[Day 3a] Game B/7: Latvia - Italy

[Raze Lupin]

Go italy but.....

I'm watching the Latvia vs Italy game. Italy has 5 great players 2 great reserve. Still they have little chemistry, poor defense and NO HEART. Seriously they are a bust. Kudos to the Latvia team. I think Italy is just soft....

I'm glad they won Bargnani was BEAST! Still the Italians are missing toughness on defense and offense.

[Raze Lupin]

Thanks to St Andrew (Bargnani) Italy got a difficult game with a Latvian team that was good along 3Qs but on its knees in Q4 playing awfully and shooting poorly from the FT line.
Finally, Italy deserved this win trying to get it till the end.

I'm pulling for Italy Carlo but your boys need to tough'n up! They have so much Talent!

[rusher]

Finally, Italy deserved this win trying to get it till the end.

Italy didn't deserve anything... though, on the other hand Latvia doesn't have players that could win a game like this so in reality it was a predictable outcome... Italy having great players but playing poor team game but at the end it was enough for them to win anyway.

I wonder if Latvia has a chance to get a victory here, Tough group, really tough but maybe we could get lucky against Israel. But as I said... this is not our Eurobasket and probably the next one still won't be... the team needs to grow and mature.

[Italian Pride]

but datome the only talented player on the bench that we have why always played such a short?mah...

[Silvio]

Italy didn't deserve anything... though, on the other hand Latvia doesn't have players that could win a game like this so in reality it was a predictable outcome... Italy having great players but playing poor team game but at the end it was enough for them to win anyway.

I wonder if Latvia has a chance to get a victory here, Tough group, really tough but maybe we could get lucky against Israel. But as I said... this is not our Eurobasket and probably the next one still won't be... the team needs to grow and mature.

Latvia will have no wins here. Draw put them in strongest group.

But, I don't think they would do much better in other groups either. If this was round robin (23 games, each team against each other), my estimation is Latvia would finish with 2-21 record, 50%-50% game vs Portugal and some chances vs Poland, Ukraine, Belgium and Finland. Other 18 games sure losses. Placement 23rd or 24th, depending on h2h vs Portugal.

[rusher]

Latvia will have no wins here. Draw put them in strongest group.

But, I don't think they would do much better in other groups either. If this was round robin (23 games, each team against each other), my estimation is Latvia would finish with 2-21 record, 50%-50% game vs Portugal and some chances vs Poland, Ukraine, Belgium and Finland. Other 18 games sure losses. Placement 23rd or 24th, depending on h2h vs Portugal.

Before Eurobasket we won Georgia 84:73 and Great Britain 74:51... these were our last two preparatory games, so I wouldn't say it would all be hopeless... The team has made a long way from the loss to Lithuanian students...

I think we'd have 50-50 against a number of teams.... Today's game, for example, we lost only because of inexperience... missed free throws, rush in the offence in 4th quarter etc. There wasn't any miracles in this game, no Blūms or someone else best game in his/her life, no crazy 3 pointer percentage... just inexperience and 57% in free throws.... 57%...... due to shaking hands, thinking about the possible first win against big team in Eurobasket...


Players were really sad after this game... They knew they could win it... Don't know how it'll be for the last two games as now they are in pretty bad condition...

Of course we are not as good to play Serbia, France yet, maybe even Israel too (they might be better than Italy anyways) but this, imho, was one of these our 50-50 games... I really believe so. And it wasn't just some game... Italians badly needed to win this and Latvia made them work for this win... the fact that italy's two leaders played 36 minutes is the best evidence...