Interbasket

The first Euroleague Basketball American Tour is set to commence with CSKA Moscow, FC Barcelona, and Lietuvos Rytas coming to the United States to test their mettle against the Orlando Magic, Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers, and Golden State Warriors. All games of the 2008 Euroleague Basketball American Tour are played according to NBA rules and with NBA referees. Check out the the Euroleague American Tour Schedule:

October 10: CSKA Moscow vs. Orlando Magic
October 14: CSKA Moscow vs. Toronto Raptors
October 18: FC Barcelona vs. Los Angeles Lakers
October 19: FC Barcelona vs. Los Angeles Clippers (Toronto Raptors)
October 21: Lietuvos Rytas vs. Golden State Warriors

You may remember a couple seasons ago when CSKA mauled the Clippers during the 2006 NBA Europe Live Tour 94-75, a team that featured Elton Brand, Corey Magette, and Chris Kaman.  CSKA is arguably even more loaded this time around with Euroleague MVP Ramunas Siskauskas of Lithuania, EL Final Four MVP Trajan Langdon, J.R. Holden, Matjaz Smodis (Slovenia), Alexey Savrasenko (Russia), Nikos Zisis (Greece), Sasha Kaun of Kansas, Erazem Lorbek (Slovenia), Terrence Morris (Maryland), and former NBA player Zoran Planinic of Croatia.

2008 NBA Europe Live and 2008 NBA China Games:
For the third consecutive season, NBA teams will be traveling across the Atlantic to European cities Paris, London, Berlin, and Beijing, play some preseason exhibitions.

For the NBA Europe Live Tour, the New Jersey Nets and Miami Heat will travel to London and Paris to play exhibitions against one another, while New Orleans Hornets and Washington Wizards will play exhibitions in Barcelona, Spain and Berlin, Germany.

For the NBA China tour, an agreement between the NBA and CBA (Chinese Basketball Association) has the the Milwaukee Bucks (without Yi Jianlian) taking on Golden State in Guangzhou and Beijing, China . The games will feature the first sporting event at the Olympic Basketball Arena after the Beijing Olympics and the first ever NBA game played in Guangzhou.  Both NBA China games will be televised on ESPN.  Check out the schedule for both NBA Europe Live and NBA China below:

October 9: Miami v New Jersey, Paris
October 12: Miami v New Jersey, London
October 14: New Orleans v Washington, Berlin
October 15: Milwaukee v Golden State, Guangzhou (ESPN)
October 17: New Orleans v Washington, Barcelona
October 18: Milwaukee v Golden State, Beijing (ESPN)

Links and Resources: NBA Europe Live 2008 Official Website (NBA.com), CSKA makes American debut Friday (Euroleague.net), NBA China Games to Feature Bucks and Warriors (NBA.com), Euroleague Teams to travel to US for Preseason (NBA.com), CSKA defeats Clipper 94-75 (topbuzz.com)

Australia 95: Russia 80 -  in a small upset, Australia rolled over favored-Russia 95-80.

The Boomers used a 10-2 spurt in the final two minutes of the first quarter to take an eleven-point lead after one period, and built it to a 16-point distance at halftime.

The Aussies were bolstered throughout the game by their  three-point shooting, especially  from their frontcourt players - their 7-0 NBA center Andrew Bogut was 2-3 from beyond the arc, as was the 6-11 Chris Anstey while 6-11 David Andersen was 1-1, and 6-10 Matt Nielsen shot 1-2. Together the Australian foursome scored 52 of the Boomers’ 95 points.

As we mentioned yesterday, this was a crucial game for both teams.

The outcome all but guaranteed that Russia would be joining Iran in not  advancing to the next round.  With one game remaining, Russia has one win, while Australia and Croatia have two wins. Both the Aussies and Croatians won their matches against Russia, so in case of a two or three team tie, Russia lose out in the head to head.

The Aussies on the other hand have seen their fortunes changed.  They started the Olympics with two straight bad losses against Croatia and Argentina.  From there they renewed themselves by handing Iran their largest loss to date, 38 points, and now convincingly putting down the defending European Champions Russia by 15, the Boomers have done an about face and are confident.

After hearing some criticism about his statistical performances in Australia’s first three games, Andrew Bogut finished strong against Russia with his best offering; 22 points and 8 rebounds in 28 minutes.  Included in Bogut’s point total was a moster slam dunk around three Russian defenders (see image).   CJ Bruton matched Bogut with 22 points, shooting 4-8 from three and 8-8 from the free-throw line.

