GROUP A (Granada, ESP)
Serbia - 65 - 73 - Russia (13-21, 17-17, 18-16, 17-19)
Israel - 66 - 76 - Greece (16-19, 15-12, 17-21, 18-24)
Russia - 90 - 56 - Israel (17-15, 23-13, 26-13, 24-15)
Greece - 68 - 67 - Serbia (12-11, 19-20, 9-7, 16-18, 12-11)
GROUP B (Sevilla, ESP)
Latvia - 85 - 77 - Croatia (18-18, 18-18, 20-15, 29-26)
Portugal - 56 - 82 - Spain (13-23, 8-23, 14-18, 21-18)
Croatia - 90 - 68 - Portugal (19-19, 23-17, 33-14, 15-18)
Spain - 93 - 77 - Latvia (25-20, 16-16, 29-19, 23-22)
GROUP C (Palma de Mallorca, ESP)
Czech Republic - 78 - 83 - Germany (14-12, 17-13, 13-21, 30-28, 4-9)
Turkey - 69 - 86 - Lithuania (16-19, 20-25, 12-19, 21-23)
Lithuania - 95 - 75 - Czech Republic (32-15, 22-16, 18-24, 23-20)
Germany - 79 - 49 - Turkey (16-11, 24-16, 18-12, 21-10)
GROUP D (Alicante, ESP)
Poland - 66 - 74 - France (18-22, 14-13, 21-25, 13-14)
Italy - 68 - 69 - Slovenia (14-21, 11-17, 20-18, 23-13)
France - 69 - 62 - Italy (17-20, 14-16, 20-11, 18-15)
Slovenia - 70 - 52 - Poland (13-19, 21-7, 12-7, 24-19)
Link to Schedule
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
EURO BASKETBALL 2007 (Result) - Update 4 Sept 2007
Greece Weather Serbian Storm
In basketball there can be only one winner at the end of the game, but after tonight's game both Greece and Serbia left the court with the feeling as if they had won the game.
The official score-sheet say that Greece won 68-67 in overtime and got the ticket for the next round taking on a 2-0 record in Group A at Granada, while Serbia dropped to 0-2 and must beat Israel tomorrow to stay in the competition.
Theodoros Papaloukas had eight big points for Greece.
But this game was about much more than basketball. Serbia wanted to prove they can match up with the champs, and bring some pride back against the team which won the title on their home court two years ago. They have certainly achieved that.
The pupils of coach Slavnic deserve big compliments for fighting against the stubborn champions who showed plenty of character themselves.
"The game was won by small details – one shot or one mistake," said Demos Dikoudis who connected on a big three-pointer with 40 seconds to go in the overtime to give Greece a 68-64 lead.
Serbia managed to cut the difference to one, and even had a chance to win with a desperate shot by Marko Jaric, but center Lazaros Papadopoulos was there in time to block the shot and secure the second win of Greece.
Greece feared the desperate shot for a reason. At the end of regulation Milan Gurovic released the ball one step inside the half court on the right hand side of the court to send the game to overtime with the teams tied at 56-56.
Both teams struggled for 40 minutes and the extra time to get the ball in the hoop. It wasn't a beautiful basketball game, but one that every fan would enjoy for its intensity.
"I don't care if we played good or bad. I always have only one target when I play and that's to win," said Theodoros Papaloukas after the game, to explain what Greece is all about.
While Greece shared the points between almost the entire team and entered the overtime with just one player in double digits, Serbia based their game on big man Darko Milicic, who stepped up and showed he can handle the toughest defense in Europe.
Milicic carried the team on his back, scoring 17 points, grabbing six rebounds and blocking three shots, but mostly was the center of his team's game. He showed his big talent and team play.
Already after five minutes it was clear where this game was going. Every basket took forever and big sweat from each team, as Greece led 7-3, and by the end of the first quarter 12-11.
No team allowed the other to make a run. By half time the score was 31-31, just like Greece's game yesterday against Israel. While Greece's biggest lead was up to seven, Serbia couldn't go further than a four points ahead.
Jaric, who finished as the top scorer for Serbia with 18 points, made it a one point game with nine seconds to play in regulation, but when Serbia tried to foul Dikoudis managed to find an empty spot on court and got the ball open in front of the basket.
