Are you looking to watch Greece take on China, or Lithuania vs. New Zealand in the first day of World Championships?

Follow all the group play matches in Interbasket’s World Championships of Basketball forum where we’ve created individual game threads so you find out where to watch the game, comment on the game, and follow along with Greek, Chinese, and basketball fans from around the world.  Check out the individual game threads below:

From the crew @ Interbasket (and Pau Gasol), we wish you a very Merry Christmas, a super Hannukkah; a happy holidays.  Whatever you you do, however you are celebrating, whoever you are with, wherever you are in the world – we sincerely hope you have a safe and happy holiday season.

Pau Gasol walks up the court in the Laker’s game vs. the New Jersey Nets.

Merry Christmas or Merry Christmas translated in the many different languages around the world:  Veselé vánoce (Czech), Vrolijk kerstfeest (Dutch), Joyeux Noël (French), Frohe Weihnachten (German), Kala Christouyenna (Greek), Buon Natale (Italian), Linksmų Kalėdų (Lithuanian), Feliz Natal (Portuguese), С Рождеством (Russian),  Vesel Božič (Slovenian), Feliz Navidad (Spanish), God jul (Swedish), Maligayang Pasko (Tagalog – Philippines), สุขสันต์วันคริสต์มาส (Thai), Mutlu Noeller (Turkish)…

The Greek A1 Basketball League will come to a stop as of January 1st, 2010.

A strike will occur because an agreement could not be reached, once again, between the Union of Greek Professional Basketball Clubs (ESAKE) and the Union of Professional Greek Basketball Players (PSAK).

(Discuss Greek Basketball in our forum)

And without an agreement, it seems likely that the Greek A1 League will be suspended indefinitely as of January 1st, 2010.

From Talkbasket: Most of the Greek clubs have fiercely positioned against the Players’ Union demands and threats of a strike and have even made public statements. Kolossos, Aris and Trikala didn’t even bother to attend the meeting of the clubs where they discussed how the demands of the players would be handled.

One of the demands of Greek players is to reduce the number of eligible non-Europeans to a maximum two from the maximum three which is currently the limit. Olympiacos who was one of the main clubs to push for the increase of non-European (namely Americans)  players this summer has made a public announcement weeks ago accusing the players of damaging the Greek basketball and in the meanwhile they released Von Wafer and are now playing with two Americans.

The league features players like Linas Kleiza, Josh Childress, Theo Papaloukas, Miloš Teodosić, Vassilis Spanoulis, Juan Dixon, Dimitris Diamantidis, Nick Calathes, Nikola Peković, Ioannis Bourousis, Taurean Green, Drew Nicholas, and Šarūnas Jasikevičius.

The player’s union’s final decision is due to come by December 27th, after their president Lazaros Papadopoulos meets with the Greek Secretary of Sports. Discuss Greek Basketball in our forum

It’s been a busy week for FIBA as they announced the four wild cards on Saturday, and determined the top four seeds for the World Championships of Basketball on Sunday.

Now the federation that overseas international basketball has announced the draw results that will determine the groupings for the 2010 world basketball event in Istanbul, Turkey.

The 24 participating nations were drawn into four groups of six teams each:

• Group A: Serbia, Argentina, Australia, Jordan, Germany, Angola
• Group B: Croatia, Brazil, Tunisia, Slovenia, Iran, USA
• Group C: China, Turkey, Russia, Puerto Rico, Ivory Coast, Greece
• Group D: Lithuania, Lebanon, France, Spain, Canada, New Zealand

(Discuss the draw results in our forum)

The draw was held at the the Ciragan Palace Kempinski Hotel, Istanbul, on 15th December 15th, 2009 at 11:30AM local time.

The draw was conducted jointly by FIBA and the LOC in the presence of participating nations’ representatives, “National Federation members, prominent public figures and members of the international media.”

The FIBA World Championships are held every four years and determines the world’s top country in basketball.

From the bottom to the top.

