Russia’s Olympics overachievers met their match, as Spain prove too much at crunch time. Spain prevailed 67-59 in a sloppy yet endearing game, one in which the Spanish were able to overcome a brutal first half (20 points!), to tie the surprising Russians at 46 after 3 quarters. The Spaniards completed the improbable comeback by holding the Bears to 13 points in Q4, while burying 21 of their own.

The Raptors’ Jose Calderon was brilliant.  He was 4/9 from distance, and hit both his free throws, to end with 14 points in 33+ minutes, just behind Pau Gasol’s 16 points in a few seconds more of PT. Underscoring the strange nature of this game, Jose took no shots from inside the arc. He also had as many turnovers (3) as assists, which is not a result we in Toronto are used to seeing. Regardless, he did exactly what the Spaniards needed under pressure, and sealed the win with his splendid ball-handling.

Andrei Kirilenko has been superb in this tournament so far, but will have to shoulder a large chunk of the blame for Russia’s defeat. His shooting was disappointing, and that’s being kind – 1/7 from inside the arc, and 1/6 from distance. Even his free-throw shooting was off at 5/10. He did contribute 3 blocks, 2 steals, and 8 boards, so there was nothing lacking in his quickness and anticipation, but to shoot so poorly in such an important game will no doubt eat away at him for much time to come. Sasha Kaun led the Russian attack with 14 points on 7/10 shooting.

The statistical differences between the two teams was so close, you could throw a blanket over them, as the old horse-players would say. Spain had 1 more rebound (37-36), and 2 few turnovers (11-13), and both teams had 5 steals.

Spain has advanced to the game and opponent they wanted – Gold vs. U.S.A.  Watch this space for our preview.

Brian Boake is a staff writer for Raptors Rapture. “Like” Raptors Rapture on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @RaptorsRapture for all the latest news and updates about the best damn NBA team from Canada. 

While Lithuania’s inclusion in the final eight was seen as a guarantee coming into the tournament, Kestutis Kemzura’s crew wasn’t overly impressive in the preliminaries. Despite being a veteran group, the Lithuanians have been a model of inconsistency on their way to the knockout round.

First came a 23-point loss to Argentina. Then a not-as-impressive-as-it-sounds 19-point win over Nigeria. They did produce one nearly magical performance—a 99-94 loss to the United States—but that was sandwiched between a disappointing loss to France and a victory over winless Tunisia, a scrappy team that legitimately dominated Lithuania for the first three quarters.

Meanwhile, the Russians wreaked all sorts of havoc in Group B, destroying Great Britain and China before edging out close victories over Brazil and Spain. They did lose to Australia on a Patty Mills buzzer-beater, but since they had already secured the group’s top seed, their complacency can be forgiven.

For Lithuania, the Toronto Raptors’ own Linas Kleiza has been the catalyst behind their success, averaging 15.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. His Russian counterpart, Andrei Kirilenko, is also having an excellent tournament, putting up 18.2 points and 6.2 boards through the first five games. In a game that should be evenly-matched, don’t be surprised if the performance of the stars ultimately sways the outcome.

Although I would love to keep watching Kleiza (and Raps’ rookie Jonas Valanciunas as he rides the bench), I’m expecting the Lithuanians to be eliminated today. If they play like they did against the U.S., they will likely advance. Unfortunately, they haven’t proven they can sustain that level of play for extended periods of time.

Lithuania will have their moments, but when the final buzzer sounds, Russia will move on to their first semifinal in over 20 years.

Austin Green is the editor of Raptors Rapture. “Like” Raptors Rapture on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @RaptorsRapture for all the latest news and updates about the best damn NBA team from Canada.