Viktor Khryapa led the 2007 European champions with 22 points on 8-9 shooting and added 9 rebounds, but the Russians needed better performances from their two main players Andrei Kirilenko and J.R. Holden.  Holden scored 20 points, but missed 11 of 18 shots from the field.  The naturalized Russian player also had 6 turnovers and 6 assists.  The Eurobasket MVP Kirilenko had a rough game from the field, shooting 1-10 to the tune of only 6 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 turnovers.  Center Aleksey Savrasenko added 16 points for the Russians.

Russia will play Argentina in their final match, while Australia’s next game will be against Lithuania, the only undefeated team in Group A.

Links and Resources: Australia - Russia Boxscore (NBC Olympics), Goorjian tells Bogut bashers to back off (FIBA), Olympic Basketball Preview: Day Four (Interbasket)

Day one of Olympic Basketball has finished with Russia, Germany, Spain, Lithuania, Croatia, and the USA getting their first wins.

Russia 71 : Iran 49 (Russia-Iran Boxscore)
Despite the 71-49 score, Russia didn’t have quite as easy a win as expected, though a late run in the game made for the final margin against feisty Iran.  Russia was outscored 16-8 in the third period, and Iran pulled within 8 points going into the fourth period 46-38.  Russia would go on a 25-11 run of the final period.

Naturalized J.R. Holden scored 19 points for Russia while Andrei Kirilenko added 15 points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocks.  Viktor Khryapa, a key Russian player that had been a question mark for the Olympics, played 20 minutes and put up 8 points and 5 rebounds.  For Iran, Samad Nikkhah Bahrami scored 16 points, but also had 7 turnovers.  Iranian 7-2 center Hamad Ehadadi added 9 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks.  (comment on the game).

Links and Resources: Russia put away gritty Iran in men’s opener (FIBA), Russia-Iran Boxscore (FIBA)

Germany 95 : Angola 66 (Germany-Angola Boxscore)
Playing in Group B, Angola is not going to have a lot of opportunities to advance.  Germany was one of their chances to get a leg up.  Unfortunately, Angola’s offense was erratic, and their defense wasn’t much better, giving up 54 points at halftime, 17 of those to Chris Kaman.  Kaman ended the game with 24 points and Dirk Nowitzki took a backseat with 23 points and 6 rebounds.  Together the NBA duo combined to shoot a blistering 17-21 from the field, and the German team shot 58.6% for the game.

Eduardo Mingas put in 24 points and 3 steals for the Angolans, while Olimpio Cipriano and Joaquim Gomes both played roughly 30 minutes, but combined to shoot only 2-13 from the field, though Gomes did have 8 rebounds.  Carlos Morais added 14 for the Angolans. (Angola-Germany Live Discussion)

Links and Resources: Kaman, Nowitzki power Germany past Angola (FIBA), Germany-Angola Boxscore (FIBA)

Spain 81 : Greece 66 (Greece-Spain Boxscore)
The big game of the day didn’t turn out to be much of a competition as Spain easily defeated Greece without much of a fight.  The Spanairds just seemed to be a couple steps ahead of the Greeks on both ends of the court.  It also didn’t help team Hellas that they shot 11-24 (46%) from the free-throw line.

Outside of the free-throws, the two team’s stats weren’t that dissimilar, but the difference was on the court, the Spanish just executed better on both ends and showed why they, along with the USA are the favorites to medal.  Rudy Fernandez led Espana with 16 points.  Jose Calderon added 13 points and Pau Gasol chipped in 11 points and 7 rebounds.

Former Houston Rocket Vasileios Spanoulis scored 15 points and had 4 turnovers for the Greeks, and Dmitrios Diamantidis put in 14 poinrs, 3 assists and 3 turnovers.  Spain has now defeated the Greeks in four straight contests.  (Greece-Spain Live Discussion)

Links and Resources: Spain win to continue recent dominance against Greece (FIBA), Greece-Spain Boxscore (FIBA)

Lithuania 79 : Argentina 75 (Argentina-Lithuania Boxscore)
In the game of the day, Lithuania squeezed by Argentina with the help of a big three-pointer from their 6-8 power forward Linas Kleiza.

With 3:23 remaining in the game and Lithuania up 11 points, Argentina would stage their come back.  Luis Scola’s layup would complete eleven straight points that would tie the game at 75 with 1:33 left.  Lithuania would go scoreless from the beginning of the Argentina’s run until Kleiza’s three pointer with 2 seconds remaning.  A span of almost three and a half minutes.  An errant inbounds by Scola and a Siskauskas free-throw would make for the final score.