Instead of running the time down he slammed the ball and started celebrating, but Gurovic had a different idea, and his unbelievable shot sent the teams to overtime.
"I didn't have a good game, but I owe my teammates a lot because they covered for me and left their heart on court," said Gurovic after the game.
Greece showed big character not falling apart after the big shock, and the teams continued to fight till the very last seconds.
Gurovic fouled out with 2:30 minutes to play in the extra period, but Jaric stepped up with four big points that kept Serbia close, before Dikoudis set it straight for Greece.
Serbia will face Israel tomorrow for a win-or-die game, while Greece will play Russia for the first spot in the group.
source : eurobasket2007.org
Gasol Leads Spain Past Latvia
Spain beat Latvia at their own game on Tuesday night in a 93-77 Group B triumph in Seville.
The Baltic players, renowned for their perimeter shooting – they were 11 of 18 from the three-point arc in their win over Croatia on Monday – gave Spain fits early on.
They were “very fast, very well organized and with very good interior play,” according to Spain’s Rudy Fernandez, their athletic shooting guard who is starting in place of the injured Juan Carlos Navarro.
But the sign of a good team is that it is able to make adjustments and that is what World Champions Spain did in their latest victory.
“The players have interpreted very well what needed to be done,” Spain coach Pepu Hernandez said.
“It was a tough game because we had to work a lot against a very quick team. This team was very dangerous for us. They choose the right positions to shoot. We had to work very hard on defense and that brought a lot of difficulties.”
If there was a turning point in this game, it happened at the end of the first half when Latvia could have held on for the last shot while trailing 38-36.
A basket would have brought them level, or put them into a one-point lead.
Instead, Sandis Valters rushed up a three-pointer with 12 seconds remaining and missed, and Spain went to the other end where Jose Calderon drilled a three-pointer for a five-point lead.
The Spanish ran off the court with fresh momentum, and when play resumed, their opponents got no closer than four points the rest of the way.
In the second half especially, Hernandez felt his team had played the way they must play to last deep in this tournament.
“There has been order, speed, and discipline,” he said. “And we have shown what must be our style.”
The Spanish team landed telling blows two and a half minutes into the third quarter, after an Andris Biedrins jump shot had cut their lead to 45-39.
Fernandez struck from long range, increasing his points haul to 10, and Spain motored away.
Garbajosa followed with a three-ball to stretch the lead to 51-39, and more importantly for Spain, show that he is getting closer to his old self after missing so much time while rehabilitating from a leg and ankle operation.
“I have seen Garbajosa much better than yesterday,” Hernandez said. “He had more rhythm, more security.”
Spain did not blow Latvia out, though.
Buoyed on by their fanatical support from travelling fans, the Latvians managed to hang around although they never seriously threatened Spain.
“In those moments when we had a bad lapse,” said Latvia coach Karlis Muiznieks, “it was the great support of our fans and the team always managed to find a way out of the bad luck to keep the game interesting.”
While Latvia shot a respectable nine of 22 (41%) from three-point range, their speciality, Spain were even better at eight of 18 (44%).
“We saw the first game against Portugal and Spain had most of their power underneath the basket, that’s why our tactics were to focus under the basket,” the Latvia coach added.
Gasol finished with a game-high 26 points on eight of 11 (73%) shooting, while Fernandez had 18. He was five of nine (56%) from the floor, including three of six from the arc.’”
For Latvia, Biedrins scored 17 points on eight of 15 (53%) shooting and also grabbed five rebounds.
source : eurobasket2007.org
Slovenia Too Much For Poland
Slovenia pulled away late in the third quarter to beat Poland 70-52 and clinch their second win of the EuroBasket.
Poland trailed 39-33 but Slovenia hit them with a 23-6 run that bridged the third and fourth quarter to take a commanding 62-39 lead with only five minutes remaining to put the game beyond Poland.
Slovenian center Erazem Lorbek had a game-high 16 points and pulled down eight rebounds
Andrzej Pluta ledPoland with 12 points while team-mate Jaka Lakovic chipped in with 15 points.
"I have to congratulate my players," said Slovenia coach Ales Pipan. "We are in the position where we wanted to be, two wins after two games. I think the key to our victory today has been rebounding."
