ISTANBUL. September 10. KAZINFORM The American coach of the Russian basketball team praised the United States as worthy winners of their quarterfinal on Thursday at the FIBA Basketball World Championship in Turkey; Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.

David Blatt said after the 79-89 defeat that he had tendered his resignation to the Russian Basketball Federation.

Russia stayed with their opponents for the first two quarters and trailed 44-39 at halftime, but they managed just 17 points in the third period to give the United States a 14-point edge going into the final quarter.

Russia can now finish no better than fifth in the tournament, while the United States will play either Lithuania or Argentina for the chance to face off against Turkey or Serbia in the gold medal game.

Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder led all scorers with 33 points, with Russia's Sergey Bykov next with 17 points.

Blatt praised the U.S. team and coach Mike Krzyzewski after the game, having become embroiled in a brief war of words with his opposite number in the lead-up to the quarterfinal, which fell on the 38th anniversary of the Soviet Union's controversial 51-50 victory against the United States in the gold-medal game at the 1972 Munich Olympics; Kazinform cites RIA Novosti.