2010 World Championship

[Maximus1984]

CARLSBERGGGGGGGGGGGGG's my favorite beer so far.

Almaza comes 2nd

eventhough i'm a german fan, but Bavaria is the worst beer i've ever tasted

[sseppel]

CARLSBERGGGGGGGGGGGGG's my favorite beer so far.

Almaza comes 2nd

eventhough i'm a german fan, but Bavaria is the worst beer i've ever tasted

Bavaria is from netherlands Carlsberg is just OK for me.

[lebanese NT]

Bavaria is from netherlands Carlsberg is just OK for me.

i'll go with heineken

[Luíz for 3]

SUPER BOCK!!! The best beer in Portugal and every English men love it so much

[sseppel]

SUPER BOCK!!! The best beer in Portugal and every English men love it so much

C'mon, English people will drink compulsively anything you give them

I like Super Bock, though. For me, the best spanish beer is Alhambra. Estrella Galicia is also OK. The best known overseas is San Miguel, but not so many people know that the company was born in Philippines, although it is spanish now

[Red 7]

Le Choufe rocks!! (unsure about spelling)

[Simonas123]

Here's Kemzura's thoughts before the start of the WC. Just before boarding the plane to Turkey. About New Zealand, other opponents and the Lithuanian game... http://www.lithuaniabasketball.com/news-425.html

[PRSURF]

Medalla Light is better!

[Freaknick]

ELA's final FIBA power rankings are in a little more than a day before things get kicked off. I'm here in Istanbul and will be providing daily coverage of the tournament: live blogging, Tweeting, podcasts, power rankings, videos and more, so make sure you keep with all of the action on Euroleague Adventures. And here now for your commenting pleasure are the rankings.

The Final FIBA Power Rankings: Down Under Rising

Enjoy and, of course, let me know what you think at the bottom of the article.

[Saskibaloia]

Question for All the Lithuanian Fans ...

How far will Lithuania will go in this edition of the World Championships?

I'm familiar with the Lithuanian teams of the past but I'm not familiar with this team except for some players such as Javtokas and Linas Kleiza.

Can this squad reach the podium like in the past?

[Saskibaloia]

Spain to win the World Championships and Rubio as MVP

I am predicting for Spain to win it again due to their team chemistry, bench depth, experience, international star power, offensive sets and overall familiarity to international basketball.

For me, I see Ricky Rubio having one hell of a tournament and finishing off as the tournament's MVP. His defense, court vision and familiarity to the international game is second to none.

I'm predicting Spain to reach the Finals to take on another European team either Greece, Croatia or Lithuania. I can't imagine the USA reaching the finals due to their lack of experience, lack of height, lack of familiarity to the international style of play, over excessive focus on their transition game and lack of chemistry.

[NorCal]

U.S. will win it

Most everyone is looking at the U.S.A's areas where they aren't as strong as the other top tier teams and focusing on those (size, possible rebounding issues, outside shooting, team cohesion) instead of focusing on the areas where the U.S. is stronger than everyone else.

I'm with Freaknick in that our defense is the key and it has been very good throughout the exhibition games. I don't believe this is a fluke and I do believe it will carry over into all of our games. Like I mentioned in another post, the factor that seems to be really helping the U.S. is Tony Ronzone's scouting and the use of advanced sports metrics to better understand the opposing team's offensive tendencies. I think this is a HUGE deal for our team.

Now the disclaimer- as has been said a hundred times, when the round of 16 starts it is a single elimination tournament so anything can happen.

Let me finish with this- is there be any team you would bet on to beat the U.S. in a 7 game series? I wouldn't. That to me says we are the best team in the tournament and have a better than 50% chance of beating anyone.

[sinobball]

I think US is the favorite but no way their chance is over 50%. In international games experience is HUGE. Winning all exhibition games may turn out to not be such a good thing.

[NorCal]

I think US is the favorite but no way their chance is over 50%. In international games experience is HUGE. Winning all exhibition games may turn out to not be such a good thing.

Sorry, to be more clear about the 50% thing........I am stating that I believe they have a better than 50% chance of winning any game they are playing. That's a fancy way of saying I think they should be favored in any one game they are playing on any given day.

[Freaknick]

The thing with the US is that---as NorCal said---everybody wants to search for inadequacies. That's the sort of thing that should be taken as a compliment in my eyes. Between having 12 of the most talented players and the 12 who understand a particular style the best, give me the ones with the physical gifts. The chances of 40-60% of them fitting into the system are much greater than the more knowledgeable group becoming more athletic or quicker with the ball in a month.

Princeton and Georgetown have run the same offenses for years, but how many times would you take the Tigers over the Hoyas in a 20-game series? Maybe once. Twice would be a stretch.

...excuse the NCAA example. It was the best I could find.

Oh, and ELA's new Power Rankings are up:

The Final FIBA Power Rankings: Down Under Rising

Enjoy and, of course, let me know what you think at the bottom of the article.