"Basketball in Russia begins with Stalin," explained the deadpan manager of the Russian team. "From Vladivostok to Leningrad, everybody plays," said Team Captain Ivan Lissov, who called himself a "master sportsman."** That was about all anyone could get out of the visiting Russians, who were whisked daily from the Soviet Embassy to Paris' Palais des Sports and back, under the watchful eye of a hollow-cheeked cultural attaché.
Whatever the reason, the Russian teamwork ("They pass without even looking," said one awed coach), plus a clowning Georgian named Otar Korkija, made the Russians look...
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