Russia clinch bronze medal at London Olympics after surprising Argentina – Olympics Men Basketball Recap
Russian men basketball team shocked the world when they defeated favourites Argentina in the bronze medal game of the London Olympics here on Sunday night to end the tournament with a podium finish.
Argentina, gold medallist in the 2004 Olympics and bronze medallist in 2008, had the opportunity to make it two consecutive bronze medals, but were defeated by Russia 81-77 in a thrilling game that went down to the last minute.
There were 17 lead changes and 12 ties in the game, and it took a clutch three pointer by Alexey Shved in the final minute of the game to seal the deal for the Russians.
Shved finished with 25 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists, going 8 of 16 from the field as he led the Russians. Andrei Kirilenko continued his prime form and finished a good tournament with 20 points and 8 rebounds, going 8 of 12
from the field. Vitaliy Fridzon also had 19 points for the night.
Manu Ginobili led the Argentine players in scoring with 21 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Andres Nocioni scored 16 points and 7 rebounds, going 6 of 10 from the field. Carlos Delfino added 15 points and 6 rebounds to the team
tally, but went 4 of 11 from the field for the night.
Kirilenko opened the scoring for Russia with five straight points and a three pointer by Shved gave them an 8-4 lead early in the game. Argentina came back quickly, and a three pointer by Manu Ginobili put Argentina ahead 14-12
with 4:14 left in the period.
Back to back three pointers by Nocioni and Delfino put Argentina ahead 20-17, but Russia continued to reply and two free throws by Fridzon to close the period put them just one behind at 19-20.
Russia regained the lead in the second period with a two point shot by Victor Khryapa, as they went on a 12-0 run to lead 33-27. Argentina responded with back-to-back-to-back three pointers to get ahead by 36-33. A three pointer
by Shved in the closing seconds of the period gave Russia a 40-38 lead going into the half time break.
Kirilenko scored 4 straight points, followed by a three point shot by Fridzon to cap off a 7-0 run for Russia as they took a 56-48 lead with 3:21 left in the third period. Fridzon was then fouled while attempting another three
pointer and scored on all three free throw attempts to put Russia ahead 59-50. Argentina came back with a 7-0 run to close the quarter and cut the deficit to 57-61.
A two point shot by Ginobili tied the game at 62 but four straight points by Shved later in the period gave Russia a 71-66 advantage yet again. Back to back three pointers by Ginobili and Nocioni after a timeout put Argentina ahead,
leading 72-71 with 2:45 left in the game.
Ginobili then came big for his team when he scored a crucial layup with 43 seconds left in the game to put Argentina ahead 77-76. Shved responded with a game winning three pointer to put Russia ahead by 79-77. Argentina then missed
two three point attempts as Russia went on to win 81-77.
Russia shot a spectacular 50.9% from the field and were 16 of 20 from the foul line. They had a 33-27 advantage in rebounds, but had 3 more turnovers at 15. It was their shooting, particularly near the end of the game then ensured
the victory for them, capping off a great tournament.
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