And the Lithuanian’s knew they were lucky to pull this one out, without Kleiza’s three, the Lith’s finish to the game was horrendous.  Instead they walk out of day one with a big win, “Argentina is the Olympic champion and it speaks for itself,” Jasikevicius said. “For us to start the Olympics in this way, it’s incredible.”

Kleiza led the Lithuanians in scoring with 13 points, shooting a perfect 3-3 from three and a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line.  Robertas Javtokas had 12 points and 5 rebounds.  Siskauskas, Sarunas Jasikevicius, and Marijonas Petravicius each added 10 points.  Jasikevicius also had 8 assists and 5 turnovers.

Argentina was led by Manu Ginobili’s 19 points, though he shot only 6-15 from the field including 1-7 from three.  Also shooting 1-7 from three was Andres Nocioni, whom scored 15 points on 5-14 and pulled in 9 rebounds.  Carlos Delfino added 13 points and 6 rebounds.  Fabricio Oberto chipped in a near double-double with 9 points and 11 rebounds.  (Argentina-Lithuania Live Discussion)

Links and Resources: Kleiza kills off Argentina with late three-pointer (FIBA), Argentina-Lithuania Boxscore (FIBA)

Croatia 97 : Australia 82 (Croatia-Australia Boxscore)
The story of the game was the Croat’s efficient three-point shooting.  They balanced their amazing 12-16 from beyond the arc, with fantastic defense.

Croatia limited Andrew Bogut to just one total rebound as well as four turnovers.  Bogut also had 10 points.

Though Croatia was able to hit 75% of their three-point attempts, they were surprisingly led by two players that did not even attempt a three pointer.  Croatia’s 6-10 center Nikola Prkacin and 6-8 forward Marko Banic each scored 16 points.  Prkacin contributions only took 11 minutes of play, he and Banic combined to shoot 12-13, all within the arc and 8-9 from the free-throw line.

With Prkacin and Banic holding down the offensive interior, it allowed for Marko Tomas (4-4) , Zoran Planinic (2-2), and Davor Rus (2-3) to bomb away from the outside.  Marko Tomas and Planinic scored 12 points each, Kresimir Loncar added 10 points, and recent Toronto Raptor signee Roko Ukic put in 9 points.

Matt Nielsen of Lietuvos Rytas, led the Boomers with 13 points with 5 rebounds, David Barlow had 12 points, and Patrick Mills scored 9. (Australia-Croatia Live Discussion)

Links and Resources: Croatia gun down Boomers in Beijing (FIBA), Croatia-Australia Boxscore (FIBA)

USA 101 : China 70 (China-USA Boxscore)
The home country crowd erupted as Yao Ming hit a three pointer China’s first possession, giving the home team a 3-0 advantage over the favored Americans.  It would become a theme throughout the first half.

Even though it was expected that China would come out energetic and focused, it wasn’t expected that the Chinese would be tied with the United States at 29 apiece with six minutes before halftime.  Bolstered by blistering three-point shooting in the first half, the Chinese hit 8-12 threes in their first 16 minutes before finally misfiring on the final four attempts.

And in the span of those final four minutes before halftime, the US outscored China 14-5, to open up a 12 point spread.

The third quarter saw the Americans more than double their lead by wearing down Team China, forcing them into seven of their 18 turnovers in the quarter and outscoring the Chinese 25-11.  The United States wouldn’t be seriously threatened from then on.

Despite the score, Team China played well and showed a greater understanding against the Americans.  However, the game showed that their guards still had some work to do as Dwyane Wade was able to easily pick both of China’s point guards’ pockets (Liu Wei and Chen Jianghua).  Yi Jianlian relied way too much on dribble moves that ended up in fadeaway jumpers that barely hit the rim.  Jianlian started out 0-7 before hitting some garbage time baskets that included a spectacular follow-up dunk dunk over Carmelo Anthony.

Dwyane Wade continued his efficient play with 19 points on 7-7 shooting in just 20 minutes of play.  LeBron James added 18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 tremendous blocks.  Kobe Bryant shot 6-14, but only 1-7 from three, including a team-leading 3 turnovers (tied with Jason Kidd).

