Group C – Three-way battle for final berth

ANKARA (2010 FIBA World Championship) – Puerto Rico, China and Ivory Coast will fight for the fourth qualifying spot in Group C on Thursday.

Turkey beat Puerto Rico 79-77 on Wednesday to win the group, while Greece and Russia are assured of rounding out the top three and will go head to head to determine who finishes second and third.

Puerto Rico open the day’s play against Ivory Coast and a win for Manolo Cintron’s side would automatically see them through to the second round, where they would face Lithuania.

China face Turkey in the last game in Ankara and have a tough task ahead of them. In order to advance to the knockout stages, Bob Donewald Jr’s charges not only need to beat the hosts but also need for Puerto Rico to lose to Ivory Coast.

Similarly, the fate of the Ivorians is not only down to what they do themselves. A win over Puerto Rico alone cannot see them through. Instead they need China to lose to Turkey in order to force a three-way tiebreak (all three teams will have a 1-4 mark) where point differential (points for/points against in the games between the three teams) will determine who advances.

Puerto Rico must put aside the disappointment of yet again falling just short against one of the European powerhouses.

They had a double-digit lead against Turkey on Wednesday and were up by eight after the break, but went through a tough spell at both ends of the court late in the third quarter and early fourth before a final push in the closing minutes put them in a position to steal the game.

Cintron’s charges lost to Greece 83-80 in a similar fashion on Sunday.

“We have a chance to advance to the next round by beating Ivory Coast,” said forward Nathan Peavy. “We need to make the most of that opportunity.”

Star guard Carlos Arroyo missed his fourth straight game with a quadriceps injury and despite his desire to play, he remains a major doubt.

The Ivorians were on the receiving end of a 97-60 thrashing by Greece a day after Jonas Kazlauskas’s team lost to Turkey. They must put that game out of their head altogether and give everything they have in a last gasp bid to secure their first victory. Out of the ‘bottom three’, they have the most remote chance of moving on to the next round.

China must be at their very best and show the ability to play in front of a hostile crowd when they go up against hosts Turkey in the last game at Ankara Arena.

Having secured first place in the group, it’s possible that head coach Bogdan Tanjevic gives his key players some much-needed rest, but the depth of his team is such that the second unit will be equal to the task and motivated to keep the perfect record.

Greece and Russia face off in a game to determine second and third place in the group. The two teams last met in the Qualifying Round of last summer’s EuroBasket in Poland. Russia came out on top on that occasion, 68-65, thanks to a late three-point barrage by Sergey Monya.

All this exciting Group C action can be seen live on FIBATV.Com.

FIBA