Looking to repeat Monday's impressive performance in their defeat to France, Poland started strong and took a 19-13 lead going into the second quarter.
However, Slovenia stepped up their defense and outscored their opponents 21-7 to take a 34-26 advantage at the break.
"I was really optismistic before the game," said Poland coach Andreej Urlep. "Things started well for us as we had a good first quarter and probably we could have taken a bigger lead had we not missed some easy layups.
"But we played a terrible second quarter, we had a chance to get back into the game in the third but we were unable to keep up with Slovenia. I have to congratulate Slovenia."
Filip Dylewicz's hot-hand allowed Poland to cut the deficit to six, 37-31, three minutes into the third quarter before Slovenia delivered the knock-out punch.
Dylewicz finished with nine points and nine rebounds while team-mate Andrzej Pluta led the Poles in scoring with 12 points.
Poland were out-rebounded 46 to 28.
Slovenia shot 19 of 23 (83%) from the charity stripe while Poland were 11 of 16 (65%).
source : eurobasket2007.org
Germany Hand Turkey Second Loss
The 2005 silver medallists Germany remained perfect at the 2007 EuroBasket after a surprisingly dominating 79-49 victory over Turkey in Group C in Palma de Mallorca.
Dirk Nowitzki collected 24 points, six rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot while Ademola Okulaja was just one rebound from a second straight double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds as Germany looked much more confident than a night earlier.
"I felt we learned a lot from last night's game (an over-time win over the Czech Republic). We learned how we can play and cannot play. We didn't move the ball at all. But we did that tonight. And that's very important because it gets Dirk (Nowitzki) better shots and other people better shots as well," said German coach Dirk Bauermann.
"Everybody contributed in some way. We're really happy that we won and beat a very good team in Turkey. Winning the first two games is big for us, and we will now try to find a way to beat Lithuania."
Turkey coach Bogdan Tanjevic was clearly frustrated after another blowout defeat - a night after losing 86-69 to Lithuania on Monday.
"I can't explain what happened. We can't let our opponents play how they want to. If you want to play in Europe, you can't let teams like Lithuania and Germany shoot 50% from the floor and hold us to 30% shooting. I have no other explanation. We had 45 days and we had good tactical preparation as well. There was no sign that we would play like we did," said the Turkish boss.
Germany came out moving the ball much more effectively than they did against the Czechs and Okulaja opened the first half with two three-pointers as Germany pulled ahead 16-11 after one period.
Two Nowitzki free-throws pushed the lead to 25-16 early in the second period and Turkey hurt their cause by missing seven of 10 foul shots, including two straight back-to-back by Hidayet Turkoglu and Mehmet Okur.
Nowitzki scored Germany's final eight points and helped his team open a 15-point lead, 40-25, before going into the locker-room ahead 40-27.
Bauermann's side came out of the locker-room working hard on defense and hitting from long range. Demond Greene and Nowitzki hit three-pointers to open a 46-27 advantage and Turkey failed to score early in the second half until Turkoglu's three-pointer with 5:34 remaining in the third period.
Germany would eventually push the bulge to 23 points - on a long three-pointer by Jan Jagla for 58-35 - and they were ahead 58-39 going into the fourth quarter.
They scored the first eight points of the final frame, opened a 66-39 lead with six minutes left and Turkey would get no closer than 25 points the rest of the way while Germany led by as many as 33 points.
Turkoglu was Turkey's only player to score in double figures with 15 points as Germany held their opponents to 30% shooting (17-of-56) for the game.
Germany face off with Lithuania on Wednesday to see which team takes first place in Group C while Turkey play the Czech Republic in a battle of 0-2 teams with the winner moving on to the qualifying round.
source : eurobasket2007.org
Parker Carries France To Victory
Tony Parker poured in a game-high 36 points to give unbeaten France (2-0) a 69-62 triumph over Italy (0-2) with the score at 60-60 with three minutes remaining, Les Bleus went on a 9-0 run, with Parker scoring four points in that game-winning surge.
He finished 12 of 22 (55%) from the field, grabbed three rebounds and dished out two assists.
"I felt I had to be aggressive," said Parker."It’s just basketball, it comes and it happens. Every game is going to be different and I don't think I need to score 30 points every time because the French team is better than that. We can all play together and tomorrow it will be a different game.
