London, England

Andrei Kirilenko scored 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lift Russia past Lithuania, 83-74, giving the Russians a chance to win their first Olympic men's basketball medal since the break-up of the Soviet Union.

The Russians could be headed for a collision with the United States for the first time since 1972 if they hurdle Spain in the semifinal. Spain earlier defeated France, 66-59, in the quarterfinal. Even with a loss, the Russians have a chance to play for the bronze medal.

"I would love to win a medal and be part of history for Russian basketball," said Russia coach David Blatt, an American who has spent seven years revamping the Russian basketball program.

"This is a big step for our country and our basketball. I think we deserve this," said Russia captain Sergey Monya after the game.

Center Timofey Mosgov contributed 17 points off the bench while Victor Khryapa added 12 points for the Russians while Rimantas Kaukenas scored 19 points to lead the Lithuanians, who failed to get a double-digit output from their starters.

Lithuania's Linas Kleiza, who plays for the Toronto Raptors in the NBA, played just 24 minutes due to foul trouble, finishing with four points on 1-of-7 shooting.

The Russians grabbed a 17-10 lead after closing the first quarter with an 11-1 run behind eight points from Vitaliy Fridzon and Timofey Mozgov.

In the third quarter, Victor Khryapa scored five points, Kirilenko added four and Mozgov had a 3-point play in a 12-2 run to boost their lead to 46-32.

Lithuania countered with 11 straight points, capped by a three-pointer by Kaukenas, to pull within 54-53 in the fourth quarter.

But Russia answered with an 8-0 attack behind Monya's a 3-pointer and a layup, to widen the gap at 64-55 and Lithuania never got any closer than five points the rest of the way. Kirilenko completed a 3-point play and sealed the triumph with two foul shots.

In 1992, the Lithuanians defeated the Unified Team made up of 12 of 15 former Soviet republics to win bronze in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Lithuania also won Olympic bronze in 1996 and 2000 but lost bronze-medal games in 2004 and 2008.

 

In other quarterfinal action, The United States defeated Australia 119-86; Spain topped France 66-59 to advance; and Argentina defeated Brazil 82-77 to advance to the semifinals. In the semifinals the United States will play Argentina, while Spain will play Russia