Argentina vs. Russia: Keys to Victory for Basketball Bronze-Medal Game

Argentina and Russia’s men’s basketball teams will square off in the bronze-medal game on Sunday. Some may consider this to be a consolation prize, but in the big scheme of things, any medal by a country other than the United States in men’s basketball is an accomplishment.

Team USA’s dominance has pretty much guaranteed another gold medal for the country. That leaves silver and bronze for the rest of the pool.

A win here will be the next best thing for an Argentinian squad that had high hopes for their 2012 Olympic chances.

Russia, though, seemingly came out of nowhere to advance to the semifinals. Prior to the Olympics, they were ranked as the 11th-best national team following the 2011 FIBA championships. In the process, the Russians pushed the highly-touted, second-ranked Spanish squad to its limit before losing and being bumped to the bronze-medal game. 

Keys for Argentina

Ball movement and Execution

Argentina has the better shooters and must make the most out of this advantage. Manu Ginobili has come out hot in most of his Olympic appearances, but has faded as games wear on after teams have made adjustments to contain him.

Part of it is his age; the other part is the lack of ball movement and offensive execution by the Argentinians. They have the NBA-caliber perimeter shooters and two point guards capable of facilitating things for them. They just need to execute.

Force turnovers

Russia’s team isn’t terrible, but they have coughed up 13.7 turnovers per game in London. Argentina’s defense hasn’t been as tough as they would have liked, but their 87.1 PPG allowed mark is inflated due to two meetings with Team USA. Without an effective point guard to facilitate things, Argentina must press and capitalize, forcing the Russians into making mistakes. 

Keys for Russia

Win the rebound battle

Russia has a two-inch average height advantage, and it shows in their front-court. Timofey Mozgov (7’1”) and Andrei Kirilenko (6’10”) tower over their counterparts on the Argentinian side. Boxing Luis Scola and the smaller, quicker frontcourt of the Argentinians will dictate the pace of the game and help the Russians keep things close.

Feed off of Andrei Kirilenko

Kirilenko has done it all this summer for the Russian squad. They’ve gotten to this point mainly because of their star’s performance, and they will need to continue to do so if they have any prayer of pulling off an upset against the better equipped Argentina team.

A bronze medal for the Russians will come as long as they ride the hot hand of Kirilenko. To this point, he’s averaging 17.1 PPG and hauling in 7.4 RPG.

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