Lee Seounghyun (R) of South Korea goes up to the basket during the group B match between South Korea and Russia at the 2019 FIBA World Cup in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, on Sept. 2, 2019. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)
WUHAN, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Russia beat South Korea 87-73 for its second victory in Group B at the FIBA basketball World Cup here on Monday.
Russia thus secured a last 16 spot with one game remaining, alongside Argentina who also had two victories. Both sides will clash on Wednesday to decide the winner of their group.
Andrey Vorontsevich pocketed 13 points and seven rebounds for Russia, while Ra Guna contributed 19 points and 10 rebounds for South Korea.
Playing an 11-5 run into the game, Russia built a two-digit advantage before South Korea managed to narrow it to 27-18 in the first quarter.
Ra stepped forward to help the Korean team to trim the deficit to four points midway in the second period, and Russia tightened its defense against the Korean shots from the arc, leading 40-37 at interval.
Russian captain Vitaly Fridzon suffered a foot injury at the beginning of the second half, but Sergey Karasev made five points in a row to help Russia regain an eight-point advantage.
The European powerhouse carried a 14-point cushion into the last quarter, denying a fierce firing of three-pointers from South Korea, keeping the double-digit lead till the last whistle.
Russia will next meet Argentina, who won their pre-World Cup friendly 85-64 on August 26 in East China's Ningbo.
For the coming match against Argentina, Russian coach Sergey Bazarevic said that the South American side is a very good team with many outstanding point guards.
"I am personally fond of (Facundo) Campazzo, because he plays an very important role in his team.
"They beat us (last time), so we have to learn from that defeat," Bazerevic said.
