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Post by pauledwardwagemann on Jun 26, 2006 12:30:40 GMT -5
anyone know when the NBA draft is?
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Post by pauledwardwagemann on Jun 29, 2006 9:03:20 GMT -5
NBA draft was last night--the Bulls traded their #2 pick for portland's #4 pick...
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Post by RocDoc on Aug 25, 2006 20:14:41 GMT -5
'WORLD' Championships for real here...maybe Ryo's sorta following since it's in Japan this year. From: www.fiba.com/pages/en/events/blockbusters/world_champ_men_06/World_Champ_Men.asp?an_id=289&pn_id=178Latest News
25/08/2006
What's coming up? August 26: Eighth Final (Italy vs Lithuania)
SAITAMA (FIBA World Championship) - Lithuania need no reminding of the dangers posed by Italian basketball as they prepare to face the Azzurri in Saitama.
Just two years ago, the Baltic giants were the hottest team at the Athens Olympics with victories over hosts Greece and Team USA in the preliminary round when they ran into Carlo Recalcati's Italy and were out-gunned in a 100-91 shoot-out.
The Italians had also beaten the Lithuanians at the FIBA World Championship in 1998, and the Sydney Olympics two years later.
Despite needing a wild card to play in Japan this year, and despite putting several new players on the court, Italy have thrived and enter the eighth-finals in Saitama on the back of four wins in Group D with the only setback a 94-85 loss to the United States.
Lithuania, after starting their Group C campaign with two defeats, bounced back with demolitions off Qatar, Australia and a gritty triumph over Brazil.
"It's tough," said Darius Songaila, one of Lithuania's most experienced players, of the 76-74 defeat to Turkey and the 81-76 overtime loss to Greece.
"Turkey played great, Greece played great and we didn't play great. We played really, really bad. The effort was there but the execution wasn't. Twenty-five turnovers a game isn't acceptable and that's what kept us on the losing end of the game there so I'm glad we had Qatar as a third game, not to give credit to those guys."
Songaila got into foul trouble against Brazil but told coach Antanas Sireika to leave him in the game and it paid off as he hit two big shots in the third quarter to stop a Brazil fightback.
The European side eventually held on for a 79-74 win to clinch their second-round place.
Songaila did not play at last year's EuroBasket, but he has been a key to the team's success in recent years.
He was still a college player at Wake Forest when he represented Lithuania at the Sydney Olympics and helped them win a bronze medal.
"It's been six years," Songaila said of that summer in 2000 when his play grabbed headlines around the world.
"It seems like it was yesterday. This is my first World Championship and I'm glad to be here. I'm glad we made it to the second round and we'll see what happened."
Lithuania are expected to have all of their players available to face the Italians.
As for Italy, Recalcati knows their experience in Japan will end quickly if they are not ready to play hard for 40 minutes.
"I expect a very challenging game because the Lithuania we saw in Seoul (during the build-up to Japan) was a very different Lithuania that played in Hamamatsu.
"They are very strong underneath the basket because they have experienced players. They do have some young players but Arvidas Macijauskas and Mindaugas Zukauskas are two players that give you guarantees."
Zukauskas played under Recalcati at Montepaschi Siena the past couple of seasons.
Lithuania had better not underestimate the Italians, despite their wild-card status. The Azzurri gained a lot of confidence in Sapporo, especially with their excellent play against tournament favourites Team USA.
"It's going to be an open game, we have to live this game in the right manner," Recalcati said. "We have no pressure and I think this is the main reason. Perhaps because of how we played in Sapporo in the first round people have high expectations. Before we arrived here, the only expectation was to arrive to the second round. We have to enjoy the game against Lithuania with the hope of continuing of going far in this tournament."
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Post by Ryosuke on Aug 26, 2006 10:15:45 GMT -5
'WORLD' Championships for real here...maybe Ryo's sorta following since it's in Japan this year. I didn't even know it was being held here until after the tournament began. It's not getting anywhere near the attention that the FIFA World Cup or the World Baseball Classic got. We suck at soccer, we suck a little less at baseball, but basketball is one sport where we'll never produce world class players. |
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Post by phil on Aug 26, 2006 16:23:23 GMT -5
 A few of those would make nice blockers in American football !! |
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Post by Paul on Jan 23, 2007 10:17:44 GMT -5
So is this the official Basketball thread? If so, can we change the name of it to simply Basketball?
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Post by rockysigman on Jan 23, 2007 10:21:00 GMT -5
No. Come back at playoff time.
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Post by Paul on Jan 23, 2007 10:21:48 GMT -5
Okay then, I'll start a basketball thread so we can discuss both college hoops and the NBA
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