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Russians eager for revenge, the Swiss missing two best players

After two defeats, Russia have no room for error. Switzerland are arriving without their best two players and are perfect for raising the scoring ratio

Switzerland shocked Russia in the first round by winning 79-77 at home. The Russian team were behind by as much as 20 points at the end of the third quarter, managing to tie the game in the end, but not to win. It was a great shock for the Russians, but their camp sent only positive vibes, which was a necessity at a time when a strong Italy was arriving for an away match.

In a very defense-oriented match, the Russians got 12 rebounds on offense in the first half, out-rebounding their shorter opponents 29-18 and taking a slight lead. Italy had especially big problems with center Mozgov, which is not strange since they lack a player who can parry him in height.

Russia took a 53-43 lead at the start of the last quarter, but then Gentile flashed with 7 quick points, and Datome adds a three pointer that ties the score. The Italians played better in the finish, Russia failed to score a three pointer for the win in their last possession, and scored their second loss, a 65-63 this time.

Mozgov played his best match, scoring 17 points and 10 rebounds, but no other player scored double digits, and that made the difference. Although they were better at rebounding, 44-34, they failed to capitalize their dominance. Three point shooting was a paltry 2/16, which was major issue.

Coach Pashutin offered some comfort for the Russians:

-We played well for two quarters, but lost in a close finish at the end. This team has character and will certainly fight to the end- and Mozgov did not criticize either:

- We were very well prepared, but lost our focus in the last five minutes. We made some errors in our picks and shooting did not work, while Italy played fantastic defense in the last 10 minutes.

Russia must now look to get second place and advance that way. As the Swiss owe them a big 'debt', and are arriving significantly weakened, it is to be expected that they will 'cash in' here.

After the high of their great victory against Russia, Switzerland landed hard with a 90-60 defeat against Italy, but that was not their main problem.

Prior to that match, the new NBA player Capela got injured in practice, and will no longer play in the qualifications. He was their only center, and was looking good as the bench option for Houston. Immediately afterwards they lost another pillar of their game, Greg Brunner, who will be out for up to six months with a shoulder injury, and the Swiss really have an impossible mission ahead of them.

They already had a shortage of tall players, and are now missing their starter center and power forward. Italy punished them hard for that, and they were behind 44-23 by halftime, which rose to the final -30 points in the end, nothing surprising given they lost rebounding 42-30 and had only 8 assists compared to Italy's 24.

Dušan Mlađan is their only real offensive option now, and was the best scorer with 18 points, but shot 6/17. He also confirmed that they could not do it without the injured players:

- Italy played a great game. We had a minimal chance only with Brunner and Capela. They are simply better than us, and we're a young team. We have to win in Russia.

Mlađan's hope will hardly come true, as that would be too much for this limited team, and coach Aleksić is aware of that:

- With Capela and Brunner gone we lost about 40 points and 20 rebounds per game. It's very hard for me to prepare a game that way.

Russia still haven't won after two matches played. The Swiss shocked them in the first round, and then they dropped a 10 point lead at home against Italy. They admitted the Swiss surprised them, and it was clear that the fact they chalked that game off as a win in advance rebounded at them. They lost the first position and now must look to get to the Eurobasket among the seven second ranked teams. A tough but achievable task. The first step would be to beat Switzerland and rack up the scoring ratio. Luckily for them, there should be no problems there as the Swiss lost their best two players, NBA center Capela and power forward Brunner. The two were the main names of the earlier victory with a combined 26 points and 10 rebounds. Their center lineup is very thin now, and the Russians have a huge advantage under the rim in Mozgov. Italy beat Switzerland in rebounding by 12 rebounds, and Russia in turn beat Italy by 10. This makes it clear that a victory towards 30 points should be imminent today.