Interbasket

Are you sitting in front of your computer as you watch the first matches of 2008 Olympic Basketball?  Why not follow the games along in our forum with play-by-play and comments from different perspectives.  Check out the schedule below and click on the link to preview the game, choose the winner, guess the final score, and follow along with hundreds of other fans watching the game from all around the world.

10th August 2008 Game times:
09:00 : Russia vs. Iran (follow the game live)
11:15 : Germany vs. Angola (follow the game live)
14:30 : Spain vs. Greece (follow the game live)
16:45 : Lithuania vs. Argentina (follow the game live)
20:00 : Australia vs. Croatia (follow the game live)
22:15 : USA vs. China (follow the game live)

Of the six matches, five of them have very important implications starting out with the Greece taking on Spain in Group B action.  In fact, all three games in Group B are of significance.

No doubt Espana vs. Hellas will be as intense a game as any and the winner will come out with a supreme confidence going into their next game.  Both teams are coming off great momentum; Greece won handily in all four of their games in the World Qualifying Tournament, and Spain has been blowing out the competition in preparation games.

Also in Group B is Germany taking on Angola in the 2nd game. With Greece, Spain, and the USA expected to move on from Group B, it is Germany and Angola’s (and China’s) hopes to defeat each other enough to sneak into the quarterfinals, the winner of this game will have taken a really huge step forward towards that goal.

Hard as it is to believe but China going against the United States is of the least importance, as far as advancement is concerned, because the USA is expected to take the game.  However, it is still a significant game because it is the host nation taking on the American favorites.  It will be interesting to see how prepared the Chinese National Team is having homecourt advantage and under huge pressure to perform and display progress.

In Group A, the two games to keep an eye on is Lithuania vs. Argentina, and Croatia vs. Australia.  In the fourth game,  Lithuania and Argentina go head to head, though they’re two teams that are perceived to be on the decline, they’re still the favorites in the group to come out of Group A.  On the other hand, Croatia and Australia though not seen as strong in Group A, they boast one of the best backcourts (Croatia) and frontcourts (Australia) in the tournament.  With five teams in Group A jockeying for four spots to the quarterfinals, this could be a great first step for advancement and morale going into the next game.

Links and Resources: Olympic Basketball Schedule 2008 (interbasket), Olympic Basketball Preview: Group A (Interbasket), Olympic Basketball Preview: Group B (Interbasket), Group B, day 1: USA vs China (Olympic Basketball Game Thread), Group A, day 1: Australia vs Croatia (Olympic Game Thread), Group A, day 1: Lithuania vs Argentina (Olympic Basketball Forum), Group B, day 1: Germany vs Angola (Olympic Game Thread), Group A, day 1: Russia vs Iran (Olympic basketball Dicussion), Group B, day 1: Greece Vs Spain (Olympic Basketball Game Play-by-Play)