With the four final wild cards handed out yesterday, the World Championships of Basketball continue to take shape from the bottom up. FIBA has now decided the four countries that will lead the four groups: Argentina, Greece, Spain and USA.

These four federations will be the number one seeds in their group and are currently the four top basketball nations, according to FIBA’s world rankings – Argentina is ranked #1, USA #2, Spain #3, and Greece is ranked 4th.

For the full explanation on how the seedings will pan out, go to Talkbasket.net.

Are the Memphis Grizzlies attempting to sign guard Von Wafer?

(Discuss Von Wafer’s returning to the NBA)

Wafer, who played for the Houston Rockets two seasons ago, is trying to get out of his overseas contract with Greek club Olympiacos after the two parties have butted heads.

The 6-5 guard and his agent will have to work out a compromise to be released from his Euroleague contract as well as obtaining a letter of clearance from FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, before returning to the NBA.

The 24-year old Wafer averaged 7.7 points for Olympiacos in limited time, and 9.7 points on 44.7-percent shooting for the Houston Rockets in 2008-09. Wafer has also played for the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers, Denver and Portland during a four-year NBA career.

Rumors have Von Wafer and Greek club Olympicos both would like to part ways and the negotiations to break the player’s contract have already begun.

(Talk Greek Basketball in our forum)

According to Talkbasket, the supposed reasoning why the two parties are parting ways is over Von Wafer’s contributions to the team, or the lack there of.  Depending on which side you believe.

The move has been rumored and been in the works for weeks now.

The 24-year old Wafer was sent home from practice in late November.

And a recent move by Olympiacos’ coach Panagiotis Giannakis was a death knell for Wafer, as the club signed Patrick Beverly to reduce Von Wafer’s role.

Beverly was specifically brought in to play just in Euroleague games and his contract costs significantly less than Wafer’s (1/6th the cost).

Wafer’s current contract is worth an estimated $1.8 million dollars and it’s likely that Wafer will ask for the entire season’s salary as compensation.

Along with Linas Kleiza, Wafer signed with Olympiacos in late August of this year. Read the full article at TalkBasket.

Theodoros Papaloukas (right), the 6-7 point guard extraordinaire tied a Euroleague record with 14 assists in Olympiacos’ tight 88-84 win over Entente Orleanaise last night.

(Discuss Papaloukas’ performance and Euroleague Week 6 in our forum)

The former Euroleague MVP teamed with Linas Kleiza, who had 19 fourth quarter points, in Olympiacos’ late comeback.

Papaloukas’ 14 assists is tied with former-UCLA, former NBA player, and former-Olympiacos player Tyus Edney.

The 32-year old Papaloukas not only owns four of the top ten individual performances for assists in one game (14 last night, 13, 12 twice), but is the all-time Euroleague career leader with a total of 792 assists.

Against Orleanaise, Papaloukas also scored 7 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and added 2 steals.

At the sold-out Peace and Friendship Stadium in Piraeus, Josh Childress led Olympiacos with 19 points and 10 rebounds and his double-double helped the Reds to a 87-76 win over arch rivals Panathinaikos in a Final Four rematch of the Greek League on Sunday.

(Discuss the Green-Red game in our forum)

Theo Papaloukas added 20 points and Linas Kleiza 13 for the Reds. Drew Nicholas scored a team-high 18 for Panathinaikos, Vasileios Spanoulis contributed 17 points, and Dmitrios Diamantidis added 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists in the loss.

The loss dropped the Greens to 4-1 and kept the Reds undefeated in the Greek League at 5-0. After the game, Childress will be traveling home to America for his father’s funeral.

From Sport24.gr (via TalkBasket):

Olympiacos’ coach Panagiotis Giannakis has sent former Houston Rocket guard Von Wafer home after clashing with one of the coaching staff.

(Talk Greek basketball in our forum)

The problem with Wafer comes days before Olympiacos plays some very important games against Partizan and rivals Panathinaikos.

Before signing with the Greek powerhouse, Wafer had clashed with Rocket’s coach Rick Adelman over playing time during the 2009 NBA playoffs. Adelman sent Wafer out of the gym for his insubordination.

