Andrei Kirilenko goes to war on a nightly basis with NBA musclemen as a member of the Utah Jazz but the gifted, versatile forward is the first to admit he still needs toughening
up.

Kirilenko delivered his usual contribution in points (27) and rebounds (11) in Saturday's Efes Pilsen World Cup II, but his suspect shot selection, and a night of hard graft under the boards, and defence in general for the Italians gave them an 80-71 triumph.

The Azzurri, who unlike Russia and many of the other sides in next month's Eurobasket do not have an NBA player in their squad, followed up that win with a victory over Turkey in the final on Sunday.

Russia lost the third place game against Serbia & Montenegro 98-92. Kirilenko, who stands 6ft 9in (205 cm) and weighs 225 (102 kg) pounds, told "Sport-Express" after Saturday's defeat :"We couldn't stop the Italian forwards and showed bad teamwork at the end of the game.We used only individual playing.

"We should probably attack more from under the basket and try to draw fouls. Perhaps it would have been better if I hadn't taken so many long-range shots, but if these shots had been on target then maybe I'd have been right to take them."

Russia's hopes rest largely on the broad shoulders of Kirilenko, and it will be he who is most likely going to take shots at the end of the game.

In Sweden, the dynamic Kirilenko is likely to show his athletic fullcourt skills.

He runs like a gazelle and plays the game above the rim.

The former CSKA Moscow man will be one of the only stars on show who can alter the course of a contest with a thunderous dunk, or block a shot that triggers a fastbreak at a key moment.

"In general, our team is giving a good impression," he said. "The team isn't very experienced of course, we have a lot of young players but these games harden us and are very useful, even for me."