July 12, 2009 in News
Day 9 in Belgrade. Serbia clinch the title - Jul 11, 2009 (by Eurobasket News)
Final
Serbia – Russia 73:51
Serbia triumphed at the World University Games in Belgrade. In 2007 Serbia stopped one step away from the title but the home tournament brought the long-awaited success. Nemanja Protic (182-G-86) scored 19 points to pace the hosts past Russia.
Serbia set the flying tempo in the opening period. Russia struggled to match the rhythm as Serbia cleared off to an 11-point distance at the first break. Russia gradually adjusted and started to make their presence felt. They outgunned Serbia 20:17 in the second period to stay hopeful at halftime. But the second half became a nightmare for a Sergey Belov team. Low accuracy plagued Russia as they struggled to keep close with the home team. Serbia notched a 14-point advantage at three-quarter time. The home team remained aggressive defensively in the final quarter allowing their opponents to account for only 10 points.
Marko Simonovic (202-F-86, agency: Beo Basket) connected for 12 points for Serbia. Milan Macvan and Nemanja Bjelica added 8 points each in the victory. Aleksey Kotishevskiy (190-F-85) responded with 13 points for Russia. Eugeny Voronov had 12 points in the losing case.
Serbia: Nemanja Protic 19, Marko Simonovic 12, Milan Macvan 8, Nemanja Bjelica 8
Russia: Aleksey Kotishevskiy 13, Eugeny Voronov 12
Bronze medals game
USA – Israel 91:80
The USA celebrated the victory in the bronze medals game at the World University Games in Serbia. A Bo Ryan team held off pesky Israel to occupy the third position.
The first quarter was a close affair with neither team able to take a serious lead. The North American team enjoyed a slender 24:22 advantage at the first break. The US team paid more attention to defense in the second quarter to hold Israel to 14 points. The margin grew at 7 points with twenty minutes gone in the game. Israel increased the tempo in the third quarter. They accounted for 28 points in the frame and got within 6 at three-quarter time. But the USA stayed cold-blooded in the dying moments keeping Israel at safe distance till the final buzzer.
Lazar Hayward (198-F-86) scored 14 points and pulled down 9 boards for the USA. Da’Sean Butler added 13 points, while Talor Battle delivered 12 points in the victory. Elishay Kadir (203-F-87, agency: Avi Zilberman) replied with 28 points and 9 boards for Israel. Gal Mekel had 16 points in defeat.
The United States had a 43:37 advantage on the glass and suffered only 10 turnovers down the stretch. Both teams accounted for 46% of field goals.
USA: Lazar Hayward 14, Da’Sean Butler 13, Talor Battle 12
Israel: Elishay Kadir 28, Gal Mekel 16 Read the rest of this entry →
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