russia improved to 3-1 and mathematically made it to the eighthfinals while China dropped to 1-3. Sasha Kaun of CSKA paced the winners with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Anton Ponkrashov of Spartak SPB added 15 points, Sergey Monya of BC Khimki and Sergey Bykov of CSKA each had 14 while Evgeni Voronov of Dynamo got 11 for Russia. Sun Yue led China with 19 points. Russia could not find the way to the basket, as Zhizhi Wang allowed China to get a 10-6 lead. Timofey Mozgov and Ponkrashov fueled a 0-6 run that put Russia back ahead, 14-15, but Shulong Yu took over late in the first quarter to give China a 21-15 edge after 10 minutes. A zone defense allowed Russia to shut down the Chinese offense while Monya sank consecutive three-pointers in a 2-13 run that gave his team a 29-36 edge late in the second quarter. Yue and Zhizhi Wang stepped up to restore a 43-40 Chinese lead at halftime. Ponkrashov had 4 points in a 0-6 run that allowed Russia to get a 52-57 midway through the third quarter. Yue kept China as close as 62-63 after 30 minutes. Free throws by Shipeng Wang gave China its last lead, 75-73, with over 4 minutes left. Monya, Voronov and Kaun fueled a 0-14 run that broke the game open, 75-87, as China was not able to recover.



Group D: Lithuania 69-55 France, Lebanon 57-91 Spain, Canada 61-71 New Zealand

Jonas Maciulis - Lithuania (photo FIBA.com)Lithuania won Group D after surviving a showdown between undefeated sides against France. Lithuania trailed early, but took over after halftime en route to a 69-55 win and a 4-0 record. France dropped to 3-1 and will finish second in the group if it beats New Zealand on Thursday. Armani Jeans Milano forward Jonas Maciulis led the Lithuania attack with 19 points and reigning Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy winner Linas Kleiza added 15 for the winners. Nicolas Batum paced France with 13 points and Asvel Basket forward Mickael Gelabale added 10. The teams used much of the first quarter to feel each other out with neither team going up by more than a score until Batum buried a three for a 9-13 French lead after six minutes. Lithuania used a timeout and soon answered through Maciulis, but France used a rejection by Ian Mahinmi at one end and a triple from Gelabale at the other to pull away. Power Electronics Valencia guard Nando De Colo and Batum added a pair of threes as France scored the final 11 points of the quarter to take an 11-24 edge after 10 minutes. France used its athleticism to control the pace, but shots were not falling for either team. Boris Diaw and Zalgiris guard Marty Pocius traded scores to make it 16-29 midway through the quarter. Lithuania heated up just in time as Maciulis and Renaldas Seibutis made threes and Maciulis added a jumper to help cut the gap to 24-30 at halftime. Lithuania completed its comeback at the start of the third quarter as Pocius hit a three and Kleiza converted a three-point play to tie the score. Pocius hit another triple to give Lithuania its first lead since the opening minutes. Kleiza shined as the momentum remained with Lithuania on the way to a 44-35 edge. Mantas Kalnietis of Zalgiris and Maciulis scored from the line to compete a 13-2 run, giving their side a 13-point lead. Diaw and Gelabale stopped the bleeding, but Lithuania remained ahead 52-41 heading into the fourth quarter. A Tomas Delininkaitis three and another from Seibutis brought the Lithuanian fans to their feet at 58-41. Roma big man Ali Traore helped France wake up on offense, but a slam from Tadas Klimavicius kept Lithuania in charge. Threes from Gelabale and Andrew Albicy brought France within 10 with under two minutes remaining to set the stage for an exciting finish, but free throws from Maciulis and Kalnietis wrapped up the win for Lithuania.

Fran Vazquez - Spain (photo FIBA.com)Spain overcame a make-or-break situation and improved to 2-2 in Group D and qualified to the eighthfinals by overwhelming the Lebanon 57-91 in Izmir on Wednesday. Marc Gasol paced the winners with 25 points on 10-of-14 two-pointers. Fran Vazquez of Regal FCB added 15 for Spain. Jackson Vroman had 22 points for the Lebanon, that dropped to 1-3 and ran out of chances to reach the next round. A put-back dunk by Rudy Fernandez ignited a 2-7 Spanish opening run that All-Euroleague guard Navarro capped with a bomb from downtown. Vroman and Fadi El-Khatib kept the Lebanon in the game and forced Spain to call timeout at 13-14. A three-pointer by Ali Kanaan soon gave the Lebanon its first lead, 18-16. Vroman stayed unstoppable but Alex Mumbru struck from downtown to keep Spain within 22-21 after 10 minutes. Spain kept struggling to find its game rhythm early in the second quarter, as a three-pointer by Rony Fahed kept the Lebanon as close as 30-31. Gasol had 4 points in a 0-9 run that Fernandez capped with a triple to give Spain some fresh air, 32-43, at halftime. Spain played more aggressive after the break and ran its offense through an unstoppable Gasol, who got some help from Real Madrid forward Jorge Garbajosa and Mumbru to boost their team's margin to 39-62, making the Lebanon call timeout. Spain boosted its margin to 47-72 after 30 minutes and did not find much trouble to add an important win.

STANDINGS
Group D W-L
Lithuania 4-0, +31
France 3-1, +23
Spain 2-2, +43
New Zealand 2-2, +12
Lebanon 1-3, -83
Canada 0-4, -27
Kirk Penney - New Zealand (photo FIBA.com)New Zealand registered its second consecutive win in Group D by edging Canada 61-71 in Izmir on Wednesday. New Zealand improved to 2-2 and is all but mathematically into the next round. Canada dropped to 0-4 and ran out of chances to reach the eighthfinals. Kirk Penney led the winners with 18 points. Casey Frank added 14 for the Tall Blacks. Jevohn Shepherd led Canada with 15 points. Both teams struggled to score early in the game, as a layup by Pero Cameron gave the Tall Blacks an 8-11 lead after 10 minutes. Three-pointers by Michael Fitchett and Cameron soon boosted their team's lead to 12-19 early in the second quarter. Canada improved its defense and an 11-2 run that Joel Anthony capped with a free throw put his team ahead, 23-21. Frank followed a triple with a tip-in to put New Zealand back ahead, 28-35, at halftime. A big three-pointer by Penney made it a 13-point game, 29-42, right after the break. Canada got within 45-50 with 7 minutes left but Frank and Penney stepped up to seal the outcome long before the final buzzer.
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
Euroleague.net
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