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USA Pre-Olympic Exibition Games in China
USA To Face Russia 3 Aug 08, and Australia 5 Aug 08
In USA Basketball International Challenge.
The United States will face 2007 EuroBasket champion Russia on Aug. 3 (3 p.m. Shanghai local time), and meet 2007 Oceania champion Australia on Aug. 5 (8 p.m. Shanghai local time). Both games will be held at the Qizhong Arena (13,708 capacity) in Shanghai, China. Additional games that are part of the 2008 USA Basketball International Challenge will be announced at a later date.
“The games versus Russia and Australia will without doubt be very challenging and feature a pair of opponents who are their zone’s champions and very talented teams. The Qizhong Arena is an outstanding venue for these games and the USA Basketball International Challenge will afford basketball fans in and around Shanghai a remarkable opportunity to see three of the world’s very best teams show their abilities,” said Jerry Colangelo, managing director of the USA Basketball Men’s Senior National Team program.
“Our games in the USA Basketball International Challenge are a critical part of our team’s overall preparations. All of the teams involved are very competitive and respected international teams, so we know we will be challenged each time we take the court. Our early arrival in China will afford us the opportunity to adjust to the time change and help us focus on our final training period. Needless to say, this training and these games will be critical to our success,” said USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski.
The USA’s Aug. 3 opponent, Russia, has been absent from major international basketball competitions since the 2002 World Championship. However, after posting a last second 60-59 victory over reigning World Champion Spain in the title game of the EuroBasket 2007, Russia is back among the world’s elite teams. American David Blatt is head coach of the Russian squad that is led by Utah Jazz 6’9” star forward Andrel Kirilenko. Named MVP of the ‘07 EuroBasket, Kirilenko averaged a EuroBasket fifth best 18.0 ppg. and a third best 8.6 rpg. American-born guard J.R. Holden, who played collegiately at Bucknell University, was granted Russian citizenship by President Vladimir Putin and is a critical component of Russia’s formidable team. Holden averaged 11.6 ppg., and in the 2007 EuroBasket qualifying round with no Kirilenko, upped his scoring in the five games to 23.0 ppg. Victor Khryapa, who has played the past four seasons in the NBA and in 2007-08
was a member of the Chicago Bulls, scored 11.2 ppg. on 40.0 percent (16-40) shooting from 3-point. The last time the USA and Russia clashed at a senior level event was in the 2002 FIBA World Championship, a game the USA took 106-82 (9/2/02). The last Olympic meeting between the two hoop powers was in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. Again the U.S. came out on top, earning an 85-70 victory (9/28/00).
Australia, which won the 2007 FIBA Oceania Championship by taking the first two games of a best of three games series with rival New Zealand, will center its hopes around Milwaukee Bucks 7’0” center Andrew Bogut. Bogut at the 2006 World Championship paced the Aussies’ offense averaging 12.8 ppg. and grabbing 6.2 rpg. Guard C.J. Bruton added 11.7 ppg. and shot 36.7 percent (11-30) from three, while former Chicago Bull and 2008 NBL MVP Chris Anstey is back in the national team fold. David Anderson, a 6’11” center who is a standout in his own right in Europe, averaged 12.3 ppg. in the series against New Zealand, while guard Patrick Mills, who in 2007-08 was freshman at Saint Mary’s University ( Calif.) and aided the Gaels to the NCAA Tournament, added 10.3 ppg. versus New Zealand. The USA and Australia last faced each other at the 2006 World Championship in Japan and the USA posted a 113-73 win (8/27/06). The USA’s last contest against the Aussies in an Olympic setting came in the 2004 Games where the Americans emerged with an 89-79 victory (8/19/04).
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