FIBA World Championship - Thread Retired

[Fresh8]

Nice finish to the dynasty, Sit.

High scoring game as well.

- Thanks man! And yeh, tis like an All-Star game and my team had like 5 three point specialists! Course its gonn a be high scoring! lol

oh man lol that is so weird. fuck high scoring KIG, people are always like blah blah scoring, just shut the fuck up already.

nice to see black dudes in china jersey

- I think he was saying it was good that it was high scoring... oh yeh... black dudes in China jersey We need one lol And that makes me think... why arent there any Chinese-Americans even in the NBA???

What a spectacular finish of FIBA World Championship!

Wtf is Gasol doing with Marks?

And yeah, for sure, great Lithuania - Italy game

- No 13 isn't Gasol

And congrats to Lithuania!

Very nice finish to the FIBA WC!

- Thanks bud...

we really lacked on the inside without Sean Marks in there....we won't be able to really compete with better sides until we get some bodies to man the paint....Bradshaw & Penney are nice foundations & will be fixtures for a long while, but we need more young blood coming through....more players hitting the US college scene....

- Yeah.. maybe. At least have players playiong overseas in Europe and stuff... maybe you should turn semi-pro And same with Mark too lol

not really, it's a Maori gesture at opening up the spirits from the heart or gut or something out....I don't know, someone else will have to clarify that for me....but it does have meaning unrelated to slitting someone's throat....but I could see how it looks that way....the second time they did it in Auckland test, they did the throat slit a little lower across top of chest because of all the media scrutiny....

- Yeh, I udnerstand both parties... i guesss the main concern was that ppl thought its bad for the kids and/or there is malicious intent behind the throat slitting.... i dont have a problem with it really... but i guess idont follow union anymore... go the Broncos! Beat Parra!

guess WC's are over for NZ so I'm going to have to find a new thread....someone with Cedric Ceballos I'd say

- You're not going anywhere mate! You know this is the thread to hang out in! Well.. until WC are over and Live 07 comes out!

[Jing]

ok i just looked at the boxscores... Liu Wei led the game wih 26.. holy wtf?

[Fresh8]

yeh man... he was on fire. 21 in the first half... 6/10 from 3pt range... that was all in the report

Yeh, he's cool in this game (Thanks to the patch makers lol)... the other good player was nikos and Basile... Nikos C scored 7/8 FG, 4/5 3 PT and Basile was like 3/4 3 PT and Dirk was 3/5 3 PT and yao even socred one three pointer It was a great field day for the team!

Plus.. u seem not to like him.. he is China's best PG... no matter how weak he is compared to NBA guards...

[The X]

hey I didn't mean find new thread....I meant find new sig, something with Cedric Ceballos in

[Fresh8]

Haha, its cool! I was just joking!!!

And man... we got wasted 32-6 in the second quarter!

Ah well... good run cause we did do well in the first quarter!

Ah well... im goff to watch broncos-parra... even though nigeria and germnany is on CCTV... not sure if tis a replay tho... wait... it is!

[H Rock]

I got it right. The game was close for about a quarter or so, and then the USA pulled away. I only wish I could correctly predict the winner of the Greece-China game. I know who I want to win, but, alas, Greece seems to be the favorite.

[Fresh8]

Realistically, Greece plays great defence and has a lot of heart and are indeed favourites to wi nthe game BUT I won't lose faith! Cause I know that if we start the game well, we can win!

[Fresh8]

Eight-Finals Day Two

Do or Die Baby!

Day Two boys!!! And China takes on Greece, I still smell an upset!

Nigeria v Germany 87-88

Nigeria played great defence I've read and Dirk had a poor shooting night. Unfortunately for Germany, they're unlucky to be playing Team USA cause their tournament is over IMO... unless Dirk puts up 50 points in the next game. Congrats to Germany holding on but I see no way they can beat the USA. Sorry German fans!

USA v Australia 113-73

What a blowout... I didn't think we'd be destroyed this bad. Ah well... USA is the better team. I will tell you what hurt us... Andrew Bogut scoreless for close to 15 mintues really hurt a lot. The second quarter with USA winning that 32-6 hurt a lot. I thought we did great in the first quarter... USA just had a huge run as they have done so in a lot of their games at the tournament.