Yao Ming led the Chinese with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks.  Zhu Fangyu contributed 11 points, 8 rebounds, and outside of Ming, Zhu looked to be the most prepared player on the court.  As mentioned before, Yi Jianlian scored nine points, the 7 of which was during garbage time. Wang ZhiZhi and  Sun Yue, the recent Laker signing, added 8 points each. (China-USA Live Discussion)

Links and Resources: Americans win over China in thrilling Olympic encounter (FIBA), China-USA Boxscore (FIBA)

With less than a week left before Olympic basketball begins, Interbasket is previewing the twelve national teams participating in the tournament.  We will review the six teams in Group A today and Group B later on this week (Click here for Olympic Basketball Group B Preview).

Group A is filled with teams that are more equally-matched.  Outside of Iran, who is the definite underdog in the whole tournament, the remaining five teams, Argentina, Australia, Croatia, Lithuania and Russia, each have good chances of advancing to the quarterfinals.

In other words, we are basically looking at four available quarterfinal spots for five teams.  Group A features strong competitors in defending Olympic Gold-Medalists Argentina, Oceania-champions Australia, Croatia, Lithuania, and 2007 Eurobasket Champs Russia.

Argentina is the slight favorite of this group as they bring back the majority of their core team from 2004.  I would position Argentina just ahead of Lithuania, Russia, and Croatia with Australia being ranked fifth in the group.  Croatia isn’t the most well-known, but is the definite darkhorse of this group.

Check back tomorrow for the Group B Preview.

Argentina Olympic Preview (discuss)
FIBA World Ranking: 2 (726)
Qualified: 2007 FIBA Americas Tournament (2nd)
Roster: Carlos Delfino, Manu Ginobili, Román González, Juan Gutiérrez, Leonardo Gutiérrez, Federico Kammerichs, Andrés Nocioni, Fabricio Oberto, Antonio Porta, Pablo Prigioni, Paolo Quinteros, and Luis Scola.
Facts: Likely to be Ginobili’s last Olympics, Manu was chosen to carry Argentina’s flag in the opening ceremonies.

Note: Oddly enough, the gold medalists from the 2004 Athens Olympics are going to have to re-prove themselves in this tournament.  With the focus on team USA, Spain, and Greece, everyone seems to be overlooking the perennial contenders this time around.

In the same vein, everyone is looking to unseat the defending champions, “There’s no surprise factor this time,” said center Fabricio Oberto. “We’re up against the wall, because everyone knows they’re playing against the Olympic champion.  You can’t just show off your gold medal and expect to win.”

Admittedly, there are two main issues facing Argentina: #1 They are without their veteran point guard Pepe Sanchez, whom retired from international play and #2 is a worn out Manu Ginobili and his jammed ankle. They’ll also have to deal with the loss of key sub Walter Herrmann, whom pulled out from the tournament early on.

On the bright side, the Argentinians have a pretty good replacement for Pepe.  In Pablo Prigioni, they have one the world’s great playermakers, the 31-year old was voted ACB’s best base player (point guard) in 2007 and led the 2007 Tournament of Americas in assists at 6.3 assists.  The question is, how will Quinteros and Porta do as a backup?

Even better news is that Ginobili has now had a couple months off to heal, relax and decompress, since being eliminated from the NBA playoffs. “It feels great, and that makes me very happy.” said Ginobili after a couple National Team practices.

And let’s not forget that Argentina still boasts the hardworking Luis Scola, energetic Andres Nocioni, athletic swingman Carlos Delfino, and solid team contributors in Federico Kammerichs, Paolo Quinteros, Leonardo Gutiérrez, and Fabricio Oberto.  With a team like that, against Spain or USA or whatever, this is a team to be dealt with. “I’d love to play the Olympic final again, and it doesn’t matter against who.” says Ginobili.  Argentina’s First Game:  August 10th, 2008 vs. Lithuania (16:45 local time)

Links and Resources: Basketball at the Summer Olympics (Wikipedia), The Home Team… of Argentina (MySA.com)

Lithuania Olympic Preview (discuss)
FIBA World Ranking: 5 (486)
Qualified: 2007 Eurobasket Championships (3rd)
Roster: Linas Kleiza, Sarunas Jasikevicius, Simas Jasaitis, Robertas Javtokas, Rimantas Kaukėnas, Darjuš Lavrinovič, Kšyštof Lavrinovič, Mindaugas Lukauskis, Jonas Mačiulis, Marius Prekevičius, Ramunas Siskauskas
Facts: This is Sarunas Jasikevičius’s third Olympics, Saras will bear the flag for Lithuania in the Olympic opening ceremonies. Lithuania had received a bronze medal in three straight Olympics (92, 96, 00) before placing fourth in 2004.

