Voices

London calling: Fair result, great basketball

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Veteran sportswriter and Euroleague.net collaborator Vladimir Stankovic has been following the best basketball on the continent longer than almost anyone journalist, writing for decades about the sport in major publications in both Serbia and Spain. Now, he is in London covering his seventh Summer Olympics and blogging about the men's basketball tournament for Euroleague.net.

Expectations were met, and as the British might say, they were met splendidly. The gold-medal game of the 2012 London Olympics was played by the United States and Spain, the best two teams in the tournament, and was a testament to how well basketball is played on both sides of the Atlantic. Spain was a more-than-worthy rival that forced the American stars to their limit. The final score of 107-100 proved to be the smallest difference in the 14 finals on which the USA has won the gold. All of the USA's previous opponents had fallen by between 11 and 32 points. Spain had to settle for its third silver medal, after 1984 and 2008, but each of them has shined a little brighter for demonstrating that this sport is consistently more global and more exciting.

The final in London was pretty similar to the one between the same opponents in Beijing 2008. Four years ago the score at the break was 69-61, an unbelievable 130 points. In the end, the Americans won by 118-107. In London, after the first 20 minutes, the score was 59-58 and the USA lead was only one point after 30 minutes, 83-82. The game was solved in the last 10 minutes, especially thanks to individual plays by Chris Paul, the long-range shooting of Kevin Durant and the virtuosity of LeBron James.

Taking a look at the stats, the better three-point shooting by the American team, 15 made to just 7 for Spain, was decisive. In other aspects of the game, Spain was as good, or even better. In assists, for instance, the final result was 22-13 for Spain. With the likes of Pau and Marc Gasol, plus Serge Ibaka, Spain had strength in the paint. Also, with Turkish Airlines Euroleague stars like Juan Carlos Navarro (19 of his 21 points in the first half) and Rudy Fernandez, Spain also had good long-range threats. With Jose Calderon and Sergio Llull there was no lack of direction and speed... Spain played a great game. Spain was a great team in the final, but the United States were a little greater. I hope that in Rio de Janeiro, four years from now, we will be able to witness a similar game. I also hope that the Americans keep on bringing their best players. Otherwise, they will surely lose their domination and it will also hurt this tournament , which was enjoyed by anyone and everyone who loves basketball: fans, players and experts alike. The joy with which the USA players celebrated the gold medal confirms that they want to take part in the Olympic Games. As Paul afterward: "There's nothing that can be compared to participating in the Olympics." He also criticized the idea of limiting the age of the players to 23, saying: "If this rule was effective right now, it wouldn't be such an excellent experience as this one."

In the end, the medals were for the best three teams. Russia is definitely back to the world elite, confirming its rise with the bronze. Argentina, with its own...

London Calling: semifinalists aim for more medals

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Veteran sportswriter and Euroleague.net collaborator Vladimir Stankovic has been following the best basketball on the continent longer than almost anyone journalist, writing for decades about the sport in major publications in both Serbia and Spain. Now, he is in London covering his seventh Summer Olympics and blogging about the men's basketball tournament for Euroleague.net.

Well, here we are, in the semis, and without major surprises, I would say. The last four teams left in the Olympic Games men's basketball competition are, in fact, the best four teams. Some, like Spain, have barely made it to this stage, but in the moment of truth showed real character and are now just one step away from the podium. These four semifinalists already have 30 Olympic medals between them: the USA have 15 (13 golds, 1 silver - which they never accepted in Munich 1972 - and 2 bronzes). Russia, as the heir of the old USSR, has 2 golds, 6 silvers and 2 bronzes, but under its current name, is fighting for its medal. Argentina has one gold and one bronze, both won by this very generation of players, while Spain has two silvers (1984 and 2008).

All four teams have things in common, but also their differences and particularities. The United States, the main favorite, has a great core of several superstars with lots of experience, like Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James, but also young stars like Kevin Durant, Kevin Love and Russell Westerbrook, all of them with 23 years old, while James Harden is 22. The average age in the USA team is 25.8 years and their average points total is 118, slightly better than the original Dream Team of Barcelona 1992, which scored 117.2 points per game. In some games, they have shown that they are also human, but when the opponent gets close, they switch to fifth gear and pull away for good. They are still the main favorites but the most dificult part of the tourney is ahead of them

The second-best scoring average is for Argentina (88.3 points) and after them come Australia (82.7), Russia (80.5) and Spain (80.0). The main weapon of the Americans is their shooting: 59% from two-point range and a superb 45% on three-pointers. They also lead the competition in rebounds (45.7), but the difference there is not so big. Spain follows with 42 rebounds per game. If assists are a sign of playing a collective game, then the passing of the four semifinalists justifies their presence in this medal phase: USA 27 assists per game,, Argentina 21.5 and Spain 19.5.

The veterans of Argentina have met expectations once more, reaching the semis for the third straight time. Their class and experience were enough to defeat archrival Brazil in the quarterfinals. Manu Ginobili, Luis Scola, Pablo Prigioni and Andres Nocioni are the four players that led Argentina to the top in the last decade, and they deserve to say goodbye with another medal. Spain and Russia, gold and bronze medal respectively in the last EuroBasket, have confirmed that, together with France - last year's European Championships silver medalist in Lithuania - they are the best European teams at this point. Spain, like Argentina, is still exploiting its golden generation, but with a renewal plan that is more clear than Argentina's,...

