Petra Kulichova stars as Czech Republic wilt Japan’s Olympic Dreams – 2nd Quarterfinal FIBA Olympic Qualifiers for Women
Petra Kulichová, the 6 ft 6 in centre, erupted with a team high 14 points and hauled down a game best 15 boards as Czech Republic overcame Japan 53-47 in the second quarterfinal of the 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifiers for Women.
Kulichová was 7 of 12 from the floor and also swatted 6 on the night, half of the total blocks Czech Republic made and 5 more than the whole Japanese team managed. She was assisted by 8 points and 9 rebounds by Ilona Burgrova; 10 points from Eva Viteckova and 8 more from Hana Horakova.
Japan were led by a 16 point performance from Yuka Mamiya. Arisa Fujiwara managed 9 while shooting guard Rika Tanaka chipped in with 8 points. The biggest drawback Japanese had throughout the game was that of size. They were outnumbered 42-23 on the boards and also managed to make just one block as compared to a dozen by the Czechs.
The Japanese had a horror start to the game and it took them 6:52 minutes to finally get on the scoreboard. By then, the Czech had already raced away to 13 points. The Europeans continued to dominate in the last three minutes of the first quarter and closed the frame with a 17-4 lead.
A two pointer early in the period took the advantage to 15 points, before 6 straight points for the Asians made it a nine point game, 19-10.
Back to back three pointers from Viteckova and Elhotova however took back the lead to 15 again and despite putting up a fight, the Japanese trailed by 29-18 at the break.
With 8:17 to go in the third quarter, the Czechs made a deuce to stretch their lead to 31-18 and a Horakova three point shot, nearly a minute later, made it 34-20. The Japanese pulled off a 10-3 run at that point to make it 37-30, but by the time the third quarter finished the European side had taken advantage to 43-31.
The Czech maintained their grip on the game in the early part of the final frame and were leading by 11 after the first two minutes. With 7:59 remaining on the clock, Tanaka knocked down to consecutive shots from the land of three to start an 8-0 spurt which pulled Japan within 3, 46-43 and all of sudden it was anybody’s game.
The Czechs however kept their nerves and responded with 4 unanswered points to increase the gap to six points. From there on, they ensured a smooth passage to a place in the 2012 London Olympics.
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