Seeing is believing: Russia did it!

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 01:43:04 GMT

What an incredible finish and what a way to end EuroBasket 2007! J.R. Holden won it for Russia with 2.3 seconds to go, in which was just his team's second lead in the entire game. His game-winning shot touched the rim, went up and fell down. Spain had the final possession and Pau Gasol's potential game-winning shot went in and out. The way that Holden silenced thousands of fans and how he quietly left the court when Spain called timeout, like trying to make as less noise as possible, is undeniably the biggest image of the EuroBasket, the one that will stay forever in everyone's minds. Holden, a man who was about to quit basketball when he finished his college career, started his professional career in Latvia, then moved to Oostende and soon climbed to AEK Athens to win the Greek League title in 2002, his team's first in 35 years. That's when he joined CSKA, first as a foreign player before he got a Russian passport to play with its national team. In other words, Holden had to go through a lot before this moment. Now he is a Euroleague champion with CSKA in 2006 and a European champion with the Russian national team. Who would have figured that out when he was finishing college at Bucknell? His jumper may well change his life, and now he will represent Russia at the 2008 Olympics.

And now for some milestones. Well, here is what I came up with, considering I have worked non-stop since the start of the competition but also that I do stuff like that for the Final Four media all the time. Russia won its first EuroBasket title. The Soviet Union had won 14 Eurobasket gold medals in the past, but this is Russia's first as an independent country. The last - and first, before tonight - time that Russia made it to the final was in 1993. That year, a dunk-and-foul by Chris Welp, helped by a young Mikhail Mikhailov who made an unthinkable foul in the final seconds with Russia leading by 2 and Welp about to dunk, Germany was the last team to win the EuroBasket in its own country. Spain missed the chance to do so, but also lost its sixth Eurobasket final. Lithuania joined its fifth consecutives Olympic Games, as it won the bronze medal in 1992, 1996 and 2000, finishing fourth in 2004. Russia made it for the second time as an independent country, as it was eighth in Sydney 2000. Carlos Jimenez won his fifth medal with Spain, a new record for the Spanish basketball team. Felipe Reyes, Pau Gasol, Juan Carlos Navarro and Jorge Garbajosa all have four each. That should do for starters. Considering I had it written as if Spain would win the game. Life is full of surprises.

The fact that the Spanish national team is a family is not new, but I had the chance to experience it in their unique pre-game ceremony. The entire Russian team entered the court one after another without any emotions. Meanwhile, the Spanish team waited for team captain Carlos Jimenez, then hugged each other in circle and started to sing together. What did they sing? "YMCA" by the Village People, with lyrics changed to say "BENNA!!" instead of "young man". Benna, of course, is Berni Rodriguez of Unicaja, who leads all celebrations. Then someone in the circle shouted "ARRIBA!!! (could be translated as let's go!!!!)" three times, while everyone shouted back to fill the place with energy before hitting the court. The Spanish players choose their own pre-game music to get the crowd involved. VIPs this week included the Prince of Spain, the Spanish president Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and hundreds more. In other words, the EuroBasket final is the biggest event in Spain this summer, socially speaking, as the Golden Boys have captivated the entire nation not only with their impressive game, but with their superb attitude with media and fans. Their family-like relationship should help them now that they have all experienced the bitter side of basketball in one of the most thrilling end-of-game situations ever seen in European basketball.

A first-time champ is on the way!

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 00:56:14 GMT

Everything is ready for the big day here at EuroBasket 2007! Spain and Russia are set to fight for the EuroBasket title on Sunday. Spain has never won this tournament despite taking part in five finals betwen 1935 and 2003, the last one against Lithuania. Well, Russia has never won it either as a country, but the Soviet Union lifted the EuroBasket as many as 14 times, last in 1985, when a 20-year-old, injury-free Arvydas Sabonis joined forces with Vladimir Tkachenko in an incredible, almost unbeatable team. Here in Madrid, what a showdown we saw between Andrei Kirilenko of Russia and Ramunas Siskauskas of Lithuania, past and future in Euroleague powerhouse CSKA Moscow. At some point, the game turned into a one-on-one showdown like rarely seen in European basketball. Siskauskas scored more, but Kirilenko and Russia won the semifinal and its first Olympics trip since 2000. EuroBasket 2007 will still send one more team to the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, because Spain wwas already qualified as current world champions. Since Spain has reached the final, Sunday's bronze-medal game between Lithuania and Greece will decide the other automatic Olympic berth for Europe. The loser of that game plus three other teams will go to a pre-Olympic tournament next summer, where 12 teams from around the world will compete for the remaining three Olympics berths. All of which means that Sunday's seventh-place game - France vs. Slovenia - will be more important than the fifth-place one - Germany vs. Croatia. Those latter two teams have already made the pre-Olympic tournament, but for France and Slovenia, it will be do or die. So expect a Sunday full of effort like we have seen until now, four great games and just one rethorical question: are YOU going to miss it!?!?! This is what happened Saturday, keep reading...