Von Wafer, who along with fellow NBAer Linas Kleiza was signed by the Greek club over the summer, is averaging 7.7 pts in three Euroleague games thus far. Wafer played five seasons in the NBA, averaged 6.2 points in 13 minutes a game.

Good news for Hellas, the superstar backcourt of Theo Papaloukas and Dimitris Diamantidis plans on returning to the Greek National Team for the 2010 World Championships.

(Discuss the 2010 World Championships in our forum)

Both players missed the 2009 Eurobasket tournament this past summer.

“My goal is to be (at the World Championships).” Papaloukas told the media during a press conference. “If my body complies and if I fit in the coach’s plans I will be glad to be there.”

“I too would like to return to the National Team and help in the effort at the World Championships.” Diamantidis added.

The two players play on competing clubs, arch-rivals Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, in the Greek league. Papaloukas plays for the reds (Olympiacos), while Diamantidis plays for the Greens (Panathinaikos).

The World Championships will be held from August 28th to September 12th, 2010 in Instanbul, Turkey.

Greek club Aris Thessaloniki has dipped into the former NBA players market with the one-year signing of ex-Portland and Washington (among others) guard Juan Dixon in the hopes that he can help turn around their fortunes.

Dixon has always been a decent scorer, his best in seven NBA seasons coming in 2005-6 in Portland when he averaged 12.3 points per game but he was never really able to get a hold on a starting role apart from that one season in the Pacific Northwest.

The 31-year-old had been in camp with the Atlanta Hawks this summer, but failed to earn a deal and decided after talking over his future with his family to relocate to Greece and join a roster that has quite an American influence.

Dixon already knows Aaron Miles well, having been in camp with him before and having come up against him in the 2002 NCAA Final Four, the college basketball championship.

The veteran did not arrive in Greece in time for the first two games of the A1 League season, and he arrives to a team in a touch of disarray after their humiliation at the hands of PAOK on Friday when they crashed to an embarrassing 83-48 defeat.

Things get no easier for Mario Boni’s team this week with league leaders Panathinaikos next on the schedule, but they will hope to get something from Dixon as they attempt to climb off the bottom of the table and regain the form that saw them run Olympiakos close in the first round.

It’s not as if the Aris roster is hopeless – there is talent in Great Britain’s Andrew Betts and Miles is one of the better passers in the league – but Dixon’s arrival should give them a little bit of star power if he can find the form that saw him drafted 17th in the NBA draft in 2002.

Sure, 2002 is a long time ago in professional sports terms, but Dixon was still used in 50 NBA games by the Wizards – his second spell with Washington – last year and if his scoring touch remains, NBA Picks suggest he should be a serviceable guard in Greece.

As Dixon said: ‘I talked to Aaron and told me many things about the team and the city. We have known each other for many years and I look forward to playing with him.”

“I think this is a great environment. I know that the supporters are very enthusiastic. I also know that this club has a long history. I hope I can play well enough to become part of the history of Aris Thessaloniki as well.”

Olympiacos of the Euroleague, dropped two straight exhibition matches to NBAsquads in the 2009 Euroleague American Tour; losing by an average of 17 points.

The Greek club with three NBA players that they signed away in the last two years, Josh Childress, Linas Kleiza, and Von Wafer, was felled by the San Antonio Spurs 107-89, and the Cleveland Cavs 111-94.

San Antonio Spurs 107 Olympiacos 89
The Spurs used a dominant first quarter, to take an 18 point lead after one, 39-21. Olympiacos would play San Antonio evenly for the rest of the game, but the Reds would never be able to make up for their slow start.

Second-year player George Hill led the Spurs with 17 points. Tony Parker had 12 points, while Tim Duncan and Roger Mason Jr. each added 10 points in the Spurs win.

Sofoklis Schortsanitis led the Reds with with 16 points. Childress and Wafer added 16 and 11 respectively. You can see the full boxscore for the game here.

