Game Day 2 - European Qualifiers

[Levenspiel]

26 Nov 2017 - Sunday

Latvia - Sweden
Ukraine - Turkey
Belarus - Montenegro
Croatia - Italy
Romania - Netherlands
Lithuania - Poland
Hungary - Kosovo
Spain - Slovenia

27 Nov 2017 - Monday

Russia - Belgium
Greece - Israel
Finland - Czech Republic
Estonia - Great Britain
Serbia - Georgia
Austria - Germany
France - Bosnia & Herzegovina
Island - Bulgaria

[Lukas2K]

My predictions .

26 Nov 2017 - Sunday

Latvia - Sweden
Ukraine - Turkey
Belarus - Montenegro
Croatia - Italy
Romania - Netherlands
Lithuania - Poland
Hungary - Kosovo
Spain - Slovenia

27 Nov 2017 - Monday

Russia - Belgium
Greece - Israel
Finland - Czech Republic
Estonia - Great Britain
Serbia - Georgia
Austria - Germany
France - Bosnia & Herzegovina
Island - Bulgaria

[okanial]

With the absences and as an away game Ukraine is dangerous. That team knows how to play together. But still we should win if we can get contribution from our big guys.

[edvinas9]

Any info about Erden's injury?

[BiHBasket]

Our roster will be same as in the first game:

1 - Gordic, Gegic
2 - Hasandic
2/3 - Musa, Atic
3 - Lazic, Vrabac, Milosevic
4 - Sulejmanovic
5 - Stipanovic, Kikanovic, Loncar

It's hard to follow Dusko Vujosevic vision of the our PF position, for the most of the time he uses Vrabac or some other SF guy, versus Russia we played also with Stipanovic and Kikanovic both on the floor at the same time, and for a short period of time Sulejmanovic, a only real PF in this roster actually played on that position.

[Dtown]

I think it's fair to say Croatia is in some legit trouble.

[Jitem]

an important away win in kiev. mahmutoglu scored 2 pts only. barış ermiş and sertaç şanlı were good but 21 y old tolga geçim was x factor today with 15 pts and 3 assists

[Joško Poljak Fan]

Croatia really assembled a C team, which probably wouldn't be able to win their club national championship.

I was surprised Slovenia put up as good of a fight against Spanish B team, basicaly surpassed my expectations staying in the game untill some players lost their calm with the referees.
Hrovat and Lapornik seemed lost, Zagorac being Zagorac as ussual and Dimec fulfilled his norm of almost killing three Spaniards accidentaly, as ussual, with his clumsyness. So basicaly, that's a good result out there.
As for the long term, people just don't get it... if there are basicaly 30 or so Slovenians overall living off playing basketball... with the rest being on an amateur level... don't expect to have a competitive "B national team" as we did at some point in the 00ies. Vithout Vidmar and Prepelič, this would be a huge blowout for Spain.

Loved the fact Albert Oliver got the chance to play for Spain NT. If I understood correctly, the previous game was his debut at 39 years of age.

[Darrell Armstrong]

Croatia really assembled a C team, which probably wouldn't be able to win their club national championship.

I was surprised Slovenia put up as good of a fight against Spanish B team, basicaly surpassed my expectations staying in the game untill some players lost their calm with the referees.
Hrovat and Lapornik seemed lost, Zagorac being Zagorac as ussual and Dimec fulfilled his norm of almost killing three Spaniards accidentaly, as ussual, with his clumsyness. So basicaly, that's a good result out there.
As for the long term, people just don't get it... if there are basicaly 30 or so Slovenians overall living off playing basketball... with the rest being on an amateur level... don't expect to have a competitive "B national team" as we did at some point in the 00ies. Vithout Vidmar and Prepelič, this would be a huge blowout for Spain.

Loved the fact Albert Oliver got the chance to play for Spain NT. If I understood correctly, the previous game was his debut at 39 years of age.

Yes, Oliver, like many other players in the past decade, never had a chance to compete in the NT because of the high level (and buddy-buddy factor) of the Golden Generation. On one hand, it's a bit of a downer the Spanish Federation wasn't able to recruit a better prospect for the backup PG position. On the other hand, this Spain-C has won me over with their courage, disposition, and unselfishness.

At first I thought the FIBA windows fuckup would hurt more Spain and other countries whose full rosters are recruited from NBA or EL clubs. But I'm starting to think the true losers may be small countries which cannot afford losing one or two of their lone stars. Slovenia without Dragic and Doncic is a completely different matchup. Latvia without Porzingis is another example. Or Croatia without Bogdanovic, who has been their best scorer for years. Meanwhile, Spain has been able to stay competitive even without 30 or so NBA and EL players.

[Mr Chacho]

About Spain, is strange that nobody has complain about the fact that our best player isnt spanish

[Joško Poljak Fan]

About Spain, is strange that nobody has complain about the fact that our best player isnt spanish

Colom is Andorran (? spelling) if I understood correctly?

Helluva player though. Was surprised to see a Spanish player actualy playing abroad a while ago. In the game vs. Slo I did start to consider weather Colom wouldn't be a better fit for NT than some ussual Spanish PGs.

[Darrell Armstrong]

Colom is Andorran (? spelling) if I understood correctly?

Helluva player though. Was surprised to see a Spanish player actualy playing abroad a while ago. In the game vs. Slo I did start to consider weather Colom wouldn't be a better fit for NT than some ussual Spanish PGs.

He did have a nice game, but you also have to take into account the competition. No offence intended, but he wasn't facing top PGs in either match. He's a decent Eurocup starter, and could be a good reserve for many Euroleague teams, but doesn't hold a candle to Llull, Rodríguez or Rubio.

It's also hard to argue about fitting in with the other NT players, when there was exactly zero of them sharing the court with Colom. I can see him being awarded the 3rd PG slot, though, ousting Guillem Vives. Colom may be the only one of the replacement crew who stands a chance to actually playing in China, barring injuries.

[ja.he]

About Spain, is strange that nobody has complain about the fact that our best player isnt spanish

does the catalan problem is affecting spain's preparation here in fiba? i know spanish team in fifa is greatly affected by this matter? is the same happening in the basketball?

[Darrell Armstrong]

does the catalan problem is affecting spain's preparation here in fiba? i know spanish team in fifa is greatly affected by this matter? is the same happening in the basketball?

I hardly doubt there are any issues with that. Actually, the "catalán problem" is one of those matters that get over reported in the press, while barely affecting the daily lives of common people. You could visit Catalonia and, other than banners and yellow ribbons hanging from some balconies, you'd never notice anything has happened at all.