The first semifinal was amazing, one of the best basketball games I have seen this season. The atmosphere was just as colourful as in any Final Four, with green, red and blue fans all over the place, with a huge majority of Spanish fans. I would say it is the best basketball atmopshere ever seen in Spain, but those who were in Palau Sant Jordi when FC Barcelona won the Euroleague title in 2003 know that the noise level that day was way off any chart. Saturday's game was very physical from the very beginning, with Nikos Hatzivrettas and Demos Dikoudis driving Rudy Fernandez and Felipe Reyes crazy. It worked, but Juan Carlos Navarro came off the bench and showed all his talent. Alternative defenses and three-pointers kept Spain ahead for the best part of the first half, to the delight of a Spanish journalists who jumped with each basket. Theo Papaloukas picked up three quick fouls and went back to the bench without being noticed. In fact, Greece entered the foul bonus with 7 minutes to go in the first quarter and then gave a lesson on how to play aggressive, strong defense without picking up fouls. That and an outstanding Spanoulis kept Greece in the game.

Intensity was the key for Spain and once again Jose Manuel Calderon not only was the key player, but now becomes my top candidates to win the EuroBasket MVP if Spain wins it all. Tenis superstar Rafa Nadal was in the VIP stands, jumping up and down with every Spanish positive action. Nadal is a great friend of Pau Gasol, who once again showed he is unguardable when he plays for his national team...

Greek miracle sets stage for super semis!

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 13:09:00 GMT

Greetings from the Community of Madrid Sports Palace! What a quarterfinal round of basketball we all went through! On Friday, I saw one of the most unbelievable comebacks in European basketball history! Theo Papaloukas showed why he is the Euroleague MVP and Greece provided its third miracle comeback in as many years. By now, you all know that Spain, Russia, Lithuania and Greece made the semifinals, coming up on Saturday. There is plenty of action outside the Sports Palace, too. The hottest spot of all might be the Lithuanian bar. That's right - a Lithuanian bar in the center of the Spanish capital. OK, it's Lithuanian by adoption, but still...Lithuanian fans came in advance and rent a nearby bar to taste their beer. The place has turned into a home away from home for all Lithuanians in the city. Meanwhile, the stream of MVPs into EuroBasket games has been non-stop, but none had more direct impact than the Prince of Spain, whose security system accidentally interfered with the shot clock during the Spain-Lithuania game. But let's write about Greece, Slovenia and especially Papaloukas with the vibes of having experienced something unique and special.

It is difficult to describe what happened. Slovenia was leading all the way, with Domen Lorbek slowing down Papaloukas, Rasho Nesterovic dominating the boards, Goran Dragic showing that he is one of the best young playmakers anywhere. Matjaz Smodis shouted out loud after not being able to pick up a loose ball, shook his fist with every basket and every assist. Lakovic pointed at the bench after a huge driving layup. Slovenia led 58-42 midway through the final period. Defending champion Greece seemed already dethroned. There was no way no earth they could come back. And they did. First, Kostas Tsartaris capped a 0-7 run with a corner triple to give Greece some minimum hope, but Lakovic's triple still left Slovenia ahead 62-53 with 1:37 to go. There was precedent for a comeback, too, on the same spot. Back in the 1986 World Champs and at this very same place - not the exact same aren, since it burned down a few years ago and was rebuilt as the Sports Palace - Yugoslavia led by 9 against the Soviet Union with 1:10 to go. Arvydas Sabonis, Valeri Tikhonenko and Valdis Valters each buried a triple, the latter at the buzzer, to force overtime and advance to the title game against the United States.

