Krstic helps Serbia upset Argentina
September 2, 2010
KAYSERI, Turkey (AP)—Aleksandar Rasic made four free throws in the last 11seconds Thursday to help Serbia upset top-ranked Argentina 84-82 and win Group Aat the basketball world championship.
Argentina captain and Houston Rockets forward Luis Scola(notes) sank two freethrows with 38 seconds left to make it 77-77, but Serbia’s Dusko Savanovic hit a3-pointer with 18 seconds remaining.
Savanovic led Serbia with 19 points and Oklahoma City Thunder center NenadKrstic(notes) added 18 points and eight rebounds. Krstic played his second game after athree-game suspension for a brawl against Greece.
“If we can beat Argentina, we can beat anyone,” Savanovic said.
Scola had 32 points, his fourth straight game of 30 or more. He isArgentina’s all-time leading scorer at the worlds with 357 points. Ernesto“Finito” Gehrmann scored 331 points in the 1967 and 1974 events.
Both teams finished with 4-1 records.
Scola had 10 points in the fourth quarter, but Krstic and Savanovic combinedfor 22 while battling Argentina’s top player. By bringing in Rasic near the end,Serbia made sure it had its strongest free-throw shooter on the floor.
Guard Milos Teodosic had the most playing time in the Serbian team, 28minutes, and added 16 points. Serbia outrebounded Argentina 43-32.
“This was probably the best game so far,” Serbia coach Dusan Ivkovic said.“We trailed 20-7 at the start and we came back to finish the first quarter onlytwo behind.”
Carlos Delfino(notes) of the Milwaukee Bucks played the entire 40 minutes andfinished with 13 points, but none in the fourth quarter for Argentina. Scolaplayed 35 minutes and made 12 of 19 shots.
“We have learned a lot from Argentina in the last 10 years, especiallytheir fighting spirit,” Ivkovic said. “We also learned that you can’t relaxeven for a second against Argentina and their veterans.”
Argentina coach Sergio Hernandez said “two of the best teams in the worldshowed great talent and big character and personality. It was a tough but fairgame.”
Hernandez waved away suggestions that the loss may benefit Argentina becauseits next game is not until Tuesday, while Serbia must play on Saturday.
“We don’t care when we play, we don’t care whom we play and we want to winevery game,” Hernandez said.
Argentina guard Pablo Prigioni said the extra time would help the teamrecover and allow center Fabricio Oberto(notes), who has yet to play, to recover fullyfrom a gastric flu and fever.
“This is the positive thing we can take from this game,” Prigioni said.
Ivkovic complained that the scheduling punished the top team in the groupand said it would be tough to recover, especially with travel to Istanbul.
“The team that stays in Istanbul has a definite advantage,” he said.
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