MEN'S DAY FOUR BEIJING

Andrew Bogut’s showing which led Australia to the stunning victory against the more fancied Russians was the story of the day. The Milwaukee Bucks center, justified the faith reposed in him by coach Brian Goorjian along with silencing the wagging tongues, with 22 points. Bogut also pulled down eight rebounds.

David Andersen put his experience of playing for Russian club CSKA Moscow to good use, contributing 11 points and five boards. CJ Bruton who averaged a meager 4 points from the previous three games, rose to the occasion with 22 points, sharing the scoring honors for the game with Bogut.

Andersen and Bogut together were seven of nine from the floor in the first half. They nailed six of 14 from behind the arc in the first two quarters, which ended 49-33 in the Boomers’ favor.

“Nobody believes in us but us,” Bogut said. “Everyone is doubting us. People didn’t think we were going to get to the next round so this is an accomplishment. This was our goal going into the Olympics.”

Mark Worthington’s three-point play sparked a 13-0 run for the Aussies, for a 32-16 lead early in the second quarter, a difference they maintained going to the changing rooms.

About two minutes into the third quarter, Alexey Savrasenko managed to cut the deficit to 44-51, but that was the closest Russia came. Bogut replied with a three-pointer to regain the advantage for the Aussies, which they didn’t concede till the end.

Viktor Khryapa, a player in whom Russia coach David Blatt placed enormous faith, played another inspirational game to lead the scoring for his side with 21 points. JR Holden returned a 20-point game as Savrasenko finished with 16 points.

“Andrew Bogut is the cornerstone of this team,” Goorjian said.

“When we win he is great, when we lose it’s Andrew Bogut’s fault.”

“You have to tip off your hat to Australia,” Blatt said.

“They played great basketball and there’s no denying they were much better,” the American added.

Russia now to need beat Argentina, and more importantly, hope for a miracle in the other games in order to make the quarterfinals.

Argentina trailed 7-11 against Iran, who probably were playing their best game in the competition. But the Athens Olympics gold medalists staged a 12-3 run to close the first quarter 19-14, and never looked back.

Manu Ginobili, the MVP of the Argentina’s Athens campaign, returned a game-high 32 points. The San Antonio Spurs guard was 10/14 on the floor – sinking four of his six three-pointer attempts – and 8/9 from the stripe, as he scored 20 points in the first half.

“It just happened. I made a couple of shots, I felt good and started shooting threes and they all went in,” Ginobili said.

Luis Scola – a favorite among Chinese fans thanks to his playing along side Yao Ming for Houston Rockets – scored 20 points and collected seven rebounds.

“We didn’t play great today,” Ginobili said.

“We rested a little bit, not because we wanted to, but that’s the way it looked.

“We made too many mistakes.”

Hamed Ehadadi played all of the forty minutes, scored 21 points and collected 16 rebounds to lead the Iran campaign. Ehadadi’s Saba Battery teammate Hamed Afagh chipped in with 19 points.

“It’s a dream result for us,” beamed Iran coach Rajko Toroman said.

“This is a great result to be within 15 points of a team like Argentina,” the Serbian added.
“We were competitive for some parts of the game.”

Iran captain Samad Nikkah, who scored 13 points in the game, said: “We expected this. It’s our first time in the tournament and the teams play better. We practice very hard, but we’re focusing on the experience of the games and the future.”

Lithuania had a fight of their own to beat Croatia.

The EuroBasket 2007 bronze medalists trailed 58-62 at the end of the third quarter, but erupted in the fourth quarter.

Linas Kleiza struck with two three-pointers, Simas Jasaitis came up with a three-point play and Sarunas Jasikevicius scored in the lane as Lithuania posted an 11-0 run in the opening moments of the fourth quarter that took the game away from the Croats.

Mindaugas Lukauskis topped the scoring for Lithuania with a game-high 20 points. The Lietuvos Rytas star was 7/9 on the floor, with three successes off four attempts in three-pointers, and 3/4 in free-throws.

“It’s a great win for us,” Lukauskis said.

“We went into sixth gear in the fourth quarter. Everybody wants to win games at the Olympics. We knew we had to give everything we had and we did that.”

“In the third quarter, we started playing more aggressively on defense,” Lithuania coach Ramunas Butautus said.

“We made some changes, started playing faster and like a team.”

Croatia suffered the absence of sharpshooting guard Marko Popovic, who averaged 10 points in the Croats’ first three games, but forced to the bench due to injury. Roko-Leni Ukic led their scoring with 13 points and Zoran Planinic managed 11 points.

“It was a very good game for both teams,” Croatia coach Jasmin Repesa said.

“I’m really sorry about the start of the fourth quarter. For six minutes, we had a loss of concentration and Lithuania got hot and started making a lot of baskets.

“The Lithuania team showed one more time today why they are one of the favorites for a medal at these Olympic Games.”

Scores


Australia 95 (Andrew Bogut 22, CJ Bruton 22, David Andersen 11, Matt Nielsen 11) bt Russia 80 (Viktor Khryapa 21, JR Holden 20, Alexei Savrasenko 16). Quarterwise Scores: 27-16, 49-33, 69-55.

Lithuania 86 (Mindaugas Lukauskis 20, Linas Kleiza 18, Simas Jasaitis 12) bt
Croatia 73 (Roko-Leni Ukic 13, Zoran Planinic 11, Marko Banic 10). Quarterwise Scores: 13-15, 42-45, 58-62

Argentina 97 (Manu Ginobili 32, Luis Scola 20, Pablo Prigioni 11) bt Iran 82 (Hamed Ehadadi 21, Hamed Afagh 19, Samad Nikkah 13, Mahdi Kamrani 11). Quarterwise Scores: 19-14, 42-33, 72-57.

Monday, the final day of the men’s preliminary round will see Australia (2-2) take on unbeaten Lithuania, and Croatia, also 2-2, play Iran. Argentina (3-1) meet Russia (1-3).

Going by the form book, Lithuania look assured of the top spot followed by Argentina, leaving Russia and Iran out of the quarterfinals.

In group B Greece face off with hosts China, Angola take on Spain and USA meet up with Germany. 




Comments

Comment Guidelines: The SportsTG Network is made up of players, families and passionate sports followers like you who have a strong opinion about sport. That's great - we want you to have your say and share your thoughts with the world. However, we have a few rules that you must follow to keep it fun for all. Please don't be rude, abusive, swear or vilify others. Apart from some pretty serious sport sanctions, we also can ban you and report you if things get out of hand. So play fair and have fun, and thanks for your contribution.