Note: Even without Arvydas Macijauskas and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Lithuania is always a force to be reckoned with as the Liths can shoot the lighs out and are battle-tested with their superstars and proven winners in Ramunas Siskauskas and Sarunas Jasikevicius.

The 6-4 Rimantas Kaukėnas will be Lithuania’s starting shooting guard with the aggressive and physical Robertas Javtokas and Linas Kleiza supporting the perimeter players.

In the last several years, Siskauskas has catapulted himself into superstardom in Europe, proving to be one of the best players in the world with his ability to do a little of everything on the floor.  Siskauskas was named to the 2007 Eurobasket All-Tournament Team, won the 2008 Russian league championship, and was named its best player.

The key to Lithuania’s team comes from their perimeter players, mainly Jasikevicius, Kaukenas, and Siskauskas.  If the Lithuanians hope to medal, Saras has to pick up his game and be his magical self, Siskauskas has to live up to his reputation as the European Scottie Pippen (Siska has a much better jumpshot might I add), and Kaukenas must be consistent from the perimeter.

With Darius Songaila likely out of the Olympics because of an injury, Javtokas and Kleiza must be strong on the Lithuanian interior in both defense and rebounding.  They’ll be tested early on as their first game in pool play is against Argentina.  Lithuania’s First Game:  August 10th, 2008 vs. Argentina (16:45 local time)

Links and Resources: Basketball at the Summer Olympics (Wikipedia)

Russia Olympic Preview (discuss)
FIBA World Ranking: 16 (186)
Qualified: 2007 Eurobasket Championships (1st)
Roster: Sergei Bykov, Vitaly Fridzon, J.R. Holden, Victor Keyru, Viktor Khryapa, Andrei Kirilenko, Sergey Monya, Nikita Morgunov, Zakhar Pashutin, Petr Samoylenko, Aleksey Savrasenko, Andrey Vorontsevich.
Facts: Andrei Kirilenko, like Ginobili and Jasikevicius, will have the honor of being the flag-bearer for Russia during the opening ceremonies.  The last time Russia participated in the Olympics was in 2000, where the 19-year old Kirilenko led the Russians to eighth place while leading the tournament in steals.

Note: The 2007 Eurobasket surprise champions Russia, led by the do-it-all Andrei Kirilenko, whom was named Eurobasket MVP.  Fortunately, it looks as key-contributor Victor Khryapa will make it back from an ankle injury in time for the Olympics.  Khryapa will take the spot of former-Kansas center Sasha Kaun on their roster and will add another dimension to Russia’s frontline’s versatility.  Russia has one of the better tournament playmakers in American-born, Russian-naturalized JR Holden, but needs to remain consistent and unflustered throughout the game.

The 6-11 Nikita Morgunov is solid in the Russian frontcourt, and when I say solid, I mean it in a good way, but it also means he has slow feat and not much of a consistent offensive threat.  Think a poor man’s Fabricio Oberto.  Keep an eye out for Sergei Bykov, whom can shoot the three.  These international tournaments always seems to have breakout three-point percentages.  Russia’s First Game:  August 10th, 2008 vs. Iran (09:00 local time)

Links and Resources: Basketball at the Summer Olympics (Wikipedia), Andrei Kirilenko, Russia Basketball (Salt Lake Tribune), Blatt refuses to give up on Khryapa (FIBA)

Croatia Olympic Preview (discuss)
FIBA World Ranking: 20 (100)
Qualified: 2008 World Olympic Qualifying Tournament
Roster: Marko Banić, Stanko Barać, Davor Kus, Krešimir Lončar, Sandro Nicević, Zoran Planinić, Marko Popović, Nikola Prkačin, Marin Rozić, Damjan Rudež, Marko Tomas, and Roko Ukić.
Facts: The last time Croatia participated in the Olympics was in 1996 with players like Toni Kukoc and Dino Radja, placed 7th in the Atlanta Olympics.  Marko Banić, their 24 year old power forward, shot an amazing 93% from the field in the Olympic Qualifyng Tournament, going 14-15 from the field.

Note: Since winning silver in 1992, the Croatians haven’t been able to qualify a team in the last two Olympics despite having some of the more talented players in Europe.  They were able to qualify by going unbeaten in this year’s Pre-Olympic World Qualifiers with a 4-0 record, with much thanks to efficient performances of rising European player Marko Tomas, whom averaged 17 points on high percentages.