Brings me to the USA... They're having trouble getting started in games. If a team wants to beat them, what they need to do is get a good headstart and no let USA make a run later in the game. It's hard cause the USA is really goodo n the ball and force a lot of turnovers and run, run, run. For the opponents that will face them, you got a few things that can help you beat Team USA in my opinion.

1. Get a quick start on them, they have trouble at the start of games

2. Don't get caught up in their full court press

3. Play a zone and force them to shoot or drive in. They don't have good shooters (If you count streaky shooters then yes, they have good shooters)... and if they drive in, there will just be a lo tof bodies clogging up the lane so it works to your advantage

4. Try and not let USA get on a scoring run of any sort

I've yet to see a team who can do this for a full game... but I guarantee that if a team does do this, they can beat the USA. I'm counting on Spain and Argentina to follow my advice. It's up to them!

France v Angola 68-62

Congrats to Angola for keeping so close with France as I thought they would win. Tight game and France won it so I know China (:lol:) will be looking forward to beating those Frenchmen!!!

- - -

EDIT1: China has started the game well against Greece

EDIT2: China's off to a good start in the second now! 23-11

EDIT3: Holy shit, Yi Jianlan can fly lol... he practically hung in the air for like 3 seconds before tipping the ball back in... he coulda slammed it IMO... altho it wasnt too clear...

EDIT4: Greece is playing a press on us... as they should but its good we're doing a fine job on offence... altho the greeks seem to be having a few easy buckets... Go China!

EDIT5: What a swat!!! Thats what I call a rejection... damn right Yao! Play the American way! haha

EDIT6: Baby Shaq has nothing on Yao!

EDIT7: China hasn't scored in a while... thats what I'm scared of... these periods of play where China doesn't do much... really pisses me off!

EDIT8: It's a game once more.... ah well, it was always a game lol But I was hoping China would keep a lead for the game so I wouldn't shitting my pants right now... we really need to get back in front again... we're now down by 2. Anywyas, my next thought is this: How damn fast/quick is the Chen guy... I didn't think much of him before but seeing him play again... its good Maybe he does have a future...

EDIT9: Ok, sorta disregard the future thing... I see Chen has a bit to imrpove on.. basic rule mate: dont dribble backwards and let urself get trapped like u just did... It's not good... Ok China... let's play a better third quarter!!! I really wanna win!!!

EDIT10: I can't stand to watch this anymore... it hurts too much to see my team losing by so much... Oh man... congrats to Greece who were the better team and im gonna kill whoever told me that their Euro Title was because they got lucky

[The X]

I thought Nigeria might be able to squeak one out, but Germany just moves on again....as for the Aussies, they got flogged I don't feel so bad about the Argentinan loss now

[Fresh8]

I thought an upset was on the cards too... a game that could have gone either way... well, i hope i wrote that lol and yeh, as i said, it all depended on Dirk

[Fresh8]

The Day After...

What's a Fan Got to Do?

I'm still a bit disappointed in the Chinese... we got destoryed in the second half. It looked like a contest early on but then the Greeks found a way of stopping us. The loss hurts dammit. Same with the Aussie loss although I already knew who would win and i can hack losing to the USA the way the Aussies played.

I guess I had too high hopes for Team China.

But don't worry, they will be back for the Summer Olympics! We will finally medal there I think!

A few words on my thoughts of how China played. They proved how inexperienced they were. Yougn Chen could have had a better time with the Junior team IMO... we didn't really need him here because he wasn't going to make such a big difference in the first place. I guess they wanted him there to get experience but riding the pine isn't what I call gaining experience. He could have learnt a lot more at the World Juniors.

Yi Jianlan should enter the NBA Draft for 07. That's the only way he will get better. China needs him to go to the NBA to get better and form that one-two punch with Yao Ming.

Wang Zhizhi; I've been overrating too much, now I will concede that he isn't that good. I think his career is pretty much dead now (too many mistakes in the past). If he makes the CBA, that's good for him but apart from that, I don't think he's going to be going much farther.

Wang Shipeng surprised a lot of people. He played well for the national team and fit in with the offence. He shot well and I see him as a staple in the team in the future.

The problem with China was guard play. We need better players to control the ball. Wei Liu is getting too old and we need fresh legs. Chen is promising but he's only one guy although there are a few others in the mix.

We also need more agressiveness in our play. Sending players overseas into Europe would help us a lot too. Don't need to go to the NBA but go outside of Asian basketball would drastically improve the quality of players in China.

