FIBA EuroBasket Roundup Day 5: Greece and Russia win (Part-5)
Greece 71 – Montenegro 55
Resuming the game after halftime, the spirited Greece reduce the lowly Montenegro to rubbles by thrashing them with a 19-0 run from where they never looked back and went on to clinch their third victory in the first round of the
2011 European Championship. On the other hand, the Montenegro lost third successive game on Sunday night followed by a 71-55 blowout defeat by Greece.
Kostas Koufos was the high scorer of the game who shot more than 66 percent from the field to finish with 19 points. The prolific bench players Antonis Fotsis, Nick Calathes and Kostas Vasiliadis joined the action with the star
performer Koufos down the stretch to wipe out the opposition completely. The three reserves combined for 37 points, playing a vital role in providing Greece another outstanding victory to book a place in the second round.
In Montenegro’s line-up, the veteran centre Nikola Pekovic was the only player who landed in double figures as rest of the line-up failed to mount up after halftime against the unwavering assault of Greece.
Montenegro managed to keep themselves in a competitive position during the first half of the game when Greece was leading 32-31. The Greek players found their composure after a brief meeting in the locker room during the timeout
and came out strong in the third quarter, taking control of the game completely. Greece smashed Montenegro with 39 points in the last two quarters, restricting the opposition to just 24 points and raced away towards a comprehensive win.
Russia 89 – Bulgaria 77
The Russian basketball player Andrei Kirilenko, who has been doing wonders for one of the NBA team Utah Jazz since a decade, erupted with another game-winning performance on Sunday night, leading Russia toward their fourth straight
win in the 2011 European Championship.
The dynamic small forward Andrei netted a game-high 25 points and clutched 5 rebounds to topple Bulgaria for a comprehensive 89-77 win, also confirming a spot for Russia in the next round. On the other hand, Bulgaria’s chance to
excel further in the tournament faded away followed by a thrashing defeat.
Despite of Dejan Ivanov impressive performance with 23 points and 5 boards, Bulgaria failed to stand up against the brilliance of NBA superstar Kirilenko, who was supported by Timofey Mozgov with his 15 points.
Bulgaria seemed determined in the beginning and romped with a 9-4 run to secure an early advantage. However Russia swiftly ignited their charge and snatched the lead from the opposition, finishing the period with 23-18 advantage.
Bulgaria pushed harder in the second quarter to reclaim their spot however they could only managed to reduce the deficit by 1 point going into the halftime.
Bulgaria team kept on trying hard to outplay Russia in the second half however the powerful strength on the roster of the Russian team smashed Bulgaria with a 47-point blitz and sealed a straightforward victory in the end.
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