This proved almost the same. Papaloukas ran the length of the court for a huge driving layup, making it 62-55. He missed the free throw that came with it, but Slovenia committed a 24-second violation. The ball went back to Papaloukas, who jumped high, opened his legs to balance his body in the air and hit an incredible three-pointer, 62-58, with 49 seconds to go. Slovenia needed to cool down its offense but once again the great Theo, the Euroleague MVP, collected a steal from his CSKA teammate Smodis, probably the saddest man in the world right now. All of a sudden, Nikos Zisis, a new member of the mighty CSKA team, pull the trigger from downtown to make it a one-point game, 62-61, with 33 seconds remaining. Fans in the stands were going crazy and the sound level was way off the charts. Domen Lorbek could feel it, no doubt, as he missed a long shot. The ball went out of bounds to Greece with 13.9 seconds to go. Greece took a timeout.

Hello all! Wednesday has been quite an eventful day here at EuroBasket 2007. First and foremost, the neverending group stage came to an end with two crucial games, as Germany downed Italy to stay alive while Lithuania downed Slovenia in one of the best games seen in EuroBasket 2007, a wild fight to win Group F. Fact is, most of the media could not wait for the group stage to be over, as it took too long without any kind of break, but we all - or at least, most of us - enjoy what we are doing anyway. Even with that, you can feel the agony in some journalists' faces. This morning was a different one, as I went to the 2007 FIBA Hall of Fame induction ceremony, that featured inductees such as Bill Russell, Pierluigi Marzorati, Ivo Daneu, Dean Smith, Drazen Dalipagic, Ranko Zeravica, Emiliano Rodriguez, Sergei Belov or Nikos Galis. Above all, it was a good time to visit the Pedro Ferrandiz foundation in nearby Alcobendas and attend the event, as well as speaking to some basketball greats. Galis stays as the biggest basketball hero in Greece. Dozens of Greek fans went to Alcobendas with the only purpose of shouting his name at the ceremony, take pictures and honor him. Galis was in a good mood and spoke about everything, and so did everyone else.
Russell, of course, was the most requested celebrity by all media around, so he offered a press conference right after the induction ceremony. Russell, arguably the best defensive player ever, was brilliant, and so was Marcos Beltra, Press Director of FIBA World, who translated each and every word to Spanish even when Bill gave four-minute answers sometimes. "I am regarded as a defensive player, but some opponents found my defense pretty offensive," he joked at one point. He spoke about the dominant Celtics, the love of the game, how European basketball has progressed - some Croatian journalist offered him a picture of him dunking in a wooden-boarded basket when he visited the area in 1964 - and on how important it is to do what you do best, as well as allowing good scorers and stars to feel confident in your own team. Above all, it was a fantastic experience that everyone, including all veteran journalists present, enjoyed the most. Galis was also fun despite all the media surrounding him. "I was asked if I could score 10 or 15 points per game in today's basketball, and I said that it is not too much," he joked. "I was a talented scorer and this is why I am here today. Basketball is also different, the scores have gone down and that's bad for the fans, because you have to try to win the game but also please your fans." Asked about how Theo Papaloukas had him as his lifelong hero, Galis was pleased: "People don't forget what I have done throughout the years. Theo is a very good player and I think that the national team is deeper than it was on our team the late eighties."

Since Italy and Slovenia had games that very same afternoon, I also spoke with Marzorati and Daneu. Marzorati, one of the most elegant playmakers ever and a two-time Euroleague champion with Cantu, was concerned about the do-or-die game against Germany. "I think that we have a very talented team but lack consistency. We are missing a player like Mason Rocca, who can score inside, rebound and play defense. We need consistency in this kind of tournaments in order to reach high," he said. Said and done, as La Nazionale was outrebounded by 52-31 against...

30 games in 8 days...and counting

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 17:26:50 GMT

Hello again! The games only get better and better here at Telefonica Arena. Vassilis Spanoulis provided a highlight by firing in an eight-meter three-pointer to make Greece beat Croatia 81-78, but you all probably know about that. He raced downcourt, faked the shot, sat Zoran Planinic on the floor and buried the biggest shot seen in this round so far. I have been backstage for a long time, as the best place to meet players is not only the organization hotel, but also the ever-changing mixed zone, which is never the same place for two consecutive days. Spain beat Russia in one of the best games so far, Portugal upset Israel and almost sealed its quarterfinal chances. Italy sank Turkey 84-75 in overtime, Lithuania had no further problems to beat France while Slovenia took care of business against Germany. Oh, and I asked Patrick Femerling about his socks. "I have always wore long socks since I was in college and I found this special brand that I love," he told me. I said that a lot of players are copying him nowadays and he joked about it. "Well, maybe I became a model for all of them," and laughed as he went away. Alba Berlin will be lucky to have Patrick on the team this season. He is nothing but a natural-born winner.

