May 23, 2012
World Championships eighthfinals: September 7
September 7: Lithuania 78-67 China, Argentina 93-89 Brazil

Mantas Kalnietis - Lithunia (Photo FIBA.com)Lithuania made it to the 2010 FIBA World Championships quarterfinals for the third time ever by topping China 78-67 in Istanbul on Tuesday. Lithuania will face Argentina, that downed Brazil 93-89 later on today, in the quarterfinals. All-Euroleague forward Linas Kleiza had 11 of his 30 points in the final 6 minutes to singlehandedly win the game for Lithuania. Martynas Gecevicius of Lietuvos Rytas added 14 while Mantas Kalnietis of Zalgiris had 11 for the winners. Liu Wei led China with 21 points while Zhizhi Wang and Jianlian Yi each added 11. Yi also had 12 rebounds for a double-double. Both teams played really physical at the start of the game but a three-pointer by Sun Yue and a jumper by Zhizhi Wang gave China a 3-7 lead. Lithuania struggled to get Kleiza involved and a six-meter jumper by Yi soon boosted the Chinese lead to 3-11. Zalgiris guard Marty Pocius and Kleiza stepped up late in the first quarter and Simas Jasaitis followed a tip-in with a coast-to-coast layup to get Lithuania within 17-19. A buzzer-beating triple by Wei fixed the score at 17-22 after 10 minutes. Yi took over early in the second quarter and another triple by Yue made it a nine-point game, 20-29. Lithuania did not panic, however, as Kalnietis, Kleiza and Power Electronics center Robertas Javtokas fueled a 10-0 run that forced China to call timeout at 36-31. Wei and Zhizhi Wang tried to change things for China but a floating layup by Kleiza kept Lithuania ahead, 43-40, at halftime. China improved its offense after the break and a three-pointer by Wei tied it at 48-48. Gecevicius answered from downtown, igniting an 11-0 run that Pocius capped with a baseline jumper to put Lithuania ahead for good, 59-48. A layup by Pocius gave Lithuania a 64-51 lead after 30 minutes. China was not done, however, as Yi dunked it while Wei followed an acrobatic layup with a running triple to make it a six-point game, 66-60, with 6 minutes left. Kleiza stepped up with back-to-back baskets and soon added a jumper to seal the outcome, 75-65, with under 2 minutes to go. China kept trying but Lithuania had cruised to a well-deserved win.



Pablo Prigioni - ArgentinaIn arguably the best game so far in this tournament, Argentina became the team to reach the 2010 FIBA World Championships quarterfinals by edging archrivals Brazil 93-89 in Istanbul on Tuesday. Former All-Euroleague forward Luis Scola paced the winners with 37 points on 13-of-19 two-pointers and 8-of-9 free throws. Carlos Delfino added 20 while Pancho Jasen of Asefa Estudiantes had 15 for Argentina. Marcelinho Huertas of Caja Laboral led Brazil with 32 points. Scola had a strong start with 7 quick points and Delfino struck from downtown to give Argentina an early 10-8 lead. Brazil tried to play up-tempo through an outstanding Huertas, who drew two early fouls on Real Madrid playmaker Pablo Prigioni. A three-pointer by Leandro Barbosa and a running jumper by Huertas put Brazil back ahead, 21-22, after 7 minutes. An acrobatic layup by an unstoppable Huertas tied the game, 25-25, at the end of a truly outstanding first quarter. Scola singlehandedly kept Argentina in the game and a three-pointer by Prigioni restored a 32-30 lead. Brazil entered the foul bonus midway through the second quarter, as Argentina had managed to slow down the game tempo. Free throws by Prigioni and Delfino soon gave Argentina a 43-38 edge. Huertas followed a four-point play with foul shots to put Brazil back ahead, 46-48, at halftime. Brazil improved its defense after the break and a fast break layup by Alex Garcia gave his team a 46-53 margin. Delfino rescued Argentina with a three-pointer and a layup-plus-foul by Scola soon brought his team within 59-61. Scola stayed unstoppable and nailed a jumper to tie it at 63-63. Huertas and Delfino trade driving layups to keep the game tied, 66-66, after 30 minutes. Barbosa hit back-to-back triples early in the fourth quarter - but Jasen answered in the same way to keep the game tied at 72-72. Scola fed Leo Gutierrez for a triple and found Jasen for an easy layup, good for a 79-75 Argentinian lead. Back-to-back baskets by Scola made it a six-point game but Brazil was not done. Huertas downed a running triple and Marcelinho Machado added free throws for a 85-84 score with 1:28 left. Scola - who else? - downed a turnaround jumper and collected a key steal that allowed him to score in the other end, 89-84. Free throws by Delfino and Scola sealed the outcome in the final seconds of an unbelievable game.
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Euroleague.net
PrintPrint Send to a FriendSend to a Friend ShareShare

Special Features

Interviews
Vassilis Spanoulis , Olympiacos Piraeus
Vassilis Spanoulis - Olympiacos Piraeus
Six months ago, fans outside of Greece would have recognized few of the Olympiacos players who were not named... MORE
Interviews
Kostas Papanikolaou , Olympiacos Piraeus
Kostas Papanikolaou - Olympiacos
Small forward Kostas Papanikolaou is a central piece of the young core of players that has led Olympiacos Piraeus... MORE
Interviews
Dusan Ivkovic , Olympiacos Piraeus
Dusan Ivkovic
Once again this season, Dusan Ivkovic showed why he is a living legend among basketball coaches by guiding... MORE

Submenu