I can only hope the Chinese Government do this if they want Basketball to succeed in China.

And with Yao Ming... this is only the start. Cause he career is going to soar sky high this season in the NBA. Mark my words!

- - -

Quarter Final Previews Coming Out Tonight!

[Fresh8]

Quarter Finals Preview

Argentina v Turkey

- Turkey’s had a lot of close calls this tournament. I don’t expect it to be any different in this game. Argentina may look great on paper but the Turks are producing some good efforts and I think this one will right down to the wire. Argentina needs to have its game on from the word ‘go’ if they want to win. I say Argentina by less than 5 points in this game.

Spain v Lithuania

- The young Lithuanians will need to have a great night to offset Pau and Spain. Pau Gasol and his team are playing all too well though and pose a threat to Team USA. That’s why I got them winning against Lithuania. (I hope I haven’t jinxed Spain here) I like Spain’s scoring game and if they get off to a quick start like they did against Serbia, Lithuania will find it tough to come back. I call this a big Spain win.

Greece v France

- In this game, I think Greece will be tough to stop. France isn’t strong enough to beat Greece. The Greeks play great defense and if France wants to win, they will need to keep moving. A pity that Tony Parker isn’t here, they really need him handling the ball. I see France losing in a blow out loss to Greece.

USA v Germany

- The Germans stand no chance unless Dirk Nowitzki somehow has a magnificent night. Dirk has been on and off all tournament so hopefully he can pour in a ton of shots to get his team past Team USA. Realistically though, the Americans will contain Dirk and cruise to victory.

Sit's Likely Tournament Standings

1. Spain
2. USA
3. Argentina
4. Greece
5. Turkey
6. Germany
7. Lithuania
8. France

What are your thoughts? Comments please on my views or writing would be appreciated!

[nzspurs]

A basketball drought....I CAN'T STAND IT!!!

[Marquis]

Argentina v Turkey

I think its the time to lose for turkey. Argentina is looking really stronger than turks. But who thought that turks will go so far. My guess: Argentina will win by 10 or more.

Spain v Lithuania

Spain is one of the pretenders to the gold medals, but they need to play with Lithuania now. I hope we will show even better game than against Italy and we gonna win. My guess: Lithuania will win by 5 or more.

Greece v France

France is too weak for the greeks for now. I thought they will be one of the contenders to the medals with Parker health. Greece looking really good, but they have some luck to meet with such opponents. My guess: Greece will win by 10 or more

USA v Germany

Germany have no chances here, unless Dirk has wonderful night. USA are looking strongest in this Championship. My guess: USA will win by 20 or more.



My Likely Tournament Standings

1. USA
2. Argentina
3. Lithuania
4. Greece
5. Spain
6. Germany
7. Turkey
8. France

[pHLo]

Germany vs. USA

uh oh!



i hope we don't get destroyed

[Bruce Wayne]

we will:(

[CouchPotato94]

Dang Sit, all this shyt on your plate and you still manage to get it done.

Nice job and go USA! (Don't be hatin')

[RKO]

its gonna be:

USA v Argentina in the championship....and Argentina is gonna take it, Manu, Nocioni, Scola are gonna kill Wade, 'Melo, LeBron....word

P.S. Im not a hater of Wade, LeBron, but i am a HATER OF 'MELO !!!

and NICE WORK SIT...keppin it gengsta

[Anthony15]

Anthony15's Likely Tournament Standings

1. USA
2. Spain
3. Argentina
4. Greece
5. Germany
6. Lithuania
7. France
8. Turkey

[RKO]

these are mine:

1. Argentina
2. USA
3. Spain
4. Germany
5. Greece
6. France
7. Lithuania
8. Turkey

[Fresh8]

Thanks lots boys... and btw... i just love basketball!

Will write bout the games on tonight... love the optimisim in here!!! I honestly think the winner of SPain-Argentina can take USA down!

[Fresh8]

Finally the USA See the Light!

All I Have is Praise For Team USA!

After USA Basketball announced that Team USA was to go through an actual selection process; many people thought it was finally something good. Then when rumours came out about many players not wanting to play for Team USA, resulting with a squad of just young players, a lot of people I have read said egos would get in the way of the team. They wrote how these players weren't experienced enough. They wrote how the team would fail.