Team Portugal keeps surprising everyone. They all were quite mad at the Spanish press, since most of them will play in the Spanish second divison and they said they were not treated with the respect they deserve. Well, they shocked Israel playing very good basketball, showing that every single game counts. Take Israel, who did a fantastic job even before the start of the tournament and had 7 terrible minutes in the beginning of the game where it blew all the good work done so far. Lior Eliyahu showed what he is can do with extended playing time by posting 29 points and 9 rebounds, but the man of the game was Joao Gomes with 23 points and 11 boards. He is athletic, left-handed and potentially a good Euroleague player who needs to polish his game a bit to reach very, very high. Joao Santos is a great competitor and so is hard-nosed playmaker Mario Fernandes. In other words, Portugal is a team of warriors who played in the way... Israel plays against bigger teams. Yaniv Green, who had averaged 21 and 14 in the last 2 games, scored his first points late in the third quarter against Portugal. "We came to play hard and that's what we will do until we have no more games left," Francisco Jordao said after the game. It was funny to see Croatian players, especially Marko Popovic and Mario Stojic, greeting the best Portuguese players in the mixed zone. That win allows Croatia to get closer to the quarterfinals. "Bravo, maestro", Stojic told Fernandes.

I spoke to two-time Euroleague winner Zoran Cutura right before Croatia faced Greece. He was obviously worried about his up-and-down Croatia. "Coach Jasmin Repesa is trying to rebuild the team chemistry without the absent players, playing with two point guards and Marko Popovic mostly at off-guard coming off the bench, trying to change the game rhythm. Nobody, absolutely nobody knows how far we can go in this EuroBasket," he told me. You all know what happened right after our talk. Mario Kasun dominated in the paint and Planinic run the show to give Croatia a 13-point lead with 16 minutes to go. Dimitris Diamantidis stepped up to bring Greece back to life, joining forces with Theo Papaloukas...

Deciding the quarterfinalists

Sat, 08 Sep 2007 12:16:37 GMT

Hello again from Madrid! EuroBasket 2007 just gets better and better as the most critical games approach. As you can see from the picture, I am watching it all in the Euroleague.net desk at Telefonica Arena, where the second group stage takes place. Well, the picture wasn't taken at my desk. You have to apply Euroleague.net's rule of how to find your seat at non-ULEB events: look in the last row. The rule applies to domestic competitions, too. I can't complain, however, as I have excellent court vision and I am sitting alongside the great Gokhan Ture, our Istanbul correspondent. The first games at Telefonica Arena have shown where every team stands. It is clear enough that Russia, Spain, France and Lithuania are strong as they can be, while teams like Slovenia and the surprising Israel are on the way up. Croatia, Greece and especially Turkey registered key losses over the last couple of days.

Israel is now in a very good position to advance to the quarterfinals if they beat Portugal. I had the chance to see the team right before the players stepped on court. They all knew it was going to be the most important game of the tournament. You could feel the electricity in that small corridor, with everyone waiting for the lst player to arrive, not to mention one of the best in the tournament so far, Yaniv Green, in order to step on court all together. That's when they all started to shout and clap before running out, ready for a physical game. Lior Eliyahu of Maccabi was underused in this game because coach Zvi Sherf needed bigger, stronger guys like Ido Kozikaro and Green to battle against Niksa Prkacin of Dynamo and Mario Kasun of AXA FCB, who is ready to bounce back from a disappointing season. Lack of concentration was never a problem for Israel, even when Marko Tomas did a great defensive job on scoring ace Yotam Halperin of Maccabi Elite. Green and Kozikaro argued on court, Mair Tapiro kept everyone together while Amir Tamir was the X-factor in the second half before Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem duo Dror Hagag and Matan Naor sealed the outcome. It was fun to see Kozikaro after the game. "Javi, man, you should be here all the time!" he told me, remembering that I have only seen him live in two games. The other one was the 2004 ULEB Cup Final, in which Kozikaro and Jerusalem upset Real Madrid and became champions. Back to the present, it is interesting to note that Israel has now beaten Bosnia and Herzegovina, FYROM, Serbia and Croatia - all teams of ex-Yugoslavia - in a span of 10 days. Slovenia should try to avoid Team Israel.

