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Who should I play as in the All-Tournament Game?

Eastern Stars - Asia, Europe, Africa
19
59%
Western Stars - Americas, Africa, Oceania
13
41%
 
Total votes : 32

Mon Aug 14, 2006 10:31 am

Maybe because with Yao and Wang back, Yi has a lot more space to work with.. im not sure cause i didnt see the game but it seems that with Yao and Wang, logically, Yi will have better chances lol

And yeh, the team is exciting. We got a big team and that's what's good. I think we should pick Sun Yue even if he cant make shots... if he can get the ball to the others, then that should be enough for me for now.

Our main problem is still ball handling and oru guard rotation. I hope that will change in the future lol... Chen is very promising i must say though.

Mon Aug 14, 2006 7:46 pm

Team USA Holds Open Practise Game That Acts as Fundraiser for Underprivileged
Team USA Intra-Squad Game

Image
Guess Who’s Back? If it isn’t Mr Kobe Bryant!

JAPAN, 1 September -- Japanese fans were in for a treat as Team USA gave one last open training session for many lucky fans to take in. Not only did they see their favourite players in Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony but they were also in for a surprise.

Kobe Bryant was back.

Bryant, in for promotional reasons, stepped onto the floor for the first time in months since having knee surgery. The Lakers star joined in the open scrimmage and hinted at playing for the United States in the Final against China.

“Gilbert (Arenas) has kindly given me his jersey number and his spot on the team,” Bryant said, “I know that there are rules where I can’t play because I wasn’t on the roster but hopefully we can work something out.”

Gilbert Arenas was injured late in the Semi Final against Italy after he was shoved in the back, fuelling more scepticism that Italy was a dirty team. FIBA will probably look into the matter of letting Bryant play. The reason that may allow him to take part in the Final is that his name would bring a lot more viewers to the television screen for the Final. However, as much of a brilliant publicity stunt Bryant would make, rules are rules and players not on team rosters cannot participate in the tournament.

If Bryant plays though, he would be great as he showed in the scrimmage today. Bryant was all over the floor and showing no signs of injury or lack of form. He hit plenty of shots and nailed two big ones in the final minute of the game.

First Half

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Kobe came out gunning as he went to the charity stripe six times in a row, making 5 shots and then also making a running jump shot over King James. The White Squad that was composed of Kobe, Shane Battier, Chris Paul, Chris Bosh and Dwight Howard got to an early 11-3 lead.

Lebron James and Dwyane Wade led their Red Team’s comeback. Elton Brand did lend a hand in being a reliable option down low while Brad Miller played hard defence inside. Carmelo Anthony, suffering from soreness in his knee, wasn’t the player he usually is as he looked a step slower than all of his team mates on the court.

A flurry of passes, shots and eventually dunks got the Japanese crowd onto their feet. The first half ended with the White team winning by just 2 points; 26-24.

Second Half

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The second half saw the Red Team start to get rolling. Lebron James scored 3 times in a row, all on dunks. He later added two more dunks and made Coach K ask someone, “Does he ever stop?” Along with Wade and Brand, the Red Team took a 10 point lead going into the final 5 minutes.

The White team seemed to struggle on the glass as they couldn’t get a rebound on a few consecutive plays. Kobe came to the rescue though as he stole a pass intended for Lebron then made a lay up. Chris Paul also stole the ball off Wade at half way and fed Kobe Bryant with an alley-oop pass from halfway, which Kobe did convert. Bryant then hit two threes to bring the team within three points of the Red Squad.

After Elton Brand missed two free throws, Shane Battier missed an open three point opportunity with 4.3 seconds left and Anthony hit one of two free shots to seal the game. The end score was 59 to 55.

