Hello everybody! Hope you all are having fun with this crazy EuroBasket 2007 full of surprises. I am now ready to travel to Madrid for the rest of the tournament. I have stayed in Barcelona throughout the first three days because just about the only way that I could monitor all 24 games so far was to take over the TV department at Euroleague headquarters. On Euroleague game nights, the place is buzzing with as many as six different live feeds beamed in simultaneously from across Europe. This week, I had the place almost to myself - but still it's as if I needed SIX EYES to keep track of so much basketball action at the same time. Do I watch all games? Of course, from Jaka Lakovic's wild triple against Italy to the incredible Day 3 losses of heavy favourites France, Spain and Greece. I felt almost as comfortable as fans seated in those wooden chairs at the arena in Palma de Mallorca that seem to be taken out of a nearby beach bar. But now I will join the press corps at Madrid Arena starting Friday and next week at the Palacio de Deportes - site of next year's Final Four, don't forget - for the medals round. Here's what I have seen happening so far...
No team had a better start or sadder finish than Latvia. It took just a couple seconds after the opening tipoff of its first game for Kristaps Janicenoks to nail a three-pointer - the fastest shot I have seen in a while - as Latvia came out and upset Croatia in the opening game in Sevilla. Latvia played well throughout the tournament but the combined wins of Portugal and Croatia in crazy Day 3 sent them home. Well, not all of them at least. About a thousand Latvian fans located in the most expensive seats in Seville did not stop cheering for their team. Those Latvian fans will also be in Madrid, so it'll be interesting to see which team they choose to back now. Later in the round, Croatia took revenge for its controversial EuroBasket 2005 loss against Spain and did it in style, breaking the world champs' 28-game winning streak. Now that is what I call payback! That day two years ago, a put-back basket by Fran Vazquez allowed Spain to force overtime and eventually, after half a million technical fouls against Croatia, take the win that saw the Spaniards qualify for the world championships and eventually win that title. Croatia has played better with Zoran Planinic at the point and two small guards, Davor Kus and Marko Popovic, on both wings. That small lineup, run-and-gun show has paid off really well so far. Spain has not been used to close games lately, but it can use this loss as a wake-up call. The hype around the Spanish team, media-wise, is unbelievable and hey, this is the strongest EuroBasket ever, in my opinion. Portugal, just as predicted – must be the only one I got half-right – had the big battle against Latvia and won it. Joao Santos and Elvis Evora, with his uncommon shot release, give Portugal a touch of quality.
The biggest team in this round has been Russia, in my opinion. It is ironic to think that David Blatt and his Maccabi brand of basketball was the right fit a Russian team that is always full of CSKA players. J.R. Holden seems to feel more comfortable than ever. Maybe because he can display all his creativity being the floor general and not playing alongside Theo Papaloukas, one of the best European point guards ever. Holden gives the right rhythm to an athletic Team Russia led by its silent, serious leader, Andrei Kirilenko, who posted three double-doubles in as many games. A little smile wouldn't hurt him, as he gets compared to Ivan Drago, the Russian boxer in Rocky IV. If they play Living in America by James Brown during one of Russia's games in Madrid, you heard it here first. Other funky comparisons around EuroBasket: Meir Tapiro of Israel looking like Kevin Spacey and Andrej Urlep, the Polish head coach, like ULEB president Eduardo Portela. The Lavrinovic vs. Lavrinovic comparison ain't valid, I know. The biggest shot so far was from Milan Gurovic in Group A, a 10-meter, double-pump, game-tying bomb that he banked in to take Serbia's game against Greece to overtime. This tournament marked the first time that Serbia competed as a nation itself, and you cannot think of anyone more Serbian than our man Gurovic. It must have meant the world to him, and seeing King Serb hitting it the way he did was just jaw-dropping. Alas, Serbia lost that game in overtime and then could not rebound against Israel the following night, thus being eliminated from the tournament and from any chance at the Olympics. Who would have thought that one of world basketball's two most dominant forces for at least 15 years until 2003 would be down and out just four years later?
