By Panos Katsiroubas info@eurohoops.net
The World Cup shots is going to be an everyday round up from Eurohoops in which we will summarize everything that we liked or dislike during the games! So sit back and enjoy some very important details!
Zero wins, 100% respect: Philippines lost for fourth straight game, again in dramatic fashion. In the 3 of their 4 games the result could have been different. Despite their losses they gained respect from the basketball world for their fighting spirit, their mentality, and many good players that were unknown to most of the fans.
Insanity! The situation in Group C at Bilbao is insane. There is only one day left and all the teams of the group can qualify to the next round. The win of New Zealand kept their hopes alive and everybody has interest for the last day. It’s the most enjoyable group of the competition without any doubt.
The comeback team! Turkey won after a huge comeback for the second time in this tournament. The first victim was New Zealand in the 1st day and now it was Finland. “Dev Adam” played a terrible first half, however they came back, they never gave up and they won it in overtime. For sure this is a result of team basketball and in this competition Turkey plays like a real team.
Suicide… This is what Petteri Koponen and his teammates should think after the game against Turkey. They lost a 17-point half time lead and in the end they just committed a suicide. With 80 seconds left, they grabbed the offensive rebound and instead of using the clock, they executed immediately a 3-points shot with Sasu Salin. Koponen also missed two free throws. In the last play they never fouled the Turkish team, in order to secure their three points advantage. They decided to defend and Akyol scored for three to tie the game and sent it to overtime. In the extra time it was a matter of psychology and in this aspect Turkey had the upper hand. They escaped in a very crucial game.
Lessons of defense! Greece in their game against Croatia reminded us how good, solid defense can effect a game. In the first 25 minutes Croatia had only 2 easy shots! In the beginning with Tomic. After that Greek defense was like a fence nobody could go through. The individual defense was very good, the protection of the passes in the weak side was also in a very high level, the press on the ball was more than efferctive. As a result Greece built a big point differential and never was really threatened, even when Croatia managed to find some offensive rhythm.
Marquinhos Vieira!! He was the guy who saved Brazil when they were lost on the court and they couldn’t score at all. They were down by 7 in the fourth quarter, after having a 16 points lead in halftime! He stepped up and scored some huge baskets. That helped Brazil make a 10-0 run, regain the lead and in the end they got a very important win that gives them the 2nd place in the group
Serbia… Serbian team is very strange in this competition. They lost a game in which they were very close to win against France, in which they played terrible post defense and in the first half against Brazil, it was like they never stepped on the court. They also had internal conflicts during time outs in front of the television camera. When the second half started, another team appeared in the court. Press, good defense, offensive rhythm and a huge 23 points comeback in 13 minutes (from 32-48 min 20 to 67-60 min 33). And after that, they disappeared again from the court. Brazil hit back with a 21-5 run and won the game. Serbia needs to improve its defense, be consistent in bigger parts of the game and also try to find stability in offense.
Unbeaten! Only four teams, one in each group, remain unbeaten after four games. Team USA, Spain, Slovenia and Greece. Their results are very similar with the performances on the court. They are the best teams in their groups, they have the most balanced offensive game, they have talent and strong personalities. They deserve the 1st place a 100% the way they play.