Player Stats

Kobe: 23 pts (7-20 FG, 4-9 3PT, 5-6 FT), 3 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl
Bosh: 6 pts (3-3 FG), 5 reb, 2 ast, 4 blk
Battier: 3 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl
Paul: 12 pts (5-8 FG), 5 ast, 2 stl
Howard: 11 pts (5-12 FG), 4 reb

Brand: 11 pts (5-8 FG), 9 reb
Lebron: 22 pts (9-12 FG), 4 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl
Wade: 19 pt (6-14 FG), 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl
Anthony: 7 pts (2-8 FG), 3 reb, 3 ast
Miller: 0-6 FG, 8 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl

Random Thoughts…

Bruce Bowen and Joe Johnson both sat out due to sore knees… Gilbert Arenas had a go commentating for NBATV… At halftime, Charles Barkley ate raw fish in front of the crowd… All tickets to the Final are sold out… Yao Ming and China were on the court training before Team USA came in… Yao stayed and watched the game from courtside… Kobe arrived in Japan only 2 days ago and has already promoted his new shoe to the Japanese… Team USA had been undefeated at this tournament and also since training camp…

Game Photos

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Mon Aug 14, 2006 7:48 pm

whoa kobes back. this is gunna be hard for china now

Mon Aug 14, 2006 8:02 pm

but i never said he was gonna play... -_-"

Mon Aug 14, 2006 9:43 pm

I hope he plays :D

Tue Aug 15, 2006 6:47 am

He probably won't! :D

Tue Aug 15, 2006 5:12 pm

Teenager Chen Jianghua was named alongside Yao Ming and Wang Zhizhi in China's squad for the world championship on Tuesday.

The 17-year-old point guard was included after impressing in China's 119-73 defeat to the United States in Guangzhou last week, his national team debut.

Houston Rockets all-star Yao and former NBA player Wang are included despite both recently returning to action after injury layoffs.

With only sporadic contributions from their two seven-foot plus standouts, China have won just two of their last 12 warm-up matches.

They conclude their preparations against Australia in Kunshan on Tuesday before tipping off their world championship campaign against Italy in Sapporo, Japan on Saturday.

China also play the United States, Slovenia, Senegal and Puerto Rica in Group D.

Squad:

Guards - 4-Chen Jianghua (Guangdong), 5-Liu Wei (Shanghai), 6-Zhang Qingpeng (Liaoning), 9-Sun Yue (Beijing).

Small forwards - 7-Wang Shipeng (Guangdong), 8-Zhu Fangyu (Guangdong)

Centers - 10-Zhang Songtao (Beijing), 12-Mo Ke (Bayi), 13-Yao Ming (Houston Rockets)

Power forwards - 11-Yi Jianlian (Guangdong), 14-Wang Zhizhi (Bayi), 15-Du Feng (Guangdong)

Coach: Jonas Kazlauskas


- I guess Chen made it thanks to his potential and how he played against USA however.. i feel that China could have left him off the squad so he could play with the junior team... unless he gets playing time with the senior team... Anyhow... GO China! (And to a lesser extent, Go Aussies! lol)

Tue Aug 15, 2006 8:46 pm

Spain Edges Argentina 104-103
Manu Leads Comeback But Argentina Falls Heartbreakingly Short

By WILL SIT, AP Writer
September 2, 2006


ESP: 31 - 26 - 22 - 25 - 104
ARG: 25 - 23 - 20 - 35 - 103


JAPAN (AP) -- Spain dominated most of the game and led by 18 early in the final quarter before Manu Ginobili decided to make it a game again. Argentina fought back to get within a point of Spain but they choked on numerous plays. No one choked as bad as Ginobili as he missed a potential game tying free throw with 2.0 seconds left in the game.

The loss was painful even if it was a playoff for fifth place as Ginobili walked off the court fuming and disappointed. The Athens Gold Medal Winners finished in sixth place. The Argentineans rallied behind a 12-0 run late in the fourth quarter however the quarter wasn’t decided the way they wished it would be. Backup Carlos Delfino and Ruben Wolkowisky had a hand in the loss as both missed open layups late in the game. Wolkowisky missed two open layups and an open shot while Ginobili also missed a jumper. The mistakes leading to Argentina’s coach not daring to keep watching.

Spain’s Navarro scored a four point play that seemed to fuel Argentina’s comeback run. Jose Calderon broke that run with a three pointer with a minute left and putting Spain up by 5. Argentina clawed its way back thanks to Ginobili assisting Luis Scola and then Ginobili stealing the ball and passing it to Wolkowisky who was fouled. The big man missed one shot and Spain’s Pau Gasol missed a shot at the other end.

