By John Rammas, Antigoni Zachari / info@eurohoops.net
Another FIBA World Cup tournament is in the books. The trophy is now in Spain and Eurohoops takes a moment to rewind back to the Top 10 moments of the 18th edition of the competition.
Great expectations
Turkey could have made history in this edition. Though sometimes things don’t always go as planned. They nearly edged Team USA (for the first time since 2006), but it all went downhill in the extra five-minute period of the game.
This sums up the course of the team in the competition, as they finished 22nd in the classifiers round.
The Cinderellas
The Czech Republic was the Cinderella story of this competition. Despite not having Jan Vesely on board, they finished 6th in their first participation. Greatly thanks to the incredible Tomas Satoransky, who averaged nearly triple-double figures in every game.
The MVP vs. the world
Giannis emerged into this FIBA World Cup edition as the leader of Greece, although his team’s course was far from satisfying. Still, he was the first active NBA regular season MVP to participate in the competition while holding that title.
Jordan achieves first historic win
Jordan went out of the competition after putting a great effort against Nigeria, while fighting to finish 28th. Indeed, the nation grabbed its first-ever victory in the World Cup and completed their run with a smile.
Fair play, if anything.
No longer undefeated
13 years, 48 straight games and no defeat in sight for Team USA. well, that changed on September 11th, when France prevailed with an 89-79 victory against Gregg Popovich’s squad. USA finished 7th in this edition, their worst position over, while France was the one to grab the bronze against Australia.
The two favorites
Despite plenty of absences from their roster, Team USA was as always a favorite for the title. And Serbia was considered to be the next biggest team in the tournament. However, basketball works best on the court, not on paper – the two nations faced each other for the 5-8 classifiers round.
Still, Serbia can take pride in forcing USA to their second defeat (back-to-back), with a 94-89 victory.
Bogut and the money gesture
Andrew Bogut looks at the referees in disbelief that he was charged with a foul on Marc Gasol while fighting for a defensive rebound. He turns to the officiating of the game and shows off a money gesture with his fingers, with 8 seconds left in the game.
After a double-overtime, Spain marched to the final, while the Boomers were set to face France.
Scola and Ginobili breaking hearts
If your kids ask you “what is basketball?” one day, you can show them this video and the hug between Luis Scola and Manu Ginobili will speak louder than any word. Argentina has just sealed a place in the podium after defeating France in the semifinal, and 39-year-old Scola rushed to legendary Ginobili for a tight embrace that moved millions of FIBA World Cup viewers.