Argentina says adios to Russia with 91-79 win

Argentina fought off a fourth quarter surge by Russia to win 91-79 in the last game of the Men's Basketball preliminary round on Monday, August 18.

Argentina seemed to be on course for a swift victory when it closed the first quarter 27-16 and the half 45-39 without losing its lead more than once. Luis Scola and Andres Nocioni each scored 14 points in the first half, and Nocioni was on fire with 100 percent shooting including three three-pointers. Russia's Andrey Kirilenko also shot with perfect accuracy for 12 points in the first half, and he pulled five boards to help his team out-rebound Argentina 17-11.

Coming back from the break the Russian team came within five points when Sergey Bykov hit a foul shot after his made basket to bring the score 49-44, but Argentina charged forward 72-64.

In keeping with Russia's trend of opening each quarter strong, the fourth period saw a final push from Russia that even resulted in the team's second lead of the game, 73-72 after Kirilenko went to the foul line. Russia lost the lead, but J.R. Holden hit a three-pointer in response to two-points from Scola to narrow the gap 76-75 still in Argentina's favor. In the end, Russia couldn't surpass the defending Olympic champion and Argentina was able to regroup and pull out a win.

Scola racked up a staggering 37 points and eight rebounds without touching the bench once all game. Nocioni contributed 19 points and nine rebounds by the end, and Ginobili shot for 12 points with four assists. Russian captain Kirilenko led his team with 23 points, followed by Holden with 19 points and nine rebounds. Bykov and Andrey Vorontsevich tied with 10 points netted.

Argentina enters the quarterfinal as the second seed from group A, while Russia now exits the tournament.