Ginobili then got the ball under the hoop and was fouled with 2 seconds left before he missed the second of the shots and Spain held onto the ball to win fifth place. Argentina were unlucky to take advantage of their big fourth quarter where they stole the ball 9 times and shot 37 shot attempts compared to Spain’s 19.

Manu Ginobili scored 14 points and 3 steals in the final quarter and he finished the game with 34 points, 6 assists and 4 steals. Luis Scola had 24 and 12 while Andrea Nocioni had 17 points. Pau Gasol led Spain with 20 and 19, Navarro had 14 and Calderon added 18, 4 and 4.

Box Scores

Spain
Argentina

Tue Aug 15, 2006 8:49 pm

man ginobili chocked once again liked the 2006 semi finals :cry: great win for spain

Wed Aug 16, 2006 12:31 am

CHINA WON! 63-61 !!! Bogut missed game-winning FTs and Wang made a shot to put China to victory!!

here is a link to the box

http://www.cba.gov.cn/SCC2006/jstj.php?id=8

Bogut led the Aussies with 20 points

Yao had 21 to lead the game, Big Zhi had 9...
with the emergence of those 2 it seemed Yi got less chances to play and score.. he only had 4 points

Wed Aug 16, 2006 9:32 am

Screw Yi... wait... did he start in front of Wang in this game?

Wed Aug 16, 2006 12:22 pm

that spain-argentina game looks great (Y)

cant wait to see the champion

Wed Aug 16, 2006 3:11 pm

New Zealand Finish Tournament Proud
New Zealand Defence Halt Euro Champions Greece

By WILL SIT, AP Writer
September 2, 2006


NZ: 22 - 13 - 20 - 17 - 72
GRE: 14 - 18 - 18 - 9 - 59


JAPAN (AP) -- New Zealand finished the FIBA World Championships by breaking a two game hoodoo and winning seventh place. After a blow out loss to Spain, the Kiwis stepped up on the defensive end and made Greece work for every shot they took.

New Zealand started the game in top form and led at the end of the first quarter. Greece fought back in the second quarter and from there on, it was an even game. Greece repeatedly closed the gap to 2 points within their opponents. Mark Dickel stepped up in the fourth quarter, not buckling under the pressure, scoring 9 points. New Zealand got to grind out an impressive win after they held Greece to just 9 points in the last quarter.

The defending European Champions had no chance against the motivated New Zealanders and Coach Baldwin said it was a great win, “Even though we only came seventh, I’m proud that my team bounced back to beat the Greeks. They (Greece) are an elite European side and I can say that losing to Spain wasn’t embarrassing at all. They (Spain) could have been playing for a medal tonight.”

Antonis Fotsis finished an impressive tournament showing with 18 points and 8 rebounds and Nikos Chatzivrettas scored 14 points. The Greek duo didn’t get any more help from their teammates other than SG Zisis who chipped in 13 from off the bench.

Mark Dickel finished with 17 points and Kirk Penney led the team with 20 points and 6 rebounds. Tony Rampton added 13 and 8 while Pero Cameron, who was a match day decision, made up for a poor offensive game by grabbing 8 rebounds.

Cameron who has hinted to retiring from international basketball was happy about his team’s win, “I think I can go out on a high. Beating Greece wasn’t an easy feat.”

Box Scores

New Zealand
Greece

Wed Aug 16, 2006 3:14 pm

wow...
in real life greece would kill NZ by like 50 points XD

Wed Aug 16, 2006 5:15 pm

FIBA ALL-TOURNEY GAME
For First Time, All-Tournament Game Will be Played at Conclusion of Tourney


By WILL SIT, AP Writer
September 2, 2006

JAPAN (AP) - For the first time in World Championship history, an all-star game will be played at the end of the World Championships. Fans will get to vote for their favourite starting lineup from the list of players below and the rest of the squad will then be picked by the coaches of each All-tournament team.