"We have to improve on our offense but as long as our defense works we can win games."
Andrea Bargnani, who led Italy in scoring with 16 points, put his terrible start to EuroBasket 2007 quickly behind him.
He scored the first seven points of the game, while it took France five minutes before they scored a point and only when Parker buried a three-pointer.
Thanks to their guard, who scored 13 points, France kept pace and only trailed 20-17 at the end of the first quarter. A one-handed dunk by Boris Diaw tied the game at 22-22 midwway through the second period.
But Italy kept their noses in front as Bargnani continued to take care of the scoring. They went on a 6-0 run late in the period to take a 33-24 lead, with Massimo Bulleri adding four points in that surge.
Carlo Recalcati's men went into the break with a 36-31 advantage, with Bargnani leading the way with 13. Parker had 15 for Les Bleus France stepped up their defense and limited Italy to just five points in the first eight minutes of the second half as they used a 18-5 run to take a 49-41 lead, with Parker accounting for 12 points in that surge.
Marco Belinelli's two-handed dunk allowed Italy to go into the last quarter trailing by only four, 51-47.
Stefano Mancinelli scored five consecutive points at the start of the final frame to get the Azzurris back in front, 52-51.
The teams then exchanged the lead before France pulled away to seal the win.
"I am partly satisfied because my team showed an improvement with respect to yesterday's game (69-68) defeat to Slovenia)," admitted Recalcati.
"However, I am disappointed with the result and with the fact that my team lost its character when it mattered. Parker made the difference." Italy were a mere six of 13 (46%) at the free throw line while France were 12 of 16 (75%). France outrebounded Italy 40-31.
source : eurobasket2007.org
U.S. Team Has Options Heading Into Olympics
Las Vegas - It seemed to last about seven months in the heat of the Nevada desert, but in reality it was about three weeks.
And it was time well spent for the United States basketball team, which finished its summer obligations with a perfect 10-0 record and a gold medal in the FIBA Americas tournament.
Beyond the lopsided victories and impressive statistics, including a victory margin averaging 39.5 points, more important knowledge was gained.
LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd and Carmelo Anthony emerged as reliable leaders on the U.S. team that will try to reclaim gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. And a sincere camaraderie was present, a quality so essential to building winning teams on the international stage.
"Had we won last year, we would not have been as prepared for next year," said Jerry Colangelo, managing director of the U.S. squad, referring to the team's need to qualify for the Olympics following a third-place finish at the 2006 World Championship.
"It might have been a false sense of security a little bit, too. We made some changes, and our resolve was that much greater because of what happened. When we look forward now, going to Beijing, we're much better prepared.
click for more details
source : jsonline.com
Garnett Sweating Details
LAS VEGAS - It's 8 a.m. in "Sin City." Many of the "what happens in Vegas . . ." tourists are either asleep or just getting to their hotels. As for Celtics new star forward Kevin Garnett, he's already up and working out on Labor Day.
Garnett is among more than 20 NBA players working out under the Abunassar Impact Basketball system at the Tarkanian Basketball Academy, but none may be taking it more seriously. For more than a week, the 10-time All-Star has been the first player to arrive for his six-day-a-week workouts. In fact, Garnett has been starting at 7 a.m. since arriving Aug. 27, and he began an hour later yesterday only because Joe Abunassar wanted his employees to have an extra hour of sleep on the holiday.
"I like my footprints to be the first in the sand," Garnett said.
Said Abunassar: "He's a [workout] freak and always has been. He likes to come in and get it done."
Abunassar has been working out Garnett for seven weeks this summer, the majority of the time in Los Angeles. The regimen includes about 90 minutes of weight training and 90 minutes of basketball drills and five-on-five scrimmages. While Celtics training camp doesn't begin until Sept. 30 in Rome, Garnett already seems to be in prime shape.
In one drill yesterday, Garnett showed how strong he is. Wearing a belt with a cable connected to it, Garnett was immovable as one man tried to yank him from the post with the cable and Abunassar tried unsuccessfully to steal the ball several times.