Russia beat Portugal without any kind of trouble, too. I really like Team Portugal, a bunch of hard-nosed players giving 110% on court and not being afraid of any opponent. Mario Fernandes is a brave, talented playmaker while Elvis Evora and Francisco Jordao are big guys with shooting range able to open the court for Joao Santos or Joao Gomes, one of the most athletic forwards in Europe. Russia opted to keep Andrei Kirilenko or J.R. Holden on court when the outcome was clear, while Nikolai Padius did not play at all. We will see if Russia loses its power with so many games in the upcoming days. It is time to write about Viktor Khryapa, the silent star of this team. Kirilenko and Holden are the most visible stars, but Khryapa is doing a fantastic job at small forward. Aggressive, powerful and with a deep range, Khryapa is one of the best players at EuroBasket...

Madrid, here we come!

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 23:20:58 GMT

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...

Onwards and upwards at EuroBasket 2007!

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 12:08:44 GMT

Hello, Euroleague fans! Since I am always keeping an eye on you, I guess you have a right to wonder who I am, so let me introduce myself. I am Javier Gancedo, one of the editors at both Euroleague.net and ULEBCup.com. You might have seen me on camera if you watched our live streams of recent draws. Or, if you are a Fantasy Challenge players, you might know that my teams once ranked first and second in the same week - and I DIDN'T EVEN GET A PRIZE!!!.... Well, to be honest, by the rules, no employee of Euroleague Basketball can win prizes. Besides, I am the guy who prices the Fantasy Challenge players' market at the beginning of the season, so I guess that gives me a little bit of an unfair advantage...

And speaking of the players market.... Euroleague and ULEB Cup teams have 124 out of 192 players on rosters at EuroBasket 2007 in Spain this week, plus dozens more who are part of our recent history, so we all know each other pretty well, especially when I have written no less than 250 game reports in the last three seasons, including Final Fours and ULEB Cup finals. Even with that, I am always excited to get to know new players, and none is more interesting than Przemyslaw Frasunkiewicz of Poland. If his game is as complicated as his name, we are about to see the next European superstar! By the way, Poland is without Marcin Gortat, Michal Ignerski, Maciej Lampe and above all, Jeff Nordgaard, our blogger last season. It's a shame that Norgy will not be around for EuroBasket 2007, but I will try to keep you guys entertained in his absence. I will be around for the entire tournament, spouting all the info and stories I can get my hands on...

I think it is the best EuroBasket ever, with a lot of teams able to reach the medal round. We will see some unpredictable results along the way, of course, even when everyone considers Spain the team to beat. It's logical, however, as the Golden Boys have been unbeaten for 26 games - almost two years - and have arguably the best team chemistry of any national team in the world right now. All 12 players have taken part in the Euroleague, and Pau Gasol is simply unguardable when he is a motivated as he is for this tournament. It's also good to see that Sarunas Jasikevicius is back in action. He left as the King of European basketball and now his throne is shared by Theo Papaloukas and Dimitris Diamantidis, who, as you all know, play together for Greece. He will certainly want to show that he still is capable of sitting on that throne.

I guess everyone wants a prediction and this is the right time to do it, so here's mine for the first group stage:

Group A is going to be exciting. To begin with, it is the chance to see Papaloukas face J.R. Holden, something that happens on daily basis in any CSKA Moscow practice, but rarely in an official game. Russia posts an incredibly athletic team with players like Andrei Kirilenko, Viktor Khryapa, Sergey Monya and Anton Ponkrashov, all members or graduates of the CSKA basketball factory. Russia will need to run the floor well to beat Greece, though. But with Papaloukas, Diamantidis, Vassilis Spanoulis and Nikos Zisis handling the business, I don't think that will happen. Serbia comes with a lot of young talent. FMP proves to be the best farm system in Europe with guys like Milos Teodosic, Dragan Labovic and Zoran Erceg already in the national team. Their...