The East Stars will be wearing the jerseys of Finalists China while the West Stars will wear the jerseys of Team USA. Coach Kazlauskas of China will coach the West while Coach K of USA will coach the East.

The Eastern Stars will be players from Europe and Asia. Oceania, Africa and the Americas will fill out the Western roster.

The following players will be available to be voted for:

Western Stars

Centre

Andrew Bogut, AUS: (1 GP) 17 ppg | 6 rpg | 2 bpg
Nene, BRA: (1 GP) 19 ppg | 13 rpg | 6 apg | 2 spg
Julius Nwosu, NIG: (3 GP) 14.3 ppg | 9 rpg | 1 bpg
Peter John Ramos, PUR: (1 GP) 17 ppg | 8 rpg | 5 apg | 1 spg | 1 bpg
Tony Rampton, NZ: (4 GP) 9.3 ppg | 5.3 rpg
Ruben Wokowisky, ARG: (2 GP) 12.3 ppg | 11 rpg | 1.8 apg | 1 bpg

Forward

Chris Bosh, USA: (3 GP) 15.3 ppg | 5.3 rpg | 4.3 apg | 1.7 spg | 1 bpg
Guilherme Giovannoni, BRA: (1 GP) 19 ppg
Sharif Fajardo, PUR: (1 GP) 23 ppg | 6 rpg | 3 apg
Dwight Howard, USA: (3 GP) 11.3 ppg | 5.3 rpg | 2 spg
Sean Marks, NZ: (4 GP) 15.3 ppg | 6.3 rpg | 1.3 apg
Matt Neilson, AUS: (1 GP) 12 ppg | 5 rpg | 6 apg | 2 spg | 2 bpg
Andrea Nocioni, ARG: (4 GP) 12.3 ppg | 3.5 rpg | 3.8 apg
Glen Saville, AUS: (1 GP) 15 ppg | 5 rpg | 5 apg | 1 spg
Luis Scola, ARG: (4 GP) 20 ppg | 9.5 rpg | 2 apg
Ime Udoka, NIG: (3 GP) 12 ppg | 6 rpg | 1 apg | 1 bpg
Anderson Varejao, BRA: (1 GP) 11 ppg | 7 rpg | 5 apg | 1 bpg

Guard

Carmelo Anthony, USA: (3 GP) 10.3 ppg | 5.3 rpg | 3 apg
Leandro Barbosa, BRA: (1 GP) 12 ppg | 4 rpg | 5 apg | 5 spg
Mark Dickel, NZ: (4 GP) 9.8 ppg | 5.5 apg
Alex Garcia, BRA: (1 GP) 10 ppg | 2 rpg | 4 apg | 1 spg | 1 bpg
Manu Ginobili, ARG: (4 GP) 24.8 ppg | 4 rpg | 3.8 apg | 2.5 spg
LeBron James, USA: (3 GP) 10.7 ppg | 4.3 rpg | 3.3 apg | 1 spg
Kingsley Ogwudire, NIG: (3 GP) 15 ppg | 5.7 apg
Chris Paul, USA: (3 GP) 20 ppg | 4 rpg | 6.7 rpg | 1.3 spg
Kirk Penney, NZ: (4 GP) 16.5 ppg | 4 rpg | 2.5 apg
Pepe Sanchez, ARG: (4 GP) 8 ppg | 5.8 apg
Jason Smith, AUS: (1 GP) 14 ppg | 7 rpg | 5 apg

Eastern Stars

Centre

Pau Gasol, SPA: (4 GP) 11.5 ppg | 12.3 rpg | 3.3 apg | 2 spg | 1.8 bpg
Patrick Femerling, GER: (1 GP) 20 ppg | 6 rpg | 4 apg | 2 bpg
Fransico Vazquez, SPA: (4 GP) 12.5 ppg | 5.3 rpg
Zhizhi Wang, CHN: (3 GP) 15.7 ppg | 9.7 rpg | 5.7 apg | 1 spg
Fredric Weis, FRA: (1 GP) 19 ppg | 6 rpg | 3 bpg
Ming Yao, CHN: (3 GP) 29.3 ppg | 17.3 rpg | 6 apg | 5.7 bpg

