ARG/AUS – Argentina came back strong to beat Australia

KAYSERI (2010 FIBA World Championship) – After being down for most of the game, Argentina came back and defeated Australia 74-72 to close day two of competition in Group A of the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Kayseri.

After a bad start in the tournament offensively, especially from the perimeter, Australian began the game with a great shooting performance, especially from three point range as they made 4 in the first quarter and finished up 25-20. Patrick Mills had 10 points and made two three pointers.

In the second quarter the Australian shooting wasn’t as efficient as in the first quarter and Argentina stayed close thanks to their second chance points. After a 27-27 tie, Australia pulled away thanks to Joe Ingles and Mills who continued with his good shooting touch. At the end of the first half the score was 39-33 in favor of Australia.

Australia stayed on top in the third quarter and Argentina showed some life as Luis Scola scored 6 straight points to bring Argentina to just 4 points (53-49). Then Matt Nielsen made a three pointer and Australia finished up 56-52. The clutch shooting by Joe Ingles was also key in the Australians dominance and had 17 points at that moment.

Despite being down, Argentina never panicked and used their defense to stop the Australians and finally got their first lead of the game after a three pointer by Leo Gutierrez with 6:31 to be up 60-59. Then another three pointer by Gutierrez completed a 13-0 run to be up 65-59 with 3:48 left. The offense of Luis Scola kept Argentina on top until Patrick Mills made a three pointer to tie it at 69. After that Pablo Prigioni made a clutch three point basket and Scola secured from the free throw line.

Scola finished the game with 31 points while Leo Gutierrez had 17 from the bench to lead Argentina in their second win. Fabricio Oberto missed this game due to gastroenteritis and is expected to recover in the next 24 hours.

Quotes:

Sergio Hernandez (Head coach, Argentina): I believe that Australia would be the next Argentina. They are young and they have a very passionate coach. For the game except the last 5 minutes Australia played better than us. But we finished the game. Also Oberto was sick and it also affected our game.

Carlos Delfino (Guard, Argentina): “It was a tough game and tough finish. We fought from behind but we had the chance to win the game in last 3-4 minutes. I think it is a big victory for us in this group. Australia is young but we were more experienced than them.

Brett Brown (Head coach, Australia): “Congratulations to Argentina. It has always been an honor to play against Argentina. They are a well trained team like us. I am very disappointed to lose the game but I am pleased with the performance of my players. Both teams played well but I congratulate Argentina because they found the way to win.”