RUS - Kirilenkos adopt baby girl

MOSCOW (Eurobasket) - Andrei Kirilenko didn’t play at the EuroBasket in Poland and that’s not surprising when considering what he and his wife, Masha, have just been through.

The couple has just put the finishing touches on the adoption of a baby girl and named her Alexandra.

A process that began back in February ended over the weekend in Moscow where the Kirilenkos, who have two sons, stood before a judge for 15 minutes before getting the all clear.

“As I have said many times, I was forced to abandon the trip to Poland (for the EuroBasket) due to family circumstances,” Kirilenko said in sport-express.ru.

“And now this story is finally over.

“Masha and I adopted a girl. Russian. She is only two months old.

“We just did not want to talk about it in advance, to avoid speculation.”

The adoption process was long and hard, Kirilenko said, and it meant him leaving the Jazz for four days at the end of last week to fly to Moscow.

“We had to gather all the necessary documents, talk with psychologists and in the last month visited the child,” Kirilenko said.

“In fact, to resolve all issues, it took virtually the entire summer. Problems arose even from the fact that I and Masha are registered in different cities (in Russia).”

Kirilenko returned to the Jazz by Saturday but didn’t play in their pre-season game against the Los Angeles Clippers. He did run onto the court on Sunday against the Charlotte Bobcats, though, and poured in 18 points.

Kirilenko’s fellow Jazz stars, Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer of Team USA, expressed happiness for their good friend.

"I think it's a special thing that he's doing. I know they're happy about the situation," said Williams, who did know for a long time what Kirilenko and his wife had decided to do.

"We talked about it a lot all summer and it was a hard process for them."

"We look forward to welcoming her (Alexandra) to Salt Lake City, to our family," Boozer said.

"It's a beautiful thing, man. They're trying to help a kid's life and give them a different life to lead."

Russia, meanwhile, didn’t finish in the top six this year at the EuroBasket which prevented them from qualifying for the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey.

They are still hoping to play in the big event but will need a wild card to do so.

FIBA