Forward

Dante Calabria, ITL: (3 GP) 16.7 ppg | 6 rpg | 2.7 apg | 1 spg
Boris Diaw, FRA: (1 GP) 20 ppg | 7 rpg | 2 spg
Predrag Drobnjak, SER: (1 GP) 16 ppg
Antonis Fotsis, GRE: (4 GP) 9.8 ppg | 6.8 rpg
Shunsuke Ito, JPN: (1 GP) 27 ppg | 5 apg
Giacomo Galanda, ITL: (3 GP) 15.3 ppg | 7.3 rpg | 3.7 apg | 1 spg | 1 bpg
Jorge Garbajosa, SPA: (4 GP) 13.3 ppg | 8.8 rpg
Robertas Javtokas, LIT: (1 GP) 8 ppg | 14 rpg
Michail Kakiouzis, GRE: (1 GP) 11.5 ppg | 5.8 rpg | 2.3 apg
Dirk Nowitzki, GER: (1 GP) 12 ppg | 9 rpg | 3 spg
Marko Pesic, GER: (1 GP) 13 ppg | 3 rpg | 5 apg | 2 spg
Florent Pietrus, FRA: (1 GP) 13 ppg | 10 rpg | 1 bpg
Darius Songalia, LIT: (1 GP) 16 ppg | 9 rpg | 5 apg | 1 spg

Guard

Gianluca Basile, ITL: (3 GP) 21.3 ppg | 2.7 rpg | 5.3 apg
Massimo Bulleri, ITL: (3 GP) 15.3 ppg | 4.7 rpg | 2.7 apg | 1 spg
Jose Calderon, SPA: (4 GP) 18 ppg | 2.3 rpg | 4.8 apg
Nikos Chatzivarettas, GRE: (4 GP) 19.3 ppg | 2.3 rpg | 2.5 apg | 2 spg | 1.3 bpg
Dimitrios Diamantidis, GRE: (4 GP) 12 ppg | 5.8 apg | 1.3 spg
Vidas Ginevicius, LIT: (1 GP) 30 ppg | 4 rpg | 11 apg | 3 spg
Marko Jaric, SER: (1 GP) 13 ppg | 4 rpg | 8 apg
Li Nan, CHN: (3 GP) 11.7 ppg | 3 apg
Juan Carlos Navarro, SPA: (4 GP) 11.3 ppg | 3 rpg | 4 apg
Pascal Roller, GER: (1 GP) 16 ppg | 3 rpg | 4 apg
Tony Parker, FRA: (1 GP) 14 ppg | 7 rpg | 8 apg | 1 spg
Ramunus Siskauskas, LIT: (1 GP) 25 ppg | 5 apg | 2 spg
Liu Wei, CHN: (3 GP) 15.3 ppg | 2.7 rpg | 4.7 apg

Voting ends after the FIBA Grand Final have been played.
Last edited by Fresh8 on Thu Aug 17, 2006 10:25 pm, edited 5 times in total.

Wed Aug 16, 2006 5:20 pm

How To Vote

Only pick five players for each starting line-up and you may also choose one wildcard entry for each team. The wildcard player may be from the list or off of it.

Code:
Western Stars

C:
F:
F:
G:
G:

Eastern Stars

C:
F:
F:
G:
G:

Wildcard Entry

West:
East:


Sample Vote

Western Stars

C: Julius Nwosu
F: Chris Bosh
F: Dwight Howard
G: Manu Ginobili
G: Chris Paul

Eastern Stars

C: Yao Ming
F: Shunsuke Ito
F: Dante Calabria
G: Dimitrios Diamantidis
G: Gianluca Basil

Wildcard Entry

West: Dwyane Wade
East: Dirk Nowitzki
Last edited by Fresh8 on Wed Aug 16, 2006 5:39 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Wed Aug 16, 2006 5:26 pm

Western Stars

Nene, BRA: (1 GP) 19 ppg | 13 rpg | 6 apg | 2 spg

Luis Scola, ARG: (4 GP) 20 ppg | 9.5 rpg | 2 apg
Sean Marks, NZ: (4 GP) 15.3 ppg | 6.3 rpg | 1.3 apg