Though the Croats are happy to be back in the Olympics again, they’re not satisfied with just being there,“(Being back in the Olympics) is a great success, a great gift for us, but we are not going to go to Beijing as tourists.” said Marko Popovic

This version of Team Croatia has the right amount of talent, chemistry, defense, and aggressiveness to move on to the next round.  There are no headcases or egos on this team.  And to boot, the 2008 National Team brings back 9 of the 12 players that defeated Spain in Eurobasket 2007.

This is a new generation of Croatian players, with a good mix of youth and experience, and are capable of playing and defending at different speeds and styles of play.  Much of that flexibility is due to their under-rated yet diverse backcourt, which is one of the strongest in the Olympics.

Croatia’s backcourt features Davor Kus, Zoran Planinic, Marko Popovic, and Roko Ukic.  These four guards were in Croatia’s top-six in scoring during Eurobasket 2007 and would expect similar production.

In the frontcourt, the 6-10 Damir Markota had injured his meniscus during the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament and won’t make the games.  Markota has been replaced by the versatile Damjan Rudež in order to shore up the forward positions.  Rudež, along with 6-11 Lončar and 6-8 Marko Banić will have to shoulder more of the interior with Markota out.

Even with Rudež, the Croatians will have to continue rebounding as a team.  In the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, no one Croatian player dominated the boards, but the Croats had nine players that averaged between 2.2 rebounds and 3.8 rebounds.  Croatia’s First Game:  August 10th, 2008 vs. Australia (20:00 local time)

Links and Resources: Basketball at the Summer Olympics (Wikipedia), Olympic Team Profile: Croatia (Euroleague), Rudez called by Croatia after meniscus injury knocks out Markota (FIBA), Croatia returns to Olympics with victory over Germany (FIBA)

Australia Olympic Preview (discuss)
FIBA World Ranking: 9 (284, tie)
Qualified: 2007 Oceania Championships (1st)
Roster: David Andersen, Chris Anstey, David Barlow, Andrew Bogut, CJ Bruton, Joe Ingles, Patrick Mills, Brad Newley, Matt Nielsen (C), Shawn Redhage, Glen Saville, Mark Worthington.
Facts: Recent aboriginal NBA draftee Nathan Jawai was left off the Australian roster.  Since 1980 Olympics, Australia has participated in all seven Olympic Games and have placed 8th, 7th, 4th, 6th, 4th, 4th, and 9th.  In the 1996 and 2000 games, where Australia took 4th place, they lost both Bronze medals to Lithuania.

Note: Qualifying through the Oceania region, the Aussies are bringing back five players from the 2004 team (Andersen, Bogut, Bruton, Neilsen, and Saville) and they all will play a large role in the wins and losses of the 2008 team.

The Aussies have always had the talent and size to make noise in international tournaments and they have.  Even though they’ve placed fourth in three of the last five Olympics, the Aussies never quite get over the hump, on the court or total respect off it.

The Aussies have one of the best frontcourts in the tournament with great size in 6-11 David Andersen, 7-0  Chris Anstey, 6-10 Matt Nielsen, and 7-0 Andrew Bogut, whom recently rejoined the team after finalizing his $76m multi-year contract with the Milwaukee Bucks.

With their sizable frontcourt, the Boomers success will also hinge on their guards; experienced point guard  CJ Bruton, Brad Newley, and newcomer Patrick Mills.

Having good guards is key to having a legitimate run for a medal, “You definitely have to have above-average guards.” said Bogut. “It’s not going to be Andrew Bogut or David Andersen averaging 20 and 12 for us to get a medal.”

Team Australia will certainly miss the leadership of Sam Mackinnon, whom is having various knee problems.  Sam Mack was named NBL’s defensive player of the year, MVP, Finals MVP, and international player of the year.

The game plan for Australia to be successful is team chemistry and effort, rebounding, defense or what Bogut likes to say “We’re going to have to junk the game up.”

The Boomers know that in order to advance, they’re going to have to play well together.  Head Coach Brian Goorjian realizes his team’s potential but understands the challenge of coming home with a medal, “There are only three medals. You have got the USA over there and some very strong teams in Europe. We are going to have to play very, very well together.” Australia’s First Game:  August 10th, 2008 vs. Croatia (20:00 local time)

Links and Resources: Boomers’ Andrew Bogut prepares to face basketball’s giants (The Australian), The Boomers (FoxSports.com.au), Neilsen reaches into his own pockets to reach Beijing (FIBA), Bogut says guards hold key to Olympic success for Boomers (Herald Sun)

Iran Olympic Preview (discuss)
FIBA World Ranking: 33 (33.1)
Qualified: Asian Championships (1st)
Roster: Hamed Afagh, Amir Amini, Samad Nikkhah Bahrami, Javad Davari, Saeid Davarpanah, Ali Doraghi, Hamed Haddadi, Mehdi Kamrani, Mousa Nabipour, Oshin Sahakian, Hamed Sohrabnejad, Iman Zandi.
Facts: The 2008 Beijing Olympics will mark only the second time that Iran has qualified and participated in Olympic basketball, the first time being exactly 60 years ago, in the 1948 Olympics held in London.  Iran placed 14th out of 23 participating teams.  Basketball is the only team sport Iran is participating in 2008.