London calling: Two styles, growing closer

Fri, 03 Aug 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Veteran sportswriter and Euroleague.net collaborator Vladimir Stankovic has been following the best basketball on the continent longer than almost anyone journalist, writing for decades about the sport in major publications in both Serbia and Spain. Now, he is in London covering his seventh Summer Olympics and blogging about the men's basketball tournament for Euroleague.net.

At the moment in this Olympic tournament, the United States is dominating, but the two types of basketball in the world these days - the NBA and the rest of the world - are getting closer, one to the other, every day. The days are over when pioneers like Aleksandr Volkov, Vlade Divac, Drazen Petrovic, Sarunas Marciulionis and others, at the end of the 1980s and early 1990s, had to break an NBA barrier often put up by American coaches who didn't believe that Europeans could play. Nowadays, almost no NBA team gets by without any non-American players. Just look at the list of the top scorers and assist-makers so far in this Olympic tournament in London. There you find Manu Ginobili (23.7 points per game), Andrei Kirilenko (23.3) and Luis Scola (22.7) and Alexey Shved (8.3 assists per game), Marcelinho Huertas (7) and Pablo Prigioni (7). All played or learned during their formative years of basketball in the Euroleague. It's more and more clear with each Olympics: basketball is truly global, with progress in every part of the world.

For example, here in London, it will be difficult for Tunisia to win a game, but everyone now knows about the team's forward, Makram Ben Romdhane, a 23-year-old who is averaging 15.4 points, 9.3 rebounds, or about its center Salah Mejri, who at 2.16 meters is averaging 4 blocks, first in the competition, and ties Yi Jianlian of China for the most rebounds, 10.3 per game.

Speaking of China, journalists like me are now sharing the press section with the "world's tallest TV commentator", Yao Ming, who is working for a channel in his country. And he's not the only one: other ex-stars with the microphone include Oscar Schmidt of Brazil and Richard Dacouri of France.

After three games, only three teams are undefeated: United States, Spain and Russia. They happen to be my three favorites for medals, too, with respect to France, Brazil and Argentina. Personally, my sympathies lie with the Argentinian national team. In a way, I have been a witness in their growth, from the 1998 World Championships in Athens, when the young Ginobili first appeared, to the next one, in Indianapolis, when they lost the final in miraculous fashion to Yugoslavia, until they climbed the Olympic mountain in 2004, winning the gold in Athens. Theirs is a golden generation, but the problem in Argentinian basketball is that no one is waiting to replace them. This team averages almost 31 years old despite having one player, Facundo Campazzo, who is only 21. London is their last opportunity to win something important again and put the finishing touch on a mission that has lasted more than a decade.

Speaking of Argentina, I recall an anecdote that Luis Scola told me. Back when the World Championships were held in Buenos Aires, in 1990, when he was 13 years old, Scola was one of the kids behind the basket who dried the floor after stars fell on...

London calling: To challenge a clear favorite

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Veteran sportswriter and Euroleague.net collaborator Vladimir Stankovic has been following the best basketball on the continent longer than almost anyone journalist, writing for decades about the sport in major publications in both Serbia and Spain. Now, he is in London covering his seventh Summer Olympics and blogging about the men's basketball tournament for Euroleague.net.

Hello from London, where I am privileged to be attending my seventh edition of the Summer Olympics. Once again, we all expect that basketball is going to take center stage at this event. If I go down memory lane - and my Olympics recall stretches as far back as Rome in 1960, when I was a kid watching them - I can say that I have seen a half-century of this men's basketball. That includes the best and the worst from the perennial favorites for the men's basketball gold medal, the United States. I watched all five of the U.S. team's defeats in Olympic tournaments: two on television, the 1972 final in Munich and the 1988 semifinal in Seoul; and in person, all three of their losses during the 2004 games in Athens - to Puerto Rico, Lithuania and eventual champion Argentina, in the semifinals. At the same time, I saw the U.S. in person at its very best, that unforgettable summer of 1992 in Barcelona, with the first and only authentic Dream Team giving us a basketball festival.

Indeed, ever since NBA professionals came to the Olympics 20 years ago in Barcelona the question has become whether the U.S. remains untouchable. Athens 2004 showed that's not true, but in 2008 in Beijing they reclaimed the gold medal despite a more-than-dignified resistance from Spain. A few days ago in Barcelona, I saw the Americans defeat Spain by 22 points, which confirmed their role as favorites, although many of us believe that Spain head coach Sergio Scariolo didn't show all his cards that night. We should find out soon whether that is true. The general opinion continues to be that if any team can challenge the U.S., it's Spain.

But if the basketball world awaits a United States vs. Spain final, for that to happen on August 12, both teams have to overcome plenty of obstacles. Spain will have to face China, Australia, Great Britain, Russia and Brazil in the group phase, while the Americans will have to go against France, Lithuania, Nigeria, Argentina and Tunis. Then come the do-or-die quarterfinals and semis.

While the London 2012 men's basketball tournament will have an NBA flavor, even more players will be present from last season's rosters in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague and Eurocup. Among 41 such players who will defend the prestige of European basketball are some of the all-time greats of Europe, like Juan Carlos Navarro of Spain and Sarunas Jasikevicius of Lithuania, who as of last week are teammates again with F.C. Barcelona Regal.

In the run-up to these Games, as the British say, I have seen several of this year's would-be medalists in person: U.S.A., Spain, Argentina, Australia, Lithuania, France, Great Britain, Tunis and Brazil. Each of those teams has "something" going for it, but the key question is whether or not they can do that "something" at the high rhythm necessary through all 40 minutes. Great Britain and...