Olympics: Bogut, Aussies get best of Kirilenko, Russia

BEIJING — Andrew Bogut individually and the Australian men's basketball team as a whole made a statement to the naysayers Down Under, sending a message to soon-to-be-departing Russia at the same time with a 95-80 Group A victory Saturday.

Criticized after opening qualifying play with a pair of lackluster losses, Bogut and the Aussies came back in a big way, with Bogut scoring 22 points to lead Australia over the 2007 EuroBasket champs.

"A lot of people have doubted us along the way," Bogut said. "No one believes in us but us."

With the win, Australia (2-2) earned a berth in Tuesday's quarterfinals. And with the loss, Russia (1-3) has no hopes making the medal round, playing Monday's pool finale against Argentina for pride only.

In fact, the whole quarterfinal field is set for next Wednesday, with China's 59-55 evening victory over Germany clinching a spot for the hosts.

The four quarterfinals from Group A are Lithuania, Argentina, Croatia and Australia, and from Group B, the United States, Spain, Greece and China. Monday's games will help set seeding.

But back to Bogut leading the Aussies.

"Individual performance means nothing in the Olympic Games," said Bogut, whose 8-of-13 shooting included a pair of 3-pointers and who added a team-high eight rebounds as well as two assists and a steal.

"We simply learned from two bad games," he added. "It was a great game for me, but the most important thing is that we're going to the next round of the Olympics."

While the former University of Utah star and former top pick in the NBA Draft was shining, Utah Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko's shooting mirrored the struggles of Russia (1-3), which has dropped its last three games.

Kirilenko managed just six points on 1-of-10 shooting, adding six boards, five assists, three steals and a blocked shot. Viktor Khryapa led Russia with 21 points, and J.R. Holden added 20.

"At the beginning of the game, we did not concentrate enough on defense and made many turnovers, Kirilenko said. "As we lose too much in the first half, it is too late for us to catch up at the second."

Australia led by 11 points after one quarter and by 16 at intermission. Russia started the second half with a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to seven, but Australia — which never trailed — eventually led by as many as 21 points before settling for the 15-point final margin.

Both teams have something to fight for in Monday's pool finales.