Unbeaten Russia upset Spain 77-74: Top Group B – London Olympics Men Basketball Recap
Down by 20-2 in the first quarter and trailing by as many as 9 points going into the last four and a half minutes of the final quarter, the Russians pulled off a sensational 77-74 win over the mighty Spaniards, here at the Olympics
basketball arena at the 2012 London Olympics.
With this win, the Russians have ensured that they do not meet the all conquering Americans before the August 12 finals and if both teams qualify, the prospect will be mouth watering;
"We won the group today," Russia coach David Blatt said after the game. "It's a good feeling. I'd hoped that we would finish in one of the top three spots, to be honest with you, just so that we could avoid the Americans team in
the quarters."
Vitaliy Fridzon was the Russian hero in their last game against Brazil two days back and the sharp shooter continued his excellent run by pounding a game high 24 points on a 9 of 15 shooting. In what was an off night for Andrei
Kirilenko (8 points and 8 rebounds), guard Anton Ponkrashov raised his game for 14 points and a game high 11 assists.
Victor Khryapa had 12 points to his name, and so did Timothy Mozgov who drilled the go ahead dunk with 18 seconds left on the clock.
With the score at 73-75, Pau Gasol split his pair of free throws to make it a one point game, and Spain immediately fouled Fridzon to save some seconds. Fridzon kept his poise and sank both the shots from the stripe to give Russia
a three point advantage.
Spain still had a chance to take the game into overtime, but Marc Gasol committed a turnover and Spain lost the chance to win the Group B. They have now slipped to number 3 behind Brazil, who routed China.
Spain were led by 20 points from Pau, who shot 8 of 13 from the floor, hauled down 5 rebounds and also made two blocks. Rudy Fernandez had 10 points, 6 boards and 2 steal and Marc Gasol also had 10 points. The younger Gasol also
added 9 of the total 33 Spanish rebounds, one less than the Russians.
Spain now face Brazil in their last preliminary game and Pau Gasol thinks his team should have done a better job of securing their lead;
"That lead in the first quarter was not normal, but still we should have been able to hang on to it," Gasol, who scored 11 points in the first quarter alone, said . "We're leaving with a terrible sensation after this loss and now
we have to take care of Brazil to secure the second place in the group."
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