Cleveland Cavs 111 Olympiacos 94
Against the Cavs, Olympiakos would falter in the second and third quarter; as they were outscored by 20 points in the middle quarters.

Daniel Gibson led seven Cleveland players in double-figures with 15 points. Anderson Varejao and JJ Hickson each had 13 points,  Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James added 12 points apiece, and Coby Karl and Anthony Parker both contributed 10 points.

Former NBA players Josh Childress and Linas Kleiza top-scored for Olympiacos with 16 points. Yotam Halperin added 15 points, Patrick Beverly 11, and Nikola Vujcic scored 9 points.

The Cavs shot 55% from the field, compared to Olympiacos’ 47.5%. James and Theo Papaloukas each had  a game-high 7 assists. For the full game boxscore, click here.

Another European team, Partizan Belgrade, also participated in the tour, losing both their games by 30+ points to the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets.

Georgi Shermadini (also Shermatini) is a 7-1 center from the Republic of Georgia and one of the big name prospects in Europe.

(discuss Georgi Shermadini)

As normal with younger players that sprout up before they’re bodies are ready, the 20-year old Shermadini is still years away from filling in his skinny, 7-1 frame.

But with potential as immense as his size, a 19-year old Shermadini dominated the Georgian league, averaging 33.5 points and 18.4 rebounds and 3.1 blocks in 2008-09.

In Eurobasket qualification games, Georgi joined Team Georgia and put up 4.6 points, shooting 68% from the field, and 2.3 rebounds in just 7.2 minutes a game as a backup to national team star and NBA center Zaza Pachulia.

Following his promising performances, Shermadini would sign with Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos for the 2009-10 Euroleague season.

Playing with Panathinaikos, he found himself again in a backup role, this time to league superstar Nikola Peković.

However, Sharmadini has showed his skills in early pre-season games where he has scored 16 points and 28 points.

“Three years ago, when I started my career, I coudn’t even imagine that I should be part of the best European team.” said Shermadini. “I’ll work hard to show my potential and have some playing time when coach (Željko) Obradović decides that I am ready to be on the court.”

“It’s a big honor for me and also a great opportunity.”

And Obradovic is willing to give his young players, including Milenko Tepic and Georgios Bogris, “If some big players are not there, that opens up opportunities for young prospects to prove themselves and shine.” says Obradovic

Early on, the 16-year old Shermadini started making waves of Ricky Rubio-proportions for his club team Tbilis; scoring 89 points scored against Sokhumi State University, in addition to recording games with 76, 60, 54 and 52 points.

Shermadini’s performance at the Adidas Superstar Camp earned him a selection to the World All-Star Team, but he didn’t participate because of a meniscus injury.

This same injury caused many NBA teams not to select the Georgian prospect when he declared early for the 2008 NBA draft.

Links and Resources: Georgi Shermadini Discussion (Interbasket)

Spain‘s Pau Gasol was chosen as Eurobasket’s Most Valuable Player and also named to the All-Tournament team.

After coming into the tournament as the favorites, Spain was upset by Serbia and Gasol played terribly; scoring a tournament-low 9 points and shooting 1-8 from the free throw line.

(Discuss: Who’s on your Eurobasket All-Star Team?)

Gasol and Spain would eventually bounce back. Throughout the tournament, Gasol led Spain in points, rebounds, blocked shots, including 18 points 11 rebounds and 4 blocks in the 85-63 finale win over Serbia.

Gasol also shot a team-high 66.3% from two-point range in the tournament.

Gasol’s 18.6 points per game made him the tournament’s leading scorer while also grabbing a second-best 8.3 rebounds, and leading all players in blocked shots (2.2).

The Spanish center highlighted the All-Tourament Team, which featured his teammate and Portland Traiblazers shooting-guard Rudy Fernández, who averaged 13.6 points and led all the field with 2.1 steals per game.

Serbian guard Miloš Teodosić, Slovenian center Erazem Lorbek and Greek guard Vasileios Spanoulis rounded out the remaining positions on the 2009 Eurobasket All-Tournament Team..