Euro Basketball 2007...Re-caps ...Wins and Losses

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04 September 2007

Lithuania Three-Point Barrage Sinks Czechs

 

Lithuania remained undefeated at the 2007 EuroBasket by pulling ahead early and using the long-range bombs to hold on late and secure a 95-75 victory over the Czech Republic in Group C in Palma de Mallorca.

 

The 2003 champions led by 25 points midway through the third quarter only to see the Czechs go on a 13-0 run to come back within 12. But Ksistof Lavrinovic, Linas Kleiza and Simas Jasaitis each drained a pair of three-pointers in the fourth quarter, allowing Lithuania to stave off any Czech hopes of a comeback.

 

"We started the game well and played strong defense and well on offense too. But the players began to think about the Germany game tomorrow too early. And you have to give respect to the Czech players who fought to the end," said Lithuania coach Ramunas Butautas. "We started playing too individually and we had big problems in the fourth quarters. But our shooters came up big today for us."

 

The Lithuanians made 13-of-21 three-pointers in the game (62%) while the Czechs hit just six-of-28 (21%) as they fell to 0-2 in the group.

 

"At the beginning of the game we didn't match their energy and they were making their shots - even their big guys. We got down by 10, then 15 and 17 points in the first quarter, and it's tough to play that kind of game," said Czech Republic veteran Lubos Barton.

 

"In the second quarter we matched their intensity and played strong and had a good run in the third. But Lithuania is just too experienced a team to let us back in the game."

 

Ksistof Lavrinovic led the way with 22 points, while Kleiza added 14, Darjus Lavrinovic had 12 and Jasikevicius chipped in with 10 points and four assists.

 

Lithuania made sure Czech's big guns, Barton and Jiri Welsch, didn't get off to a hot start. The duo combined for 36 against Germany, but did not score against Lithuania until Welsch's two foul shots with 1:28 left in the first quarter.

 

By that time the Lithuanians had begun to pull away, opening a 24-10 lead on their way to a 32-15 advantage after one period with Jasikevicius accounting for 10 points, including two three-pointers.

 

Jasikevicius was able to start the game - and played 23 minutes - despite being diagnosed earlier on Tuesday with a tendon strain in his right knee after a collision in the opening game against Turkey.

 

The first basket by the Czech star pair was Barton's three-pointer at the 8:36 mark of the second quarter - after the team had fallen behind 35-17.

 

And despite bringing on his reserves for much of the second quarter, Ramunas Butautas's side never let up and extended the lead to 54-31 at half time - thanks to eight points in the period from Ksistof Lavrinovic.

 

The lead ballooned to 25 points - 60-35 - but Barton and Welsch finally found their stroke, combining for all points of a 13-0 run, which included two three-pointers and a three-point play, to cut the deficit to 60-48.

 

But the Lithuanians buckled down to allow just one basket over the final 2:30 of the third quarter, re-establishing a 72-55 advantage going into the fourth.

 

Maurice Whitfield's three-pointer again brought the Czechs to within 12, 72-60, only to see Ksistof Lavrinovic and Kleiza each bury two three-pointers to maintain an 87-72 lead with three minutes left in the game. And two long bombs by Simas Jasaitis in the final 2:25 sealed the deal.

 

Welsch finished with a game-high 18 points while Barton added 13 points. Petr Benda chipped in 14 points in a losing cause.

 

Lithuania, who play Germany on Wednesday, were not pleased with their showing.

 

"The game was not so easy. We were up and down. We had too many turnovers (20). And at times we didn't enjoy the game," said Lithuania forward Ramunas Siskauskas. "We have to play equal all game. Maybe we were not ready for a physical game."

 

The Czech Republic face Turkey on Wednesday knowing only a victory can bring them into the qualifying round in Madrid.

[jack daniel 999 27]

04 September 2007

Parker Carries France To Victory

 

Tony Parker poured in a game-high 36 points to give unbeaten France (2-0)a 69-62 triumph over Italy (0-2)

 

With the score at 60-60 with three minutes remaining, Les Bleus went on a 9-0 run, with Parker scoring four points in that game-winning surge.

 

He finished 12 of 22 (55%) from the field, grabbed three rebounds and dished out two assists.

 

"I felt I had to be aggressive," said Parker."It

[jack daniel 999 27]

04 September 2007

Strong Third Quarter Sees Croatia Past Portugal

 

Croatia pulled away from a pesky Portugal with a decisive run that started before half-time and ultimately prevailed 90-68.

 

With both sides having lost their Group B openers

[jack daniel 999 27]

04 September 2007

Gasol Leads Spain Past Latvia

 

Spain beat Latvia at their own game on Tuesday night in a 93-77 Group B triumph in Seville.

 

The Baltic players, renowned for their perimeter shooting

[jack daniel 999 27]

Germany Hand Turkey Second Loss

By David Hein

04.09.2007

 

The 2005 silver medallists Germany remained perfect at the 2007 EuroBasket after a surprisingly dominating 79-49 victory over Turkey in Group C in Palma de Mallorca.

