Soviets Come Up Short in Overtime Loss to AIA

Short on players, a very tall Soviet team just fell short in a 92-90 overtime loss to Athletes in Action Saturday night at the San Diego Sports Arena.

With three of their eight players having fouled out, the Soviet team was in a position where it would have had to play assistant coach Valery Miloserdov if another player fouled out.

Miloserdov is familiar with overtime games against American teams. In 1972, he played on the Soviet gold medal-winning Olympic team that defeated the United States in the controversial overtime game decided on a layup at the buzzer.

But now Miloserdov, in his late 30s, is the assistant coach for the Soviet team. He was dressed in sweats at Saturday’s game, but he hasn’t played in a game in three years.

“We didn’t have anyone left except Miloserdov and the head of the delegation,” Soviet Coach Armand Kraulin said.

Trailing, 92-90, with 10 seconds to play in overtime, the Soviet team took the ball out of bounds from under its basket. Sharp-shooting guard Sharunas Marchulenis received a long pass over the half-court line. Seconds later, he attempted a three-point shot from the right side.

The Soviets made 7 of 9 three-point attempts in the game, but Marchulenis missed this last one. The Soviet guard followed his shot, which bounced off the rim, but he missed a short bank shot. Forward Valery Tikhonenko rebounded, but he missed a layup with two seconds to play.

The San Diego-based AIA team had its second victory over the Soviets in three days. AIA beat the Soviet team, 90-82, in Sacramento Thursday night.

Kraulin said Saturday’s game was much more physical. Twenty-two fouls were called against the Soviets and 18 against AIA.

Saturday’s game, played in front of 6,083 fans, was tied at halftime, 42-42. AIA opened up a seven-point lead with 6 1/2 minutes to play, but the Soviet team fought back and had a good chance to win with time running out in regulation.

With the score tied at 82, forward Alaksandr Volkov missed a three-point attempt with 24 seconds to play and 22 seconds left on the 45-second clock. AIA guard Lorenzo Romar’s shot from within the lane was partially blocked and fell way short at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.

The leading scorer for AIA was former Clipper Swen Nater with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Guards Brian Kellerman and Keith Cieplicki had 14 each, and former San Diego State guard Zack Jones and center Paul Renfro had 13 apiece.