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

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Spain Back On Track

By David Hein

08 September 2007

 

World champions Spain shook off their last-second loss to Croatia by dismantling defending champions Greece 76-58 to remain well in the race for the 2007 EuroBasket title in Group E.

 

Rudy Fernandez paced the tournament hosts with 20 points while Pau Gasol added 15 points, five rebounds and five assists and Felipe Reyes chipped in 10 points as Spain again cruised past Greece, who lost 70-47 in the final of the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan.

 

"I

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Lithuania Target Last Eight

By Cindy Garcia-Bennett

08 September 2007

 

Red-hot Lithuania will be looking to seal their place in the quarter-finals of the EuroBasket when they take on Italy today.

 

Lithuania brushed aside Turkey and the Czech Republic in Group C but nearly blew a 21-point lead against Germany before winning to remain unbeaten.

 

The teams met last year in the last 16 of the FIBA World Championship in Japan and the Lithuanians held off the Azzurri.

 

Italy coach Carlo Recalcati said: "Those were two different teams so it doesn't mean anything."

 

Last Time Out: Italy beat Poland 79-70 and Lithuania edged Germany 84-80.

 

Key Match-up: Sarunas Jasikevicius v Marco Belinelli. Jasikevicius, the MVP of EuroBasket back in 2003, is one of those players who wasn't with Lithuania last year and has made a big difference in the side. Sara tops the assist chart, averaging seven per game.

 

Key Stats: In their defeat against Slovenia and France, Italy were out-rebounded but, in their win over Poland, they won the battle of the boards. This is the area that most concerns coach Recalcati. He said: "Lithuania have very good rebounders. But their strength is that their guards, whether it is Jasikevicius or Rimantas Kaukenas are their best rebounders."

 

X-factor: Massimo Bulleri is the heart and soul of Italy just as he was four years ago when the Azzurri went on their improbable run to the bronze medal in Sweden and qualified for the Olympics. He is showing signs of having the same type of influence on this team.

 

Speaking out: "It's not going to be easy. We must have our guards also contributing to rebounds in order to stop them playing an open game. But more than anything we cannot be distracted because Lithuania are very good at making a crucial run in two minutes that decides the game. We will try to play to have continuity for the entire 40 minutes." - Italy coach Carlo Recalcati.

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Germany, France Look To Bounce Back

By David Hein

08.09.2007

 

The 2005 silver medallists Germany or France will take a big step towards reaching the 2007 EuroBasket quarter-finals as they face off in a Group F battle of teams on the rebound after heart-breaking losses to end the preliminary round.

 

Both teams enter the qualifying round at 1-1 and the winners of this game know that the quarter-finals would be likely just one win away.

 

For the losers, a real dogfight for fourth place in the group

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Lithuania Stay On Right Track

By David Hein

08 September 2007

 

The 2003 champions Lithuania remained undefeated in their quest to regain the EuroBasket title by beating Italy 79-74 to improve to 3-0 in Group F and take a giant step towards reaching the quarter-finals in Madrid.

 

Rimantas Kaukenas led Lithuania by pouring in 22 points, including a three-pointer with 3:12 remaining to spark a 9-2 run to finish off the game. Sarunas Jasikevicius was hampered with a left groin injury for much of the second half but tallied 13 points, three rebounds, four assists and two steals in 28 minutes.

 

"Italy are a great team and we expected it to be a tough battle. We're glad to have the win but definitely there's still a lot we can improve on in our game," said Lithuania big man Linas Kleiza, who chippped in eight points and nine rebounds.

 

"We were a bit too relaxed at times. We have to stay more focused and try and hold on to our leads."

 

Lithuania built up an 11-point lead midway through the first quarter but allowed Italy back into the game. It was the third straight game in which the Lithuanians were unable to control a double-digit lead. Ramunas Butautas's side nearly blew a 21-point third quarter lead against Germany, who had numerous chances to pull ahead in the final preliminary round match.

 

"It's just something we have to improve on. Luckily none of the teams against whom we lost our big leads managed to capitalise on it and beat us but it's getting close," Kleiza added.

 

Italy, who were out-rebounded 44-29 and made only 23% (6-of-26) of their three-point shots, now have a real fight on their hands to qualify for the quarter-finals. Not only do the 2003 bronze-medallists need to win out their final two games, they also are dependent on other results as well.

 

"We have taken steps forward on defense and offense with respect to our previous games but today we faced a very strong Lithuaina. We gave everything but we made mistakes late in the game and we were punished," said Denis Marconato, who scored 10 points for the Italians.

 

"I am nevertheless confident because the team is getting better and this is a good sign for the next game."

 

Andrea Bargnani collected 15 points and seven rebounds while Gianluca Basile had 13 points and four rebounds in a losing cause.

 

The Lithuanians started the game strong defensively, holding the Italians scoreless for more than five minutes in using a 13-0 run to pull out to a 15-4 lead with 3:30 left in the first. Basile answered with five straight points to help close to 19-11 but trailed 21-13 going into the second quarter.

 

Italy kept trying to scrap themselves back into the game and Lithuania continued to fend them off. But Italian guard Matteo Soragna stole Kaukenas's pass in the waning seconds and banked in a long three-pointer at the half-time buzzer to trim the deficit to 40-39 at half-time.

 

Carlo Recalcati's side pulled even with the four-time EuroBasket champions at 44-44 on a three-pointer by Marconato. And the Italians grabbed the lead 48-47 on two foul shots by Marco Mordente.

