By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Even during the summer, basketball never sleeps! And while in Europe every big name is preparing for the upcoming Eurobasket, in the States some well known players in the old continent are part of “The basketball tournament“.
An open tournament with a final prize of one million dollars is near its end. The semifinals and the final which will be televised by ESPN, will be played this weekend. Four teams remain: Ants Alumni, Overseas Elite, Team 23 and Team City of Gods, but the Euro-interest is fixed the semifinal between Overseas Elite and Team City of Gods.
On one side, there’s gifted scorer Errick McCollum who flirted with Olympiacos, averaging 20.8 ppg for the Overseas Elite and on the other we have a real All Star team! From the coach Joe Connelly III, brother of Denver’s GM Tim Connelly, to the roster which includes former AEK star Pops Mensah Bonsu, Panathinaikos forward James Gist, Venezia’s point guard Phil Goss and still free agent Xavier Silas who finished the season in Greece with Nea Kifisia.
By far the most complete team of the tournament – in which also players like Pooh Jeter and retired Mike Bibby got the chance to get some summer action – City of Gods seems to be the team to beat. Mensah Bonsu is dominating the paint (12.8 ppg, 8.4 rpg), Goss is averaging 5,4 assists and Silas is the main scoring option (13.4 ppg) proving once again that he can really do damage, while he waits to take the next step in his career. With many teams in Europe needing a scoring punch and him turning some heads, it’s just a matter of time for him to find it. So Saturday’s semifinal will have for sure some European flavour.
Meanwhile Mensah and Gist who are both currently banned from FIBA competitions due to failed anti-doping tests, have the chance to step on the court again and as you can see on this video, the forward of the Greens is doing his usual stuff.