Day 4 of FIBA Recap 2010
With the US off in action today, Team Lithuania stole the headlines with a 18-point comeback against Spain, the World's number two team. Spain had an answer to Lithuania's rallies all game long, Lithuania went on a 10-3 run to end the third quarter, cutting the Spaniard's 18-point lead to just 11. To kick-off the final period, Lithuania kept chipping at the lead on the back of Jonas Maciulis' play in the paint. Linas Kleiza led the team with 17 points and 8 rebounds in the comeback victory.
Spain's big men, Marc Gasol and Jorge Garbajosa dominated inside, combining to score 11-for-19 from the field for 29 total points. The play of Ricky Rubio was a letdown against the Lithuanians poor backcourt as the former No. 2 overall pick was just 1-for-7 from the floor for 3 points, 2 assists and 2 turnovers. Spain's bench may have been the real let down as six players scored 10 points in relief.
Hometown Turkey started each half with a bang and held off a fourth quarter comeback attempt by Greece to secure victory 76-65. In the first and third quarters, Turkey outscored the Greek squad 46-27, highlighted by Ersan Ilyasova's outstanding play, as he went a perfect 6-for-6 from beyond the arc. The team's two big men, Semih Erden and Omer Asik combined to go 8-for-9 from the field, showing why they will be able to produce in the NBA next season for the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls.
Kirk Penney of New Zealand continues to light it up as he led the Kiwis with 26 points en route to victory over Lebanon 108-76.
By Chris Andrews