 

Dirk Nowitzki collected 24 points, six rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot while Ademola Okulaja was just one rebound from a second straight double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds as Germany looked much more confident than a night earlier.

 

"I felt we learned a lot from last night's game (an over-time win over the Czech Republic). We learned how we can play and cannot play. We didn't move the ball at all. But we did that tonight. And that's very important because it gets Dirk (Nowitzki) better shots and other people better shots as well," said German coach Dirk Bauermann.

 

"Everybody contributed in some way. We're really happy that we won and beat a very good team in Turkey. Winning the first two games is big for us, and we will now try to find a way to beat Lithuania."

 

Turkey coach Bogdan Tanjevic was clearly frustrated after another blowout defeat - a night after losing 86-69 to Lithuania on Monday.

 

"I can't explain what happened. We can't let our opponents play how they want to. If you want to play in Europe, you can't let teams like Lithuania and Germany shoot 50% from the floor and hold us to 30% shooting. I have no other explanation. We had 45 days and we had good tactical preparation as well. There was no sign that we would play like we did," said the Turkish boss.

 

Germany came out moving the ball much more effectively than they did against the Czechs and Okulaja opened the first half with two three-pointers as Germany pulled ahead 16-11 after one period.

 

Two Nowitzki free-throws pushed the lead to 25-16 early in the second period and Turkey hurt their cause by missing seven of 10 foul shots, including two straight back-to-back by Hidayet Turkoglu and Mehmet Okur.

 

Nowitzki scored Germany's final eight points and helped his team open a 15-point lead, 40-25, before going into the locker-room ahead 40-27.

 

Bauermann's side came out of the locker-room working hard on defense and hitting from long range. Demond Greene and Nowitzki hit three-pointers to open a 46-27 advantage and Turkey failed to score early in the second half until Turkoglu's three-pointer with 5:34 remaining in the third period.

 

Germany would eventually push the bulge to 23 points - on a long three-pointer by Jan Jagla for 58-35 - and they were ahead 58-39 going into the fourth quarter.

 

They scored the first eight points of the final frame, opened a 66-39 lead with six minutes left and Turkey would get no closer than 25 points the rest of the way while Germany led by as many as 33 points.

 

Turkoglu was Turkey's only player to score in double figures with 15 points as Germany held their opponents to 30% shooting (17-of-56) for the game.

 

Germany face off with Lithuania on Wednesday to see which team takes first place in Group C while Turkey play the Czech Republic in a battle of 0-2 teams with the winner moving on to the qualifying round

[jack daniel 999 27]

Slovenia Too Much For Poland

By Cindy Garcia-Bennett

04.09.2007

 

Slovenia pulled away late in the third quarter to beat Poland 70-52 and clinch their second win of the EuroBasket.

 

Poland trailed 39-33 but Slovenia hit them with a 23-6 run that bridged the third and fourth quarter to take a commanding 62-39 lead with only five minutes remaining to put the game beyond Poland.

 

Slovenian center Erazem Lorbek had a game-high 16 points and pulled down eight rebounds

while team-mate Jaka Lakovic chipped in with 15 points.

 

"I have to congratulate my players," said Slovenia coach Ales Pipan. "We are in the position where we wanted to be, two wins after two games. I think the key to our victory today has been rebounding."

 

Looking to repeat Monday's impressive performance in their defeat to France, Poland started strong and took a 19-13 lead going into the second quarter.

 

However, Slovenia stepped up their defense and outscored their opponents 21-7 to take a 34-26 advantage at the break.

 

"I was really optismistic before the game," said Poland coach Andreej Urlep. "Things started well for us as we had a good first quarter and probably we could have taken a bigger lead had we not missed some easy layups.

 

"But we played a terrible second quarter, we had a chance to get back into the game in the third but we were unable to keep up with Slovenia. I have to congratulate Slovenia."

 

Filip Dylewicz's hot-hand allowed Poland to cut the deficit to six, 37-31, three minutes into the third quarter before Slovenia delivered the knock-out punch.

 

Dylewicz finished with nine points and nine rebounds while team-mate Andrzej Pluta led the Poles in scoring with 12 points.

 

Poland were out-rebounded 46 to 28.

 

Slovenia shot 19 of 23 (83%) from the charity stripe while Poland were 11 of 16 (65%).

[jack daniel 999 27]

Greece Weather Serbian Storm

By Yarone Arbel

05 September 2007

 

In basketball there can be only one winner at the end of the game, but after tonight's game both Greece and Serbia left the court with the feeling as if they had won the game.

 

The official score-sheet say that Greece won 68-67 in overtime and got the ticket for the next round taking on a 2-0 record in Group A at Granada, while Serbia dropped to 0-2 and must beat Israel tomorrow to stay in the competition.

 

But this game was about much more than basketball.

