Russia thump Angola 80-65; Move a game away from a London Olympics spot - FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament
Vitaliy Fridzon scored a team high 18 points in just 18 minutes as Russia moved one step closer from qualifying for the 2012 London Olympics by beating Angola 80-65.
Fridzon was perfect from the field. He made all seven of his shots, which included two from downtown. Alexander Kaun also had a good game with 17 points on a 5 of 6 shooting while Andrei Kirilenko took just 22 minutes for 14 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
Angola were expectedly led by their centre Eduardo Mingas. He scored a game high 20 points before being fouled out. Carlos Morais chipped in with 14; Armando Costa had 10 while Lionel scored 6 points and hauled down a game high 6 rebounds
The Russians were 21 of 33 from inside the three point line and were just phenomenal in stretching the court, out-assisting the Africans 24-10.
They started the game on a 10-3 run to grab the initial momentum, but the Angolans struck back to tie the game at 12, 15, 17 and then 19. The Russians however outscored their opponents 6-2 in the last 1:37 to end the first quarter with a four point lead, 25-21.
The Angolans slipped within 2 early in the second quarter, but a seven point unanswered run shifted the momentum back towards the Russians and they never let it go after that.
On the next possession, Morais made a three pointer and brought Angola at 26-32, but what followed was an 11-0 spurt that closed the first half at 43-26, advantage Russia.
Mingas opened the second half with a personal 5-0 run, but Fridzon, Kaun and Kirilenko combined for a 7-nought response that took the Russian advantage to 50-31. The Russians continued to dominate in the rest of the frame and entered the final 10 minutes with an 18 point lead, 60-42.
A 9-2 burst early in the fourth completely vanquished any chances that the Angolans fancied of a comeback, and the scoring in garbage time only helped the Africans in reducing the margin of defeat.
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