RUS – Russia not at full strength yet
MOSCOW (2010 FIBA World Championship) - Russia’s men are stepping up their preparations for the FIBA World Championship but without several players deemed essential if they are to seriously challenge for a place on the podium. Andrei Kirilenko, Viktor Khryapa and JR Holden – the country’s three stars on their EuroBasket 2007 gold-medal ...
MOSCOW (2010 FIBA World Championship) - Russia’s men are stepping up their preparations for the FIBA World Championship but without several players deemed essential if they are to seriously challenge for a place on the podium.
Andrei Kirilenko, Viktor Khryapa and JR Holden – the country’s three stars on their EuroBasket 2007 gold-medal winning side in Spain – along with emerging CSKA Moscow center Alexander ‘Sasha’ Kaun, recent New York Knicks signing Timofey Mozgov and guard Anton Ponkrashov have all received permission to join the national team later in the build-up to Turkey.
Kirilenko’s absence casts further doubt on his appearance in Ankara, where Russia will go up against hosts Turkey, Greece, Ivory Coast, China and Puerto Rico.
After missing last year’s EuroBasket because of the need for he and his wife to focus on the adoption of their baby daughter, Kirilenko had to sit out much of this season with the Utah Jazz due to a strained calf.
From Thursday until July 25, Russia coach David Blatt will put 15 Russian players through their paces in Novogorsk, outside Moscow.
Russia squad for July 15-25 training camp: Sergei Monya, Andrew Vorontsevich, Nikita Kurbanov, Ivan Nelyubov, Alexei Zhukanenko, Gregory Shukhovtsev, Sergei Bykov, Vitaly Fridzon, Alex Swede, Alexei Zozulin, Evgeny Voronov, Dmitry Khvostov, Maxim Grigoriev, Victor Zvarykin and Eugene Kolesnikov.
FIBA