Russia down China at FIBA Worlds
Russia can now heave a sigh of relief after claiming their third win in the 2010 FIBA World Championships in Turkey. The Russians unleashed a late surge to beat China, 89-80, in their Group C encounter at the Ankara Arena.
Russia used a 14-0 run midway in the fourth quarter to turn a 73-75 deficit into an 87-75 advantage. Sergei Monya buried two treys to lead the decisive run that gave the Russians their third win in four games.
It was another sorry loss for the Chinese, who started as the aggressors. The Asian giants built a 14-9 lead before the Russians responded with a 6-0 run. But the Chinese countered with their own 7-0 run behind the efforts of Liu Wei and Yu Shulong to take a 21-15 advantage after the first ten minutes of play.
Russia played better in the second quarter to catch up with the Chinese. Anton Ponkrashov and Monya converted several treys to tie the scores at 27-27. The Russians extended their lead to 36-29 with less than five minutes remaining in the quarter. But five straight points from Sun Yue and another trey from Wang Shipeng allowed the Chinese to come within 37-38. Wang Zhizhi made two lay-ups later to give the Chinese a 43-40 half-time lead.
Russia again played aggressively in the third, outscoring their opponents 17-9 to take a 57-52 lead. But the Chinese staged another rally behind the efforts of Sun, who scored five straight points. Russia held a slim 63-62 lead heading into the final quarter. Russia increased their lead to 68-62 after Andrey Vorontsevich and Alexander Kaun made a basket each. The Chinese rallied back again and tied the scores at 73-73. Two free throws from Wang Shipeng gave the Chinese a 75-73 advantage. However, it proved to be China's last taste of the lead as the Russians went on a scoring spree to secure the victory.
Monya led the Russians with 17 points, six assists and three rebounds. Kaun added 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Ponkrashov scored 15 points while Sergei Bykov and Evgeny Voronov had 11 each. Sun topscored for China with 19 points while Wang Shipeng added 16. Wang Zhizhi and Yi Jianlian had 14 points each.
Russia will take on Greece in their final group game tomorrow. The Russians kicked off their campaign with a 75-66 victory over Puerto Rico but lost to hosts Turkey, 56-65, in their second game. David Blatt's wards bounced back with a 72-66 victory over Cote d'Ivoire on Tuesday. China suffered their third loss in four games. The Chinese lost to Greece, 81-89, in their opening game but bounced back with an 83-73 victory over the Ivorians on Sunday. China, however, lost to Puerto Rico, 76-84, on Tuesday.
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