Note: The keyword for Iran is “Experience.”  If being THE underdog of underdogs in this year’s Olympics wasn’t going to be enough already, Iran will compete with heavy hearts after they lost their best player, Aidin Bahrami, to a car accident a couple months after winning the Asian Championships in 2007.

Additionally, Iran may have lost their key player for the games, Hamed Ehadadi, as he went down with an ankle injury playing a pre-Olympic game against China on August 1st.  Haddadi is a promising 7-2, 254lb center that is also Iran’s leading scorer, rebounder and shot-blocker.  Whether Ehadadi will be ready in time for the games is still in question as of this post.

Still, this will be a great opportunity for the Persians to gain valuable experience against more established and competitive teams as is recognized by Serbian head coach Rajko Toroman “In my opinion, that’s only way to improve these players because Iranian league is not so strong. They don’t have enough tough games. Genetically (Iran has) good abilities. They have good body skills, but they do not have enough good technical games in Iranian league.”

“It is like a dream to participate in the Olympic Games — especially for us because basketball in Iran is not that … important,” Aidin’s brother, national teammate, and Iranian captain Samad Bahrami said.

And Bahrami recognizes the feat in front of Team Iran, “”Everybody knows . . . we cannot win any medals, but it’s going to be a very good experience.” Iran’s First Game:  August 10th, 2008 vs. Russia (09:00 local time)

Links and Resources: Basketball at the Summer Olympics (Wikipedia), Aidin Bahrami dies in car accident (Interbasket), Hamed Haddadi the next big thing (Interbasket), Hamed Ehadadi’s injury is the worst nightmare for Iran (Beijing2008), Iran gears up for Beijing Olympics (Iran Press TV)

The Eurobasket 2007 Ideal Five was announced after the final game with Andrei Kirilenko leading the nominations. Tournament leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki and Spanish superstar Pau Gasol were also named to the frontcourt, while the Euro-Pippen Ramunas Siskauskas and Spanish point guard Jose Calderon rounded out the five.

C- Pau Gasol
F- Dirk Nowitzki
F- Andrei Kirilenko
G- Rimunas Siskauskas
G- Jose Calderon

So who would have been on your squad? Would JR Holden be on your second team? Would you have had Sarunas Jasikevicius or Victor Khryapa on your team? What of Tony Parker, Matjaz Smodis or Vasillis Spanoulis? Tell us your ideal five in our forum.

JR Holden stole the ball from Pau Gasol and then hit a jumper with 2 seconds remaining to give Russia the 60-59. And when Pau Gasol’s last second attempt rimmed-out, that gave Russia their first-ever Eurobasket championship over the hosts and favorites of the tournament, Spain. (game thread)

While some national teams had bigger names (Spain, France, Germany) and some others needed buzzer-beaters to win games (Slovenia, Croatia, Greece). The Russian national team coached by David Blatt, who just might be the best coach in Europe, quietly went 7-1 throughout the tournament defeating their opponents by seven points or more in six of their wins with their only loss coming at the hands of Spain.

Led by Andrei Kirilenko, Victor Khryapa, JR holden and Nikita Morgunov with great supporting help from players like Sergei Monya, center Aleksey Savrasenko, three-point shooting Zakhar Pashutin, Petr Samoylenko, and 21-year old Anton Ponkrashov. Though Kirilenko stands out and certainly deserved a lot of credit, it was his front court partner Victor Khryapa who received the ultimate compliment from coach Blatt “Khryapa was the secret of our success.” Krhyapa finished the game with 7 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.

Spain led throughout most of the fourth quarter and Russia was not able to grab the lead until two-straight turnovers in the final minute gave them their opportunity. Kirilenko stole a pass by Spain’s Carlos Jimenez setting up a Nikita Morgunov jumper to bring Russia within striking distance 59-58, and that would set up the final plays of the game.

