SRB - Serbia defeat Russia to clinch place at FIBA World Championship

KATOWICE (EuroBasket 2009) – They may be young, but Serbia are also very, very good and on Thursday in Katowice they defeated Russia 79-68 to become the first team from Europe to clinch a spot at the 2010 FIBA World Championship.
 
Dusan Ivkovic's Blues trailed 24-21 at the end of the first quarter in the EuroBasket Quarter-Final but shut Russia down for the first seven minutes of the second period and took a 38-24 stranglehold on the game.
 
They went to half-time with a 41-28 advantage and Russia got no closer than 10 points the rest of the way.
 
Uros Tripkovic led a balanced Serbia attack with 18 points.
 
Ivkovic, one of the all-time great coaches in Europe who led the former Yugoslavia to three EuroBasket crowns, said: “I think that we deserved this victory tonight.
 
“I want to congratulate my players, my staff and everyone who has helped as we reached our aim of qualifying for the World Championship in Turkey.
 
“It was a tough game and the key was the bench players. We played team basketball. In the second quarter, we outscored them. Everything is open for this team.”
 
The Serbs, who got 11 first-half points from Kosta Perovic and nine from captain Nenad Krstic, shot 61% (19 of 31) inside the arc for the game.
 
Tripkovic was four of six from three-point range and they hit eight of 18 overall.
 
Ivkovic has a real concern about one of his star players for this tournament with Nemanja Bjelica having sprained his ankle.
 
The coach heaped praised on his players, who will next face Croatia or Slovenia in the Semi-Finals.
 
“For the second year I am with this team and it’s much easier coaching this team,” Ivkovic said.
 
“It has big talent and for sure, we can expect more improvement for the team.”
 
Russia coach David Blatt, who led the country to a surprise gold medal at the EuroBasket in Spain two years ago, didn’t have key players available this summer with Viktor Khryapa injured and both Andrei Kirilenko and JR Holden asking to be excused from national team duty.
 
Blatt was asked to compare Serbia to the other teams he had faced in Poland.
 
“The quality of the Serbian team and the coaching is quite clear,” Blatt said.
 
“They have a good mix of inside and outside game. It’s difficult to focus on one element of their game and stop it and gain an advantage. You have to react to their post play, their perimeter. They can put the ball on the floor, recognize open shots or recognize when they can wait and get even better shots.”
 
The pressure is off for Serbia now as they have two days before their Semi-Final.
 
“They have qualified for the World Championship with this win and have the opportunity to continue their quest for a medal,” Blatt said.
 
“There are some games when you can come and make a lot of statements and excuses, but this isn’t one of them. They dominated in every way, every category. Anything else I would say would be useless.”
 
Jeff Taylor, Katowice
FIBA