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source : boston.com
Nowitzki scores 35 points to lead Germany Over Czechs In OT; France, Russia Also Win
MADRID, Spain (AP) -Dirk Nowitzki had 35 points and 11 rebounds in Germany's 83-78 overtime victory against the Czech Republic on the opening day of the European basketball championships Monday.
In Alicante, Tony Parker scored 16 and France held off Poland 74-66, and a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Jaka Lakovic lifted Slovenia past Olympic runner-up Italy 69-68 in Group D.
Defending champion Greece opened with a 76-66 win over Israel in a Group A match in Granada, and Andrei Kirilenko's 24 points and 12 rebounds led Russia over Serbia 73-65.
NBA All-Star forward Pau Gasol scored 19 and Spain routed Portugal 82-56 in Seville to begin its campaign to become the third country to lift the European trophy while holding the world title. Latvia surprised Croatia 85-77 in the other Group B match.
In Group C, three-time winner Lithuania rolled past Turkey 85-69.
At Palma de Mallorca, Nowitzki scored 19 second-half points and four more in overtime as Germany rallied from an early deficit in their Group C game.
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source : sportsillustrated.cnn.com
Christie Ready To Give NBA Another Go
This is proclaiming.
"I can't really put into words how excited I am," Doug Christie says.
"I'm in the best shape of my life."
Christie is on the phone from his home in Seattle. Or maybe he's on cloud nine. Same thing.
He appeared in seven games in 2006-07 as a Clipper and seven games in 2005-06 as a Maverick, and he hasn't played for more than half a season since the 2004-05 split between the Kings and Magic. But he is adamant he will sign a free-agent deal, perhaps within two weeks.
In the summer of 36-year-old Penny Hardaway signing with the Heat, 37-year-old P.J. Brown being chased by title hopefuls in Phoenix and Dallas and 42-year-old Reggie Miller and 43-year-old Charles Oakley considering comebacks, Christie has firmly placed himself on the Graybeard Express.
"I know for a fact that I will be back," he said. "I am thoroughly excited. I've been working out to make sure I'm ready. I feel fantastic."
Christie is 37 but feels, in his estimation, 10 or 11 years younger. He said he has two or three more NBA seasons in the body once known for its conditioning and durability. He isn't looking for a last-gasp chance.
Now all he has to do is get someone to believe he has one season left.
Christie said there have been talks with seven teams, although only two have had "real high interest." He would not name any of the clubs, only that one of the best chances is in the West and one is in the East. He did say there have been no conversations with the Kings.
The preference is to land with a championship contender, which only makes sense -- he gets a shot at a ring, just as it is unlikely a team in building mode would invest minutes in a 37-year-old wing. But it is not a concrete rule for Christie.
Kawakami: Warriors' Rookie Remains A Mystery
He's livelier than Patrick O'Bryant. He's cannier than Ike Diogu. And he's probably faster than Andris Biedrins.
Beyond that, Brandan Wright, who missed summer league because of a hip injury, is a blank.
Until there is actual basketball being played and Wright's rookie season with the Warriors begins, Wright will continue to be a live-wired 6-foot-9 blank.
Except: He's probably already better than O'Bryant and Diogu, the double-duds who preceded Wright as Warriors rookie big-man hopes; and Wright gets up and down the court better than Biedrins, a young big man who has flourished.
That's all we know about Wright after a few weeks of early work at the Warriors' practice facility, with another month of pre-training camp left.
I think that's all Warriors fans wanted and needed to know about Wright for now. He's not as limited as 2005 first-round pick Diogu, who was dumped last year; and he's not as passive as 2006 first-round pick O'Bryant, who is still around but nearly forgotten.
"(Wright)'s quiet, but the more you get to know him, he opens up, like all young guys," assistant coach Stephen Silas said last week. "But he's ready. You can see he has a little bit of an edge to him."
An edge. I picked that up in a recent talk with Wright, too. He'll need it if he's going to turn into the Warriors' first top-tier power forward since Chris Webber.
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source : mercurynews.com
Celtics Sign Contract With Rookie Glen Davis
BOSTON, Sept. 4 (AP) -- Glen Davis, a second-round draft pick out of LSU, signed with the Boston Celtics on Tuesday.
Davis, a 289-pound forward, was selected 35th overall and was acquired by Boston from Seattle.
He averaged 12 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in five summer league games.
source : NBA.com
