February 10, 2012
World Championships eighthfinals: September 6
September 6: Russia 78-56 New Zealand, USA 121-66 Angola

Andrey Vorontsevich - Russia (Photo FIBA.com)Russia became the fifth European team to reach the 2010 FIBA World Championships quarterfinals on Monday after disposing of New Zealand 78-56. CSKA Moscow forward Andrey Vorontsevich shined with 18 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks to lead the way for the 2007 European champion. New Zealand’s No. 1 weapon, Kirk Penney, came through with 21 points, but was hampered by foul trouble and Russia took advantage to pull away. The Russians also used their size advantage to outrebound New Zealand 41-25. Timofey Mozgov added 16 points and BC Khimki guard Vitaliy Fridzon scored 12 for Russia, which will face USA in the quarterfinals on Thursday. Thomas Abercrombie contributed 13 for New Zealand in defeat. The Tall Blacks shined early on both ends of the floor, forcing Russian turnovers with aggressive defense and racing out to a 2-9 advantage behind the duo of Penney and Pero Cameron. Mozgov converted a basket-plus-foul Dmitriy Khvostov slashed for a layup to cut the Russian deficit to 3. Before long Fridzon scored from the line to cap a 2-9 run for Russia that knotted the score at 11-11. Penney made a pair of free throws with 3.9 seconds left to give New Zealand a 13-15 edge after 10 minutes. Phil Jones and Fridzon swapped triples at the start of the second quarter, but Russia soon took over starting on the defensive end. Vorontsevich and Sergey Monya from Khimki rejected New Zealand shots on back to back possessions and Vorontsevich finished a break with a slam that put Russia ahead for the first time, 22-21. Sasha Kaun of CSKA got involved with a dunk at one end and a block at the other. Penney committed his second offensive foul of the night and took a seat with 3 fouls and Monya capped a 13-0 charge with a triple to make it 28-21. Abercrombie ended the New Zealand drought with a jumper and soon an unsportsmanlike foul called on Vorontsevich at the end of a skirmish on the floor paved the way for the Tall Blacks to cut the gap to 31-27 by halftime. Abercrombie stepped up for New Zealand in the third quarter, however the Kiwis’ hopes were dealt a blow when top scorer Penney went to the bench with his fourth foul. Abercrombie cut the gap to 38-35 with a basket-plus-foul, but Vorontsevich soon stepped up with a pair of triples in a 13-0 run that broke the game open. A triple from Michael Fitchett and free throws from Penney made it 51-40 with 10 minutes remaining. Penney started the fourth quarter with 3 more free throws, but Vorontsevich soon answered with a jumper. New Zealand’s Mika Vukona became the first player to foul out in the game and Vorontsevich made it 58-45 from the line. Despite Penney’s best scoring efforts, Mozgov put Russia up by 16 with a basket-plus-foul. New Zealand never quit, but Russia had too much and essentially wrapped up the game on a Vorontsevich triple with 95 seconds left.



Chauncey Billups - USA (Photo FIBA.com)USA cruised to an easy 121-66 victory over Angola Monday in the opening game of the day at the FIBA World Championships in Istanbul. USA never trailed and scored at least 30 points in three quarters, while Angola only scored more than 18 in one. Chauncey Billups paced the Americans with 19 points on 5-of-7 three-point shooting. Kevin Durant, Eric Gordon and Rudy Gay netted 17 apiece for the winners. Joaquim Gomes had his best game of the tournament with 21 points for Angola, which was without injured star Olimpio Cipriano. Felizardo Ambrosio added 12 points and Roberto Fortes had 11 in defeat, USA started strong with a three from Billups and a Durant slam. Gomes scored inside to keep Angola within 5-4. Billups and Durant continued to spearhead the USA attack as the lead grew despite a Gomes triple. Billups and Durant each hit a three in a 10-0 run that made it 22-7. Gomes remained Angola’s only real scoring threat, but he alone could not overcome the Americans, who increased their cushion to 33-13 after 10 minutes. Kevin Love came off the bench and had an instant impact on offense as USA continued to cruise, despite Fortes drilling a three for his first basket of the tournament. Billups put the American up by 26 midway through the quarter and Tyson Chandler brought it to 29 before Ambrosio capped a 0-7 Angola run. However Durant made a triple that gave USA a comfortable 65-38 lead at halftime. Derrick Rose made back-to-back three-pointers to open the third quarter and take the American lead past 30. Angola was never able to mount a serious charge in the second half. The third quarter finished at 91-56 and the American swelled to 121-66 on a Danny Granger layup in the final minute.
Monday, September 06, 2010
Euroleague.net
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