Chris Paul, USA: (3 GP) 20 ppg | 4 rpg | 6.7 rpg | 1.3 spg
Manu Ginobili, ARG: (4 GP) 24.8 ppg | 4 rpg | 3.8 apg | 2.5 spg (i really don't like him, but he's good as hell)

Eastern Stars

Ming Yao, CHN: (3 GP) 29.3 ppg | 17.3 rpg | 6 apg | 5.7 bpg

Giacomo Galanda, ITL: (3 GP) 15.3 ppg | 7.3 rpg | 3.7 apg | 1 spg | 1 bpg
Robertas Javtokas, LIT: (1 GP) 8 ppg | 14 rpg

Gianluca Basile, ITL: (3 GP) 21.3 ppg | 2.7 rpg | 5.3 apg
Vidas Ginevicius, LIT: (1 GP) 30 ppg | 4 rpg | 11 apg | 3 spg

Wildcard Entry

Player's Name: Jabari Smith (Qatar)

Wed Aug 16, 2006 5:36 pm

Ok, here's my real vote! Altho not much different to the sample lol

Western Stars

C: Andrew Bogut
F: Luis Scola
F: Chris Bosh
G: Manu Ginobili
G: Chris Paul

Eastern Stars

C: Yao Ming
F: Dirk Nowitzki
F: Darius Songalia
G: Li Nan
G: Liu Wei

Wildcard Entry

West: Brad Newly
East: Zhizhi Wang

Wed Aug 16, 2006 6:34 pm

Western Stars

C: Andrew Bogut
F: Chris Bosh
F: Matt Neilson
G: Lebron James
G: Chris Paul

Eastern Stars

C: Yao Ming
F: Shunsuke Ito
F: Dirk Nowitzki
G: Jose Calderon
G: Marko Jaric

Wildcard Entry

West: Dwyane Wade (didnt see him in the original guards for east)
East: Jose Calderon

Wed Aug 16, 2006 8:53 pm

Nigeria Shine on the World Stage
Athens Silver Medallists Italy Upset by Nigerians

By WILL SIT, AP Writer
September 2, 2006


NIG: 11 - 19 - 16 - 22 - 68
ITL: 16 - 8 - 16 - 21 - 61


JAPAN (AP) -- Nigeria hustled to a bronze medal at the World Championships. Thanks to Italy’s fourth quarter meltdown, the Nigerians became the first ever African nation to medal at a World Championship.

Italy got off to a better start than their opponents but Nigeria quickly made sure they would take advantage of a cold shooting Italy team. Italy fell behind during the second quarter and didn’t recover until the final quarter when SF Calabria, SG Basile and PG Bulleri finally started to play well. Each player scored 6 points in the final quarter of the game.

Unfortunately for Italy, they tied the game during the final period but due to 9 fouls for the quarter, Nigeria were able to make 4 free trips to the charity stripe and it really proved the difference between the two sides.

Calabria and Basile led the Athens Silver Medal winners with 12 points each in what was an extremely poor shooting night from the Azzurri. Galanda grabbed 12 rebounds and Chiacig had 11. Kingsley Ogwudire led the Nigerians with a respectable 18 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Ime Udoka was the second lead scorer with 11 in the low-scoring match.

Box Scores

Nigeria
Italy

Wed Aug 16, 2006 8:55 pm

Western Stars

C: Andrew Bogut
F: Sean Marks
F: Luis Scola
G: Kirk Penney
G: Mark Dickel

Eastern Stars

C: Yao
F: Darius Songalia
F: Boris Diaw
G: Massimo Bulleri
G: Gianluca Basile

Wildcard Entry

West: Anderson Varejao
East: Liu Wei

Wed Aug 16, 2006 9:16 pm

United States Vs China
FIBA Grand Final Preview

Image

By WILL SIT, AP Writer
September 3, 2006


JAPAN (AP) -- China has surprised many over the past week as they reached the gold medal round of the FIBA World Championship; on the back of Yao Ming of course. The 7’6” Houston Rockets giant is playing phenomenally as he is averaging close to 30 ppg, 17 rpg, 6 apg and 6 bpg for the last 3 games played in the knockout stage. Now Yao and his team will face their toughest opponent in the United States of America.

