OLYM - Spain shake off rust, Kirilenko torches GB

LONDON (Olympics) - Spain overcame a nervy start to see off China, while Brazil held off Australia late on and Andrei Kirilenko poured in 35 points to lead Russia past hosts Great Britain in Group B action as the Olympic Basketball Tournament for Men got underway on Sunday.

The Spaniards looked on edge early on but eventually settled down somewhat and did enough to register a 97-81 win over the Chinese.

It wasn't the most convincing display by the two-time European champions and Olympic silver medalists, but they now will look to improve from here.

"We always start a little bit anxious. We managed to win a tough game and that makes me happy because we were practically perfect in the last quarter," said Spain point guard Jose Calderon, one of four players to score in double figures for Sergio Scariolo's side.

"Our last game was on 24 July and since then we haven't trained that much so we were missing a little bit of rhythm. But we will fix it and get better as the days go by," cautioned Pau Gasol who had 21 points and 11 rebounds in the winning cause.

Scariolo re-inserted Marc Gasol back in the starting five after he overcame a shoulder injury but team captain Juan Carlos Navarro did not start as he continues to get over back and foot ailments. He did provide a much-needed offensive boost off the bench with 14 points.

With Yi Jianlian leading the way - he finished with a game-high 30 points - China were within 19-17 after the first quarter but Spain got their offense going in the second frame and there was little Bob Donewald's charges could do to slow them down as they trailed 53-41 at the break.

The Chinese got within 69-60 in the third period before Spain went on the attack and a 9-0 spurt in the early stages of the final frame allowed them to pull away 78-62 and they never looked back.

Earlier in the day, Brazil marked their return to the Olympic Basketball Tournament after a 16-year absence by edging out Australia 75-71.

The Brazilians however did give themselves a scare as they saw a double-digit lead - which at one point stood at 13 - almost vanish.

The first half was closely contested with the Boomers on top 20-19 after the opening period thanks and the Brazilians edged in front 36-35 at halftime.

Ruben Magnano's team, with Marcelinho Huertas orchestrating the offense to perfection, carried the momentum into the second half to take a 56-49 lead into the fourth quarter and stretched the lead to double-digits.

Joe Ingles and David Andersen found the range late in the game to get Australia within striking distance but Brazil did enough to hold them off.

"It was a great first game and we will now focus on the next game. The team has been feeling great and we are very happy," said Anderson Varajeo who contributed 12 points and seven rebounds.

With the fans firmly in their corner, hosts Great Britain got off to an encouraging start against powerhouse Russia, keeping the game close in the first period, at the end of which they trailed 24-19.

However, the hosts' inability to stop Kirilenko - who had 17 points in the first half alone - and Aleksey Shved proved to be their downfall in the 95-75 loss as the pair combined for 51 points while Vitaliy Fridzon and Timofey Mozgov provided key contributions off the Russian bench.

Luol Deng and Pops Mensah-Bonsu combined for 48 points but Great Britain were hurt by their poor shooting from three-point range (four of 26).

FIBA