Day 2

RUS (1-1) - 24 30 20 24 - 98
CHN (0-2) - 16 13 12 19 - 60

At some point during the second quarter, after Ivana Tretiak slammed in a missed shot with one hand, China quickly called a time out. You could see the look on Redawn Fenwatcher's and Todd Hu's faces as they went back to the bench: they couldn't believe it was happening again. And much earlier this time, as Russia opened up a 25-point lead by halftime. Though the Chinese team regrouped and played better in the second half, it couldn't spare them from a 98-60 loss.

One of the CPBL players, Liu Weiyi, a deer from Guangzhou, had a solid game off the bench and ended up leading the team in points with 14. Song-Hwa Cho led the Chinese team with 12 rebounds and Fenwatcher again led in assists with five.

But it was pretty much all the Russians from start to finish. Just about everyone contributed, right down to backup forward Vlasi Kozlov, who scored a couple of buckets in the fourth when the game was well in hand.

Kasa Yalenchka led the Russians with 26 points and 12 assists and Tretiak added 12 points. Surprisingly, backup center Griff Rasputin led the team wtih 11 rebounds, belaying his age with a spirited inside attack against Hu and Xau Xian-Xu.

JPN (2-0) - 20 19 16 19 - 74
CAN (0-2) - 16 16 19 21 - 72

After the third quarter, when the score was still low and Canada was still close with four points, people started to wonder: could Japan really beat them? Was the beating they gave Canada more than a fluke? Was Canada really having this many problems already? Charles Yotechuk did all he could to stop that in the fourth quarter, taking on Shirley Takamoto himself and getting his patented bank shots to fall at that point.

Veteran point guard Takeushi Nojimo did some capable backup work with Ren Inoue and kept Japan's steady offense going when the shorts were largely weren't falling for anyone. Luckily, in the fourth quarter, Kenta Yamashita took charge and scored a couple of critical buckets in the frame.

With eight seconds to go, Canada had the ball and a 72-all tie. Yves Carbonneau was taking the dribble setting up a play against Shou Masaru when he suddenly lost the ball! Masaru, with all the speed he could muster, picked up the ball and ran past Carbonneau without getting fouled and laid the ball in to give Japan the 74-72 lead. Canada was able to get a time out and get the ball to half-court. The inbound to tall Charles Burgh was successful, but his hook shot bounced off the back of the rim. The jubilation and frustration on both sides were evident.

Yotechuk led Canada with a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds and Takamoto led Japan with 15 points. Yamashita missed a double-double, but had 11 rebounds for Japan. Carbonneau and Nojimo led their respective teams in assists.


AUS (1-1) - 20 22 23 20 - 85
USA (2-0) - 20 24 26 27 - 97

To the surprise of some, but not to the American team, the game was close once more. The Aussies tried a more bruising inside attack with Barnaby Jazz and Aisha Melbourne to start. Unlike the first game, Adam Tevela and Zack Tate were more up to the task and did a good job of defending the rim. A lot of the points of the first half came from Ryan Malone's and Wayne Kirkpartick's shooting. The Americans countered with a steady stream of buckets from several players that kept the Australians guessing: a jump shot by Valencia Zeraus. An inside muscle and layup by Lemond Conkale. A fadeaway flap shot from Brad Pullman. A bruising dunk from Renee Fiora.

To their credit, the Aussies were only down by two at the half and kept within scoring distance when the American team pulled away slightly by the end of the third period. Anthony Boris showed a lot of spirit with his inside play and hard jams. But the telling moment came late in the fourth when the Americans showcased their sheer depth.

Rene Lacoste took point with Kelvin Haley at the other guard position. Tevela, Conkale and Eli Shuck were in for the Americans. Jazz and Melbourne were still out for Australia, with Bobby-Rae Brine, Jira Martin and Alan Murphy out there with them. Lacoste took the ball down the court and was greeted in a rotation by Jazz. He quickly passed to Hailey who sized up Alan Murphy. Without warning, the cougar drove and sped past Murphy. The roo tried to jump up and defend him, but Kelvin slammed the ball home and the whistle blew, electing a yowl of celebration from Kelvin and a near-deafening explosion of cheers.

That moment cemented Team USA's hold on the game and they went on to win by twelve with a 97-85 score. Valencia Zeraus led them with 13 points and 7 assists. Zack Tate and Eli Shuck led with 9 rebounds each. Tevela also poured in 12 points and Hailey had 9.

For Australia, Wayne Kirkpatrick had 18 points to lead them. Melbourne had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Brine led the Aussies with six assists.