Croatia can all but secure themselves a spot in the quarter-finals of the 2007 EuroBasket if they can knock off Israel in each team's first game in Group E of the qualifying round later today.
After beating Spain on Wednesday in their last opening group game, Croatia enter the contest with a 2-0 record - tied with Russia - while Israel are back at 0-2.
Zvidik Sherf's side desperately need a victory to boost their chances of even making the final eight.
Last Time Out: Israel beat Serbia 87-83 to advance to the qualifying round while Croatia shocked world champions and EuroBasket hosts Spain 85-84 on a three-pointer in the waning seconds and a blocked shot at the buzzer.
Key Match-up: Yaniv Green had a huge game against Serbia, collecting 26 points and 12 rebounds. But he will need another great game if Israel plan to neutralise Croatia's low-post presence, which is dominated by Mario Kasun, who is the team's second-leading scorer with 12.0 points per game. Shref's side though will be shorthanded inside as 2.08m center Erez Marckovich is to miss out with a broken nose.
Statistics: Israel have turned the ball over an average of 17 times in their three Group A games while Croatia have forced their opponents into 15 turnovers a contest. Israel must do a better job handling the ball.
X-Factor: Israel's backcourt must defend the three-point shot - something they traditionally don't do - as their opponents are averaging 22 attempts from long-range per game. But if Croatia's marksmen - who converted 42% of their threes in their two victories but just 25% in their only loss - get going, it could be a blowout.
Sounding Off: Croatian guard Marko Tomas, who made the game-winning shot against Spain, yesterday reflected: "The first game, we lost against Latvia and everyone had their heads down.
After yesterday's game, we got some confidence. We're first in the group. We've got more confidence for tomorrow's game."
source : eurobasket2007.org
Friday, September 7, 2007
Croatia Eye Place In Last Eight
Russia Await Underdogs Portugal
The clear favourites are Russia, the underdogs are Portugal.
So what’s new? Nothing.
But judging from how unpredictable this EuroBasket has been so far, take nothing for granted when these two sides meet in today's first game of the qualifying round of the competition in Madrid.
Russia, with Andrei Kirilenko among the tournament’s leading scorers and the top rebounder with an average of 14 a game, have brushed aside all three of their opponents so far - Serbia, Israel and the defending champions Greece.
They take on a Portugal side that was dead and buried in Group B after two games – or so we thought.
The Portuguese did not become discouraged and upset Latvia, but only advanced when Croatia beat Spain – the first defeat for the world champions since EuroBasket 2005.
“It’s a big moment for us,” said Portuguese guard Filipe da Silva.
Let it be noted that the Portugal team did sing on the train ride from Seville to Madrid in the early morning hours of Thursday.
“It’s a big moment for basketball in Portugal,” da Silva added. “We’re going to give it our best, and we’re going to see.”
Last Time Out: Portugal beat Latvia 77-67 while Russia thumped Greece 61-53.
Key Match-ups: Battle of the guards, Filipe da Silva v JR Holden.
Statistics: Portugal are No 1 in the EuroBasket in one category they’d rather not be – turnovers. With 56 in three games, their 18.7 average is far more than Russia’s 12.3.
Speaking Out: “They're a good team. They've been in every game so far. They're kind of similar to us in that they're tall at the two and three positions and kind of athletic. So I think we'll be in for a tough game. But as long as we play together and stay consistence as far as defensively, I think we'll be fine.” – JR Holden.
source : eurobasket2007.org
Inaugural Energy Build With Defense
When the NBA Development League expansion draft was complete Wednesday, Iowa Energy coach Nick Nurse had what he wanted - the chance to sign three top defenders in last year's league.
The Energy will open their inaugural D-League season in November and hope first-round draft choice Will Conroy, second-round pick Jackie Manuel and third-round pick Anthony Terrell are on the Energy roster.
"I talked with a lot of the NBA teams about the players who could play defense and the top three guys we drafted were in the top five for a lot of the teams," Nurse said. "I really think that we had a great draft.
"Other players chosen by the Energy from the rosters of the 12 teams in last year's league included former Creighton standout Deanthony Bowden, former Stanford forward Matt Haryasz and former Georgia Tech center Luke Schenscher.
Conroy and Manuel were the fourth and fifth overall picks of the 10-round expansion draft.
Iowa was one of four teams allowed to pick 10 players from the rosters of the 12 teams that competed last year. Ten of the teams are returning for the 2007-08 season, but two - Arkansas and Fort Worth - have gone dormant. The entire rosters from those two teams were included in Wednesday's draft.
click for more details
source : desmoinesregister.com
Nash, Barbosa And Tucker Tto Play In Charity Game In Beijing
A trio of Phoenix Suns players, including two-time NBA MVP guard Steve Nash, 2006-07 NBA Sixth Man of the Year guard Leandro Barbosa and 2007 first-round draft pick forward Alando Tucker, will compete against Yao Ming and the Chinese National Team in the Yao/Nash Charity Gala event, a charity basketball game on Sept. 14 in Beijing, China.
Funds raised will go to several causes hand selected by Yao and Nash, including China Youth Development Foundation to build schools and pay the tuition of mentally challenged and poor students in China's poverty-stricken western regions.
“I’m very happy this is going to happen,” said Nash, who helped launch the charity game with the help of Yao. “I believe we will do a lot of good during our short visit. We have an excellent group of players, so the game should be exciting as well”.
Nash, Barbosa and Tucker will join a team composed of NBA stars, including Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony, Portland Trail Blazers rookie Greg Oden, Golden State Warriors guard Baron Davis, Detroit Pistons forward Amir Johnson and Houston Rockets forward Chuck Hayes.
Suns Head Athletic Trainer Aaron Nelson will serve as the athletic trainer for the collection of NBA players.
source : NBA.com
USA Defeats Argentina To Claim Gold At The FIBA Americas