 

The final seven minutes of the third period saw nine lead changes and Lithuania led 62-61 going into the fourth after Siskausas's jumper with 22 seconds left.

 

The see-saw affair continued throughout the fourth period, and things were even at 72-72 when Kaukenas drained a three-pointer to give Lithuania a 75-72 advantage with 3:12 remaining. That shot sparked a 9-2 run to finish the game as Italy turned over the ball twice in the final 2:20 to give up any final hope.

 

Lithuania next face France on Monday while Italy take on Turkey.

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Slokar Slays Turks

By David Hein

08 September 2007

 

A balanced attack led Slovenia to a 66-51 victory over Turkey in Group F of the 2007 EuroBasket and helped the Slovenians remain undefeated at 3-0 in Spain.

 

Uros Slokar provided a huge spark off the bench with 12 points in 19 minutes as Slovenia went on a 21-1 surge spanning the third and fourth quarters for a comfortable victory.

 

Radoslav Nesterovic led Slovenia with 13 points while Goran Dragic added 11 points, four rebounds and three assists and Jaka Lakovic chipped in five points, seven rebounds and three assists.

 

"In the first half, both teams made a lot of mistakes. In the second half we stepped on it and started to play better defense. Congratulations to my players. The next games are Germany and Lithuania and we can play with less pressure," said Slovenia coach Ales Pipan.

 

"I guess we've given something to the people back home in Slovenia to party about tonight."

 

"It

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Israel In Unfamiliar Role As Favourites

By Yarone Arbel

09.09.2007

 

With a big wind at their back, momentum is on Israel's side as they attempt to win three straight games for the first time since 1985.

 

Portugal is trying to gain experience in every game, but play tough and never gives up.

 

Sound familiar?

 

Israel, a tough fighting group themselves, will face a team who'll match their intensity.

 

Last Time Out: Israel continued their "kill bill" trip against the former Yugoslavia countries with a big 80-75 win over Croatia. Portugal lost 65-78 to favorites Russia.

 

Head-to-Head: In the last two Qualifying games for EuroBasket 2005 and 2007 Portugal humiliated Israel, and cost them the direct ticket to the games. In 2004 they scored a big 101-96 win in Israel after an overtime. They lost the second leg but that game had no real meaning by then. Last summer, Portugal once again beat Israel on the road, 67-61, but then shocked with a 69-49 win that gave them the ticket to EuroBasket and sent Israel to the AQT.

 

Key Match Up: Tough nut here, as nobody in Portugal is a specific player you wish to stop. Not even a single guy averages double-digits in points, but then you have no less than six players who are scoring 7.5

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Greece And Croatia Face Must Win

By David Hein

09 September 2007

Defending champions Greece find themselves in the strange spot of desperately needing a victory as they face off in Group E against Croatia.

 

The Greeks have stumbled to two straight losses for a 1-2 record and could drop to fifth place in the six-team group (only the top four advance to the quarter-finals) with a loss and an Israel victory.

 

Croatia meanwhile are 2-1 and still have their destiny in their own hands, though they have to bounce back from their loss to Israel two days ago.

 

Last time out: Croatia's hearts were broken as they allowed Israel to beat them 80-75 just two nights after shocking world champions and tournament hosts Spain.

 

Greece meanwhile were thrashed by Spain 76-58 and crucially need a victory to remain in the hunt to defend their 2005 crown.

 

Key matchup: Davor Kus vs. Greece star point guard Theodoros Papaloukas.

 

The Croatia point guard will need to work hard defensively to disrupt the Greeks' attack.

 

Croatia have been able to shoot 34% from the three-point stripe, but they've given up at least 80 points in three of their four games.

 

X-Factor: Greek playmaker Theodoros Papaloukas has admitted that he has struggled with his form thus far and needs to pick up his game.

 

He also promised that he will start helping his side more starting against Croatia.

 

Stats: The famed Greek passing game is not yet in sync, as the European champions have averaged just nine assists over their first four games. Greek playmaker Dimitrios Diamantidis has made just five of 18 three-pointers (28%).

 

Sounding off: "Coach is always worried. Even if you win you worry because if something goes well you're thinking about your next move. The most important thing is to keep your mind cool and your senses clear, remember that the target is to qualify. For me, it's like the runner who is thinking about the end, maybe he's gonna get tired." -Greece coach Panagiotis Yannakis

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Spain Offer Russia Test

By Cindy Garcia-Bennett

09 September 2007

 

Spain take on unbeaten Russia looking to climb to the top of Group E.

 

The world champions bounced back from their defeat to Croatia with an emphatic triumph against Greece.

 

Pepu Hernandez's men face another challenge on Sunday's against a team that is showing no signs of slowing down.

 

Spain last met Russia two years ago in the group stages at the EuroBasket in Belgrade and won 89-77 although the Russians were without Andrei Kirilenko.

 

Last result: Spain beat Greece 76-58 while Russia defeated Portugal, 78-65.

 

Key match-up: Andrei Kirilenko v Pau Gasol.

 

Portugal got steamrolled by Andrei Kirilenko last time out and then raved about his ability to dominate on the boards but also get out on the fastbreak.

 

Kirilenko will not find it so easy against a big, strong frontline that is led by Pau Gasol.

 

Russia went unbeaten in the group stage, which included an impressive win over EuroBasket 2005 winners Greece, but the game against the world champions is the one that will let everyone know if David Blatt

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