Will Greece or Spain intentionally lose tomorrow?

[chrisfiss]

whoever lose today everybody will say he lost on purpose, even if it is in the 3rd OT...

[Gyroscope]

It's ridiculous, to say the least, to lose a game in purpose in order to avoid Spain or the USA in order to play with France or Lithuania or Argentina, or flaming Madagascar - if any Madagascan bball friends (yes, all 3 of you) read this, my apologies

- We are talking about the same Spain that lost to France, right?
- And we are talking about the very same team that lost to Lithuania, right?
- And we're talking about the same Argentina that hasn't been defeated by Greece since 1990 or something, and had a 4-0 until today, and was 1st in 2004, and 3rd in 2008, and 4th in 2006, and 2nd in 2002, right?

Right...

A team playing for any result other than victory is a disgrace to the sport

[prtzn]

whoever lose today everybody will say he lost on purpose, even if it is in the 3rd OT...

Especially if it's 3rd overtime, when Greece vs Russia game is concerned.
That would mean that nobody wanted to take the win.

In Adon vs Fedfan, I support Adon. Except for the part about the insult, where Fedfan meant sad out of sympathy, because this world is gonna be cruel etc...
(Adon later explained that he's not posting because of Weltschmerz)

Personally, I would like Greece, Spain and USA to be in the same 1/4 of the draw. But, I would never like my team to lose on purpose. That may bring temporary gain, but I think that it would bring more bad than good in the bigger picture.

Trying to win tournaments isn't to only axiom of competitive Basketball.
Trying to win games should be an axiom as well!

[chrisfiss]

It's ridiculous, to say the least, to lose a game in purpose in order to avoid Spain or the USA in order to play with France or Lithuania or Argentina, or flaming Madagascar - if any Madagascan bball friends (yes, all 3 of you) read this, my apologies

exactly, avoiding spain and playing with Angola makes sense although i disagree with losing on purpose. but spain-usa VS france/lithuania-argentina/serbia i believe it's difficult to say which group is more difficult...

[chrisfiss]

some people say about france losing to NZ on purpose...how would france benefit from this? avoiding usa in the semis?

[g.g]

I want a big win and performance today with energy and fast bb to be proud

[Gyroscope]

I want a big win and performance today with energy and fast bb to be proud

Exactly. If the Russians want to lose in purpose, let's thrash them. We did it couple of weeks ago, when they didn't want to lose in purpose, we can do it again. No mercy, I say

EDIT:
I remembered something. It was a Real-Panathinaikos (I think) match in Madrid, and - I don't remember the details, it was a bit before the final-4 of mid-1990s - in the last timeout, someone suggested that Panathinaikos should drop the match (so that it would get a certain opponent later on, or something like that). I think Kioumourtzoglou was coach. And I think, it surfaced later, it was Yannakis who said "we can beat Real Madrid right here and right now, in their own home. Let's do it"

Same thing now. If you have the chance to win one of the greatest (historically) bball teams, then do it, I say

[g.g]

Exactly. If the Russians want to lose in purpose, let's thrash them. We did it couple of weeks ago, when they didn't want to lose in purpose, we can do it again. No mercy, I say

Well said...NO FLIPPING MERCY

[Adon]

Exactly. If the Russians want to lose in purpose, let's thrash them. We did it couple of weeks ago, when they didn't want to lose in purpose, we can do it again. No mercy, I say

hear,hear...

[Gyroscope]

Not to mention this:

Scenario A)
You have just lost a game on purpose and you're about to meet Lithuania/France and then Argentina. Your morale is low (a defeat is always a defeat, and there's undeniable ethical considerations as well)

Scenario B)
You have just thrashed (or, at the very least, won with comparative ease) one of the greatest (at least historically) teams in world bball. You meet your nemesis (and later on the best team in the world, which you have defeated last time) - this nemesis is not only lacking 2 of her most important players, it has not convinced anyone with her performance either. Your morale couldn't be higher.

Which one would you pick?

EDIT:
on purpose, on

[g.g]

USA is trying to lose to Tunisia to avoid Greece/Spain

[Adon]

USA is trying to lose to Tunisia to avoid Greece/Spain

I knew it! Chicken shit Americans

[Hepcat]

spain and greece are quite better then canada and russia... so it be very suspicious, if spain or greece lose tomorrow.

I see no evidence yet in this tournament that Greece is quite a bit better than Russia. Having played exactly the same teams, Greece is 3-1 and has outscored its opponents 334-297. Russia is also 3-1 and has outscored its opponents 292-277. But the difference in the point differential has come about because Greece beat Ivory Coast by 37 points while Russia beat the team by only 6. I mean so what?

It's today's game between the two clubs that will determine which is better.

[Freaknick]

Losing games intentionally might be the dumbest thing in sports. It's flat-out admission that you fear another team. It stabs the spirit of competition in the heart.

I asked Kevin Love about it and he's not a fan either. Also asked him about facing Greece, what it means to be a 'FIBA' style player, and if his shaved beard made him more aerodynamic:

Kevin Love talks about Greece. And his beard. But mainly his beard.

[Dreamcatcher]

The jokiest game by far...