By the way, has anyone seen Papaloukas? It was hard to believe when I heard that comment from some journalists after Game 2. How can you underestimate the Euroleague MVP? His time will come, and everyone knows that by the time Greece needs him badly, he will be there ready to deliver and lead his national team through thick and thin. Greece always has started these competitions tough - it was losing 12-28 against Qatar, of all teams, in the opening game of the 2006 World Championships - but always ends up giving its best. I wouldn't like to face Greece in the quarterfinals, because no team is more experienced. Antonis Fotsis is missed so far, but Demos Dikoudis is in good shape and hitting it from downtown. Israel, meanwhile, knocked off Serbia with an outstanding Yaniv Green, who has not played so well since his first-ever Euroleague game in 2004, when he earned player-of-the-week honors against Zalgiris in Kaunas. Yotam Halperin has shown that the future of Israeli basketball belongs to him, and he should see further responsibilities with Maccabi next season. Add players like Omri Casspi, Raviv Limonad or Tal Burstein to the mix and Israel has something to consider in the future. Watch out this week, too: Israel downed Spain in 2000 when the generation of Pau Gasol, Juan Carlos Navarro and Felipe Reyes were the reigning junior world champs. Green had 12 points and 10 rebounds that day, when Pau Gasol was just a prospect and not the player he is right now. Even so, Israel needs to beat Portugal and upset Croatia or Spain to advance. Seems a tough task.
Lithuania has shown two sides of itself so far, as its game against Germany illustrated. With Sarunas Jasikevicius leading the show and a lineup in which everyone can hit the outside shot and run the floor, Lithuania is very, very dangerous. In the first half against Germany, Ramunas Siskauskas and Linas Kleiza managed to shut down Nowitzki and everything was easier for Saras and his crew. When Lithuania doesn't play good defense and considering that there is no decent backup for Jasikevicius, the whole team collapses, just like in the second half against Germany, in which only a meaningless offensive foul by Ademola Okulaja saved them from disaster. It's good to see Saras happy, playing a lot of minutes and pleasing the crowd with no-look passes and outstanding leadership. If you didn't see the huge full-court shot he hit in a friendly game against Spain last month, take a look. That was unbelievable. If there is a team that has disappointed me so far, it has to be Turkey. A 30-point loss against Germany saw the Turkish team hit rock-bottom. At least Turkey managed to stay alive by downing the Czech Republic in a make-or-break game, meaning that I will see Ermal Kuqo and his people there in Madrid. The one Czech player that surprised me most was Petr Benda. I never saw him play, but he is a blue-collar post player and a solid rebounder who should make an impact in the ULEB Cup with that competition's first-ever Czech team, Nymburk.
Slovenia has been a pleasant surprise, which comes as no surprise at all to some of us. Lakovic went from having one of the best moments in career to arguably his worse game ever. He buried a huge three-pointer in front of two defenders to beat Italy 69-68, showing that Lakovic is nothing but a winner. The next night, despite Rasho Nesterovic getting ejected and Lakovic finishing with no points, 4 fouls and 6 turnovers, Slovenia edged France thanks to the outstanding Matjaz Smodis, a natural-born leader. He shouts and grabs his jersey every time he makes a key shot, in one of the most charismatic reactions in European basketball. I think it is impossible not to like Matjaz if you are a basketball fan, because he is the kind of talented, intense player that makes this sport the best one. France depends too much on Tony Parker, who is just unstoppable when he takes anyone one-on-one, but has trouble getting his team involved. I have never seen a faster player in European basketball, but France becomes predictable with him on the floor. Even with that, athleticism and power should take France deep in the competition. Tariq Kirksay keeps playing with his own hand-signed headband. Now that's style! Italy is now on a mission to win two of its three remaining games to make it to the quarterfinals. The whole team, other than Andrea Bargnani, has been up-and-down and the whole offense depends too much on the outside shot, but when you have players like Marco Belinelli, Massimo Bulleri and Gianluca Basile, it might not be a bad choice. Poland went home winless despite the efforts of Adam Wojcik and Filip Dylewicz. Wojcik is the Noel Gallagher of European basketball: his prime may be gone, but he still has plenty to offer. In the end my man Przemyslaw Frasunkiewicz turned out to be an intense, left-handed forward with power and deep range, a little bit like Marko Tusek. I am sure that sooner or later, I will see him in ULEB competitions.
That's all for me now. I have to pack and make it to the Spanish capital, where I will be meeting a lot of people. We have Spain vs. Greece for starters, a rematch of last year's world champs final. Every game counts from now on and the battle to reach the quarterfinals will be hard. I will be here to tell you all about it, bringing you all the excitement while trying to find out the length of Patrick Femerling's socks, probably the best-kept secret in European basketball. Madrid, here we come!
POSTED BY
Javier Gancedo, Euroleague.net
DATE:
Thursday, September 06, 2007