Team USA is led by fearless rookie point guard Chris Paul who will be in his second NBA season later this year. Paul has surprised many who thought the likes of LeBron, Carmelo and Dwyane would be leading USA to victory. However, Paul is leading the team in points and assists as he proves he may be the best American point guard in the United States.

Coach K has been rumoured to be changing his starting line up though for the game as he may be looking for two big men to be on the court at all times to shut down Yao and putting on athletic wing player to try to dominate against China’s defence. This means that Dwyane Wade may be starting instead of Paul.

However, whichever starting five is put out, China will still be in trouble. They are considered a long shot to win the gold medal tonight and aren’t expecting too much. Yao said yesterday, “We are happy to be contesting for the gold medal and even if we win or lose, we are only interested in winning in 2008 (at the Beijing Olympics).”

Yao who led the team in Athens two years ago was often frustrated with his teammate’s dependence on him to perform as a one man team. Luckily for him, he has gotten plenty of help from ex-NBA player Wang Zhizhi who is averaging an outstanding 16 ppg, 10 rpg and 6 apg. PG Wei Liu has also played so well, averaging 15 ppg and 5 apg, that he may be looking to be able to stay on the team for the Beijing Olympics in two years time.

Even Coach Kazlauskas was surprised with Wang and Liu’s performances, “Wang was injured before the tournament but he has played very well and this tournament may have just helped him get back into the CBA. Wei didn’t play well at the Olympics in Athens and nearly lost his spot to Chen Jianghua but he’s (Wei) proven how much of an experienced player he is and we need that for the Final.”

Team USA finished preparations with an open scrimmage yesterday in which Lakers star Kobe Bryant was present. The Lakers guard is not expected to be playing tonight as FIBA rejected Team USA’s requests to include him on their roster. They will go into the game with 11 players as Gilbert Arenas was injured in their semi-final clash against Italy.

Rumour has it that Chris Bosh has been dropped out of the starting lineup for Brad Miller and Elton Brand is stepping in for Dwight Howard as Coach K is looking for experience going into the game. “I believe that Brad and Elton can play a part in stopping Yao Ming tomorrow,” Coach K hinted, “They may start the game.”

Apart from that change and the Wade for Paul switch, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony should retain their spots in the starting five and provide Team USA with athleticism and scoring. Expect Shane Battier and Bruce Bowen to be playing a lot more than usual off the bench. They were great in USA’s exhibition game win against China back in mid-August.

Both teams are playing for something. China is playing for momentum and if they were to win, they would carry the momentum and confidence into the next big Basketball event at the Olympics. Team USA is merely playing for pride as they have shown in every game, bar Italy, that they are back in the hot seat of basketball supremacy. Only China stands in their way.

Wed Aug 16, 2006 9:41 pm

Western Stars

C: Nene
F: Scola
F:Chris Bosh
G: Ginobli
G:Chris Paul

Eastern Stars

C: Ming
F: Calabria
F: Galanda
G: Basile
G: Calderon

Wildcard Entry

West: Sean Marks
East: Chatzivarettas

Thu Aug 17, 2006 1:17 am

Western Stars -Americas/Africa/Oceania

C: Nene
F: Luis Scola
F: Chris Bosh
G: Manu Ginobili
G: Chris Paul

Eastern Stars-Europe/Asia

C: Yao Ming
F: Dirk Nowitzki
F: Boris Diaw
G: Nikos Chatzivarettas
G: Jose Calderon

Wildcard Entry

West: Dwight Howard
East: Wang Zhizhi

Thu Aug 17, 2006 2:51 am

Western Stars

C: Nene
F: Bosh
F: Anthony
G: Wade
G: Lebron James

Eastern Stars

C: Yao Ming
F: Dirk Nowitzki
F: Peja Stojakovic
G: Bulleri
G: Parker

Wildcard Entry

West: Brad Miller
East: David Andersen (Denmark, dont know if you have him)
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