 

Serbia wanted to prove they can match up with the champs, and bring some pride back against the team which won the title on their home court two years ago.

 

They have certainly achieved that.

 

The pupils of coach Slavnic deserve big compliments for fighting against the stubborn champions who showed plenty of character themselves.

 

"The game was won by small details

[jack daniel 999 27]

STANDINGS

 

GROUP A W/L Pts

RUS 2 - 0 4

GRE 2 - 0 4

SRB 0 - 2 2

ISR 0 - 2 2

 

GROUP B W/L Pts

ESP 2 - 0 4

CRO 1 - 1 3

LAT 1 - 1 3

POR 0 - 2 2

 

GROUP C W/L Pts

GER 2 - 0 4

LTU 2 - 0 4

CZE 0 - 2 2

TUR 0 - 2 2

 

GROUP D W/L Pts

SLO 2 - 0 4

FRA 2 - 0 4

ITA 0 - 2 2

POL 0 - 2 2

[ibonedteribell 0]

Looks like Russia is getting back into it. Les see how they match with Spain and then we will know there potential.

[jack daniel 999 27]

05 September 2007

Israel Through As Serbia Crash Out

 

In 1947 Yugoslavia made their EuroBasket debut and finished in the 13th place.

 

Since then, step by step, they made it to greatness.

 

Today, 60 years later, under the name Serbia, they find themselves in a similar situation.

 

Israel beat Serbia 87-83 in one of the most intense games in EuroBasket and qualified to

the next round in Madrid.

 

Both teams fought to survive and while at first it seemed Serbia had the upper hand, Israel showed great character and took over the game in the second half.

 

"It's all my fault and I take the full responsibility. I picked the players so I can't blame them," said the Serbia coach, Zoran Slavnic, to the press after the game.

 

Those players he picked were very tired from last night's overtime battle against Greece, and couldn't match up the intensity of the Israeli team.

 

Serbia took a small lead early in the game, and after Milan Gurovic connected two from the line his team led 23-16 at the end of the first quarter.

 

Milos Teodosic scored four points in a row at the end of the second quarter to give Serbia their biggest lead of the night, 33-45, but Yotam Halperin who kept his team in the game throughout the first half, answered at the other end with a three-pointer that sent the teams to rest with a nine point difference between them.

 

Israel, who missed the injured center Erez Markovic, watched Yaniv Green make two quick fouls in the first half when he played only 7:40 minutes.

 

That allowed Serbia to shoot 63% from two point range in the first half.

 

"At half time we spoke only about defense," revealed the winning coach, Zvika Sherf, and it showed on court.

 

When the second half gong sounded Israel stormed out with bigger intensity.

 

Their defense was much more aggressive and slowly the difference got smaller and smaller.

 

Green was in full control on the boards and matched up Darko Milicic, as Israel took the lead 61-60 in the last seconds of the third quarter after Green connected two from the line.

 

Milicic gave the lead back to Serbia only to see Guy Pnini combine seven points in a row to give his team a 68-62 lead.

 

Serbia came back to minus one but never took the lead back.

 

Israel, who shot 88% from the line tonight, connected on seven of their last eight free throws in the last 21 seconds to secure the win, and send Serbia 60 years back.

[jack daniel 999 27]

05 September 2007

Portugal Keep Hope Alive

 

Portugal beat Latvia 77-67 but failed to leapfrog them in the Group B table, leaving their hopes of reaching the next round hanging by a thread.

 

Needing to win by 15 plus points, the Portuguese stunned their opponents with a remarkable three-point shooting exhibition (nine of 18, 50%) and actually led 61-44 with 9:02 remaining in the game after a Paulo Cunha three-ball.

But Kristaps Janicenoks replied with a three-pointer for Latvia to spark a 10-0 run for the Baltic country and they ultimately lost by 10.

 

 

[jack daniel 999 27]

5 September 2007

Lithuania Survive Germany Rally

 

Lithuania nearly gave up a 21-point third quarter lead but held on just enough to beat Germany 84-80 and finish Group C of the 2007 EuroBasket undefeated at 3-0 going into the qualifying round.

 

Rimantas Kaukenas made two foul shots with 2.6 seconds left to secure the win while Sarunas Jasikevicius led the way with 15 points, 10 assists and four rebounds.

 

Darjus Lavrinovic had 18 points while Ramunas Siskausas chipped in 13 for the winners.

 

"We just need to keep plugging along. Over the past three days, we've come together as a team. As long as we keep improving we have a chance to do something. But as we all know the tournament is long," Jasikevicius said.

 

Germany trailed 60-39 midway through the third quarter but proceeded to drain six three-pointers to pull back to within two, 70-68, early in the final period.

 

The Germans missed four straight treys as they tried to take the lead before Lithuania pulled back ahead 79-70 with 2:55 to play.

 

Another three-pointer and two foul shots by Dirk Nowitzki made it 81-80 with 11 seconds left. Darius Songalia made just one of two foul shots with 9.6 seconds to play but Germany