In the next possession Pau Gasol, who finished the game with 14 points and 14 rebounds, turned the ball over the with 25 seconds remaning to setup the game-winning shot by Holden. Jose Calderon continued his fantastic floor play by scoring 15 points.

“This was a victory of David over Goliath. We faced the beast and knocked him down and won,” Russia coach David Blatt said. “It’s a historic event. I’m proud to be the person in charge of this historic journey.”

Spain (7-1) and Russia (7-1) advanced to the finals of Eurobasket 2007, bringing an end to the nearly two-week tournament.

Spain: Russia @ 21:30, September 16, 2007 (game thread)
The final game will be played exactly one-week to the day when Russia’s only loss came at the hands of the Spanairds in the second round. Russia lost that game 81-69 and never seriously threatened Spain, who held a comfortable lead the entire fourth quarter.

Pau Gasol isn’t nearly as dominating as he has been in previous tournaments, but that isn’tbecause the Spanish superstar has lost a step. Unfortunately for Spain’s opponents, the Spanairds rely less on Gasol because they have fantastic experienced players supporting him — Juan Carlos Navarro, Jose Manual Calderon, Rudy Fernandez, Jorge Garbajosa, Felipe Reyes, Alex Mumbru, and Carlos Jimenez.

Jose Calderon has been fabulous for Spain, shooting 55% from the field and showing fire and leadership at just the right times. Navarro, injured at the beginning of the tournament, is shooting 61% from three since returning to the team.

No doubt, the key player for Russia has been Andrei Kirilenko. Kirilenko had an up-and-down last season with the Utah Jazz, however he’s shown no ill-effects and has quietly dominated the tournament thus far. He leads his team in points (18.1), rebounds (9.0), steals (2.4), blocked shots (1.8), and is second in assists on the team (2.5). But as important a player as Kirilenko is, don’t underestimate the contributions of his teammates, particularly Victor Khryapa and naturalized player John Robert Holden. Holden actually averages the most minutes per game and Khryapa has been steady throughout - 11.9 points, 7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2 steals a game. As a team, the Russians are shooting a very efficient 54.5% from 2-point. Make sure to follow/discuss the game in our forum, click here.

Semi-final action:
Spain 82: Greece 77
In a hotly-contested match, Spain prevailed over Greece for the third time in a year. Greece, the Eurobasket 2005 champions, will play Lithuania in the third place game and that means that there will be a new EuroBasket champion this year. Spain was led by a three-pronged attack; Juan Carlos Navarro and Pau Gasol each scored 23 points for Spain, the two will team up this year in the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies and Jose Manual Calderon added 18 points. Following a fantastic performance yesteday against Slovenia, Theo Papaloukas could not follow-up on that and finished the game with only three points. Vasillis Spanoulis led Greece with 24 points and 5 assists. Pau Gasol added 6 rebounds and 3 blocks for Spain.

Russia 84: Lithuania 76 (game thread)
Russia upset the previously-unbeaten Lithuania. Led by Andrei Kirilenko’s 29 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals for Russia. JR Holden added 18 points, while Victor Khryapa had 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. “This tournament we have not quit, not once,” Russia coach David Blatt said. “In this tournament, we have played to win.” Ramunas Siskauskas scored 30 points for Lithuania. Sarunas Jasikevicius had only 5 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 turnovers.

The first and second-place finishers at Eurobasket determines the two European teams that will receive an automatic berth to the 2008 Olympics in Beijeing. Since Spain has already qualified via the 2006 World Championships, and are guaranteed at-worst a second place finish at EuroBasket, the third place game has additional meaning as the winner of that game will receive the automatic berth. Lithuania and Greece will battle it out for third place @ 19:00 (game thread).

Led by an all-around play from Victor Khryapa (16 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists) and JR Holden’s 15 points, Russia defeated France 75-71 yesterday in what turned out to be a free-throw accuracy contest towards the end the game.

With 24 seconds remaining in the game and the game tied at 69 a piece, twelve free throws would determine the final score. Russia was able to hit 6-8, while France was only able to convert 1-4 by French co-captains Tony Parker and Boris Diaw (Diaw missed both).

The win ends a ten-year drought for the former European powerhouse, who haven’t seen the final four since 197, they will now advance to the semi-finals and play against the winner of the Lithuania-Croatia game (game thread)

This was the first game during EuroBasket 2007 that Andrei Kirilenko did not lead Russia in either points, assists or Rebounds, however AK was able to contribute 6 rebounds, 7 steals, and 4 blocks. Boris Diaw led France with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 5 turnovers. Tony Parker added 15 points and 3 assists for Les Bleus.