[Eurobasket 2017 Final] - Slovenia vs Serbia

[slice me nice]

Great victory for Slovenia, heartfelt congratulations to all Slovenians! I went to see the game in Dome and followed the game among with Slovenian fans. I have met a lot of lovely real basketball fans including KK Krka's conditioner and assistant trainer whom had flied to Istanbul for just this game How amazing all the basketball stakeholders of a country has managed to become integrated under a flag. That's the real passion I have been seeking in basketball when it comes to NTs. After the game, we went to have a good time to celebrate the victory in the night club I play. Exchanging the telephone number with two lovely Slovenian cuties was also the benefit of the day! It was good to feel like a Slovenian for a day

[Dirtyh]

The funny thing is people think that the last US team in Olympics was not a weak team.
Let's look at who they were missing in the last Olympics (and I will only list the most obvious ones):

Totally of topic but;

USA is not stronger or weaker with the names you listed. They don't have B-team or C-team. They have something like 5-6 A-teams. If you take closer look, you see that they have actually played worse when they had more of those big names (OG 2008, 2012) compared to less known WC teams. Yes, this is game where talent wins games but this is still team game.

TBH, I can see some team beating Team Usa someday but it's only one game. No one is not even close of it's level. Sadly.

Congratulations to all Slovenians, that was day to remember!

[Dacho88Nk]

Unless you meet the US before the final

If we meet before the finals, we will destroy them

[Dacho88Nk]

The stores sell plenty of gold if you want to get some. Some people are reaaaaalllly high in this forum. Too much smoking going on in Serbia nowadays.

Will see bro

[Dacho88Nk]

Some serbs after some good tournaments smoked too much...They will beat even Usa now twice you were destroyed by 40 in finals by them...even 5 teodosics in a team wont help to win againts americans.

About other places new tournament new stories...Nobody could believe that Slovenia will win eurobasket before tournament.They were somewhere like 7-9 by rankings.

No smoking bro, no, no

First (if the Americans do not come with the strongest team and we come) or second

On Serbian - Zivio

[Dacho88Nk]

oh, off course! I would even say it's 100% and a little bit more...

Have in mind next EB will take place in 2021, Teo 34yo, Bjelica 33yo. Jokic so far hasn't proved to be a true patriot of the team. Serbia is a great team with a great BB school (I think there are only few teams at their level BB school wise, it's Spain and Lithuania), but you ain't Spain of 2001-2015 as of yet. Heavy contender, but you need to grab few titles to begin with.

I have in my mind Ouuuuuuujeah, give just some good music hahahah You see I'm kidding a bit

[Erkan12]

I guess Dragic has given an answer to everybody that think Europe is coming closer to Nba. I'm afraid it doesn't look like that.

Because Europe changed their style in recent years. The only reason why Europe could put up a resistance against the NBA teams and their game play was slowing the game a lot and playing the game accordingly. In recent years, european basketball has changed and now they are also playing fast which makes it easier for the NBA players. Spain, Slovenia, even Serbia changed their style and they are playing with high energy and athleticism. When it come to that NBA is the best and you can't compete. You think Greece was closer to the USA team back in the 2006 ? We know how Spanoulis failed in the NBA where the same type of players were playing in the league, Diamantidis and Papaloukas didn't even try their chances. No, because that team was playing the game really slow that's what made players like D-Wade and LeBron to fail in a game that they aren't used to play. Not like European basketball weakened, they just changed their style and more adapted to the NBA games. Heck, even FIBA is thinking about the changing the current stepping rule and traveling violation with the same rule that NBA using it right now.

https://twitter.com/EkpeUdoh/status/898230547738226688

[Picek]

Heck, even FIBA is thinking about the changing the current stepping rule and traveling violation with the same rule that NBA using it right now.

https://twitter.com/EkpeUdoh/status/898230547738226688

they are not thinking, they actually changed it this summer for the upcoming season.

[ncjazz]

Dragic has indeed now retired from Slovenian team. However when 2019 rolls around if they are able to qualify for WC wonder if he might not reconsider.

[janketa]

Great victory for Slovenia, heartfelt congratulations to all Slovenians! I went to see the game in Dome and followed the game among with Slovenian fans. I have met a lot of lovely real basketball fans including KK Krka's conditioner and assistant trainer whom had flied to Istanbul for just this game How amazing all the basketball stakeholders of a country has managed to become integrated under a flag. That's the real passion I have been seeking in basketball when it comes to NTs. After the game, we went to have a good time to celebrate the victory in the night club I play. Exchanging the telephone number with two lovely Slovenian cuties was also the benefit of the day! It was good to feel like a Slovenian for a day

Stay Slovenian for year or two please If Randolph quit you can play as naturalized player

[Joško Poljak Fan]

Well, yeah, we naturalised a PF. Considering our second PF was Saša Zagorac, that considered a retirement in 2013 since by than, he barely earned for a living playing basketball and than got convienced to play one more cash-less season for fun, which turned out decent enough for the man actualy getting paid for almost the first time in his career... of course we naturalised Anthony.