Fast forward one year and here we are in Japan. Team USA is staring down the smoking gun of what Team Germany and Dirk will have to offer to them tomorrow night. In a quarter final which looks like an easy win for USA on paper; they have learnt that they need to fight for their wins. 'No wins come easy anymore,' says Coach K.

As a fringe USA supporter; I'm more of a spectator and admittedly only do so because I know more about them than most of the other teams, I'm excited about the direction the USA is headed. After watching a few features on the team, a few postgame interviews and other videos of the like, I am happy that the USA is taking all of this seriously.

Something that Coach K said was, 'It's not time to rest. We respect Germany and we will study them and we will be preparing for them.' That was a very welcome statement as USA teams of the past have often been too cocky and maybe even disregarded their opponents as a few rungs below them. Unfortunately for Team USA in Athens, they found out that the world could actually play- all too late.

Now though, I am very impressed with how the Americans handle themselves on and off the court.

If the USA wins the gold medal, and they have a very good chance of doing so, they certainly deserve it this time around. For sure.

- - -

Spain and Argentina through as expected. Spain's cruising at the mo, I still got them as gold medal winners.

[Fresh8]

Team USA Storms to Semis!

Radomness from Quarter Final

Team USA play Greece now in the semi final clash despite all eyes being on Spain and Argentina. More on that later though!!!

For now, I want to look back at the game tonight. Germnay did well to keep up close with the USA up until midway through the thrid quarter. Germans struggled against the press and the USA went on a roll. As I had said, you can't let Team USA get on a scoring run otherwise, it's close enough to Game Over as in it gets dangerous. When you are Germany; lack of depth hurts, and when the scoring run comes, it is practically game over there and then.

It was a good effort by Nowitzki and his crew though but an even better effort by Team USA who dominated the second half. I really enjoyed Carmelo helping the States build a lead and the highligh material like the alley-oop from Chris Paul to Chris Bosh. But what I was impressed with most was Shane Battier; I really like how he is playing!

To beat USA, you really need a good and expereinced back court and that's why I see Aregntina or Spain posing big threats to the US. Finally, maybe we will see a team who can pick apart the Americans' full court press and make them defend their half more! I feel like maybe Navarro/Calderon/Fernandez or Manu/Delfino/Sanchez/Nocioni can do that!

Good effort by Germany as the better team did win.

And the American Express rolls on...

On Shane Battier

- Well, I have to admit I wasn't a fan of the Gay for Battier trade. Now though, I'm pretty excited for Yao. If the team remains healthy; primarily Yao, TMac and Battier, I see them as a high seed in the West. They could even make a push for their Divison title and a top 4 spot in the West.

Battier is a great team player, I always knew that. Just how effective he was, I honestly wasn't sure. I saw him play in the Goodwill Games but his NBA career hasn't been what many may have expected from him after he left College. Still, at these World Championships, Battier has proven to me what the right team player should be like and he makes such a big difference on the floor. Tonight when he dived for the loose ball, it was great. You could see his disappointment in his face... it was gold. You could see his passion.

I see good things for the Houston Rockets next season.

On Carmelo Anthony

- Carmelo is playing great. He's the leader on this team. Many may say he's hogging the limelight and trying to make himself look better than LeBron and D Wade. I won't hear none of that. I think he's a great player and he's proving how good he is.

People say he's destined to be a Glenn Robinson clone; I don't think so. What the problem with him is what a USA Coach said in a recent feature I watched. He said, 'I guess people's bad perceptions are hard to change and the bad will always stand out more than the good.'

Carmelo's just had too many off court issues which have sort of runined his reputation. It annoys me how it also makes people think less of him on the court. He just doesn't get the recognition he deserves. Always forgotten when it comes down to debates of who was the best draftee of 2003 (Arguements usually turning into Wade v James)... but in my own mind, I see Melo as the equal of James and Wade. Don't call me crazy, I really do.

[The X]

good to see Greece & US advance....all 4 undefeated teams, just as expected prior to start of tourney....I'm expecting US to squeak by Greece late in the 4th quarter....meanwhile, I think Argentina will beat Spain by 1pt....I know that Spain is looking great, but I just can't rule out the Argentinans....a rematch of Olympic semi is set up....I'll be happy if either Argentina, Spain or Greece win the gold....if US win the gold, that's alright as they've played well & shown a little bit more respect for the game around the world....

[pHLo]

well tough loss for us

but yeh.. USA was too strong


Maybe Greece can get them to struggle with its physical game