But there's a thing.

Give me 10 210cm kids (better said kids that are promising to grow to such height) and 10 years of training... half will probably be stiffs, 2 will end up playing basketball for free, 2 could make a pro career (unless the country is loaded with such height, meaning they won't get through as easily) and 1 of them might likely get into a consideration for NBA level at some point.

Let's got to PF's... 20-30 kids around 205 cm, 80% won't make it, some will play at amateur levels... and 1-2 might develop into a decent european level.

SF's... 60-70 kids of aprox 200 cm potential height... vast majority won't make it, few will play recreational in lower leagues, 2 or 3 might make actualy earn a buck or two and 1-2 might potentialy develop into a servicable wingman at higher levels.

Now let's go to guards... basicaly out of 100 technicaly very good kids at pretty early ages, within the selection process it basicaly comes down to having luck and being injury free at really early ages for them to even get noticed and pushed a bit further, where their talent will be judged all over again. I remember when I was 14, the competition on SG was tremendous and differences between them relatively small. Potentially some that didn't get the chance could even use it better than the ones that were pushed forward, be it injuries, club politics or temper issues coaches didn't want to handle, not to mention a lot of them didn't get the same amount or quality of the practices, let alone coaching.
That's the enviroment that makes it possible to grow a guard star. Deadly competition that requires enormous devotion, as well as luck, for those kids to make it. Sure, those top notch potentials can get noticed pretty early, but it still takes the enviroment I described above, for them to fulfill their potential.

As much as some won't like to hear that, that's also the reason USA's let's say 300th best PG is still good enough to be naturalised by some european NT's and be considered almost as a cornerstone of that team.


Now... we did naturalise a 211cm tall PF, a really good one while we're at it, but I don't really care about it that much, at least we weren't forced to naturalise a PG, as most countries do. Than I would be deeply worried about my countries bball future. Some might have a big base of 200cm+ tall guys, that aren't really that hard to develop when you put it through the numbers game perspective, guards can be a bit different story.


Respect to the countries that don't get into the naturalisations, however while naturalising a C / PF might be a numbers game, the need of naturalising a guard is in my opinion much worse as it's an indicative of a much bigger issues that take a lot of time and effort to resolve.

[Straight forward]

Dragic is retiring though, I was thinking Slovenia could really mess around with still great Dragic and even more dominant young fellow + the crew in WC. Let's face it, without Dragic Slovenia wouldn't go anywhere. It's one thing to have a surprisingly successful 3-4 minutes clutch stretch in the final without him, and to play entire tournament...

Slovenian fans, federation should work hard on convincing Dragic to play for one or two years (in case Slovenia gets to Olympics).

[Joško Poljak Fan]

He still isn't convienced eventhough I don'tthink he'll play anymore.
He said that his dad, mom, brother, wife, friends, teamates are conviencing him to play one more tournament... and that he can't wait for the kids to start pressuring him as well, since they're the only ones currently that don't

I am not worried about our guards though, obviously no new Dragič in sight yet. But from 95' we've got Nikolič and Rebec (some late boomers as Barbarič, Špan or someone else might join later) 97' Šiško if he gets his head straights, Barič (although undersized), Mesiček if he would get past his health issues is a great talent, later on there are some potentialy sick PG's like Samar (99) or Duščak (00').
It's the tall guys that are worrying. No PF in sight except for a pretty raw Durnik (97') and no C in sight except for Macura (99') and a really big gap before they'll become productive on this level, considering Vidmar also will retire from NT.

In the mean time... Marko Pajič 93', that was considered special few years ago, will probably be our best hope, however the fact that he lost 2 years to various injuries and only slowely is getting back through Slovenian league... says it all about the desperate situation of our big guys.

[jamescaan]

Totally of topic but;

USA is not stronger or weaker with the names you listed. They don't have B-team or C-team. They have something like 5-6 A-teams. If you take closer look, you see that they have actually played worse when they had more of those big names (OG 2008, 2012) compared to less known WC teams. Yes, this is game where talent wins games but this is still team game.

TBH, I can see some team beating Team Usa someday but it's only one game. No one is not even close of it's level. Sadly.

Congratulations to all Slovenians, that was day to remember!

Sure they are stronger if they field likes of LeBron, Curry, Kawhi, Westbrook. You must be joking if you think they are not stronger with such names. Then Serbian team of today has the same strength without Teodosic Jokic, etc. as well. That does not make sense.