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Defending champions Russia can finish second in the EuroBasket 2009 Qualifying Round Group E or even be eliminated depending on what happens in their showdown with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the other results of the group.
There is still plenty to play for in Bydgoszcz with F.Y.R. of Macedonia also having excellent chances of advancing to the Quarter-Finals, and making history, with a victory.
David Blatt's Russians would finish second in the group with a victory over their opponents and a loss by Greece against France later Tuesday.
However, Russia would be out of the tournament with a loss against F.Y.R.O.M. and a Germany win over Croatia. Russia can afford a loss to F.Y.R.O.M. by five points and still advance if Croatia beat Germany.
If F.Y.R.O.M. lose though they will be packing their bags with Russia advancing along with the Croatia-Germany winner.
Russia have steadily improved game after game and Blatt knows his young team must remain focused on an opponent not at the same level of Croatia and Greece, Russia's last two victims.
Jovica Arsic's team from the Balkan meanwhile will likely come into the game with no pressure, knowing they have nothing to lose and everything to gain. If they can hit some shots early and get some confidence, anything is possible.
Head-to-head: Russia have beaten F.Y.R.O.M. in both previous match-ups - at the 1999 EuroBasket.
Last time out: Russia handed Greece their first loss of the tournament with a 68-65 victory. F.Y.R. of Macedonia got past Germany 86-75.
Key Match-up: Russian defense vs. F.Y.R.O.M. long range shooters. Coach Jovica Arsic has a number of players who can launch the long ball - from a number of positions. So that means Russia's entire defense will need to watch for their men to attempt three-pointers. If F.Y.R.O.M. can hit some treys early and get in a rhythm it should be a tight battle.
X-Factor: F.Y.R. of Macedonia big man Predrag Samardziski. Russian center Timofey Mozgov has turned into one of the top big men in Group E after a poor start. Samardziski may be called upon more to help slow down the fellow 23-year-old and 2.15m Mozgov.
Key Stat: 29.2 and 29.8. The Russian defense has held opponents to just 29.2 percent on three-pointers while F.Y.R.O.M. have made just 29.8 of their trey attempts.
Three key Serbians picked up knocks in Saturday's triumph over Poland.
"Stefan Markovic has a knee injury but it doesn't seem as serious as it did on Saturday night, so maybe he'll be in the team," Ivkovic said.
"Milenko Tepic has a back problem, a muscular problem, and there is a question mark over him. We hope that he will be available and (Ivan) Paunic has a finger injury and was today (Sunday) with the doctor at the hospital to see if it is broken or not.
"That's a problem for us because they are three very important players for us in our rotation, players who have key roles in some parts of the game."
Turkey have been one of the best teams at the EuroBasket, mowing down Lithuania, Bulgaria and Poland in Group D and then holding on for a thrilling 63-60 triumph over Spain on Saturday.
"Turkey is a very good team, a well-coached team," Ivkovic said.
"(Turkey boss) Bogdan Tanjevic coaches all of the players at position five at his (Fenerbahce Ulker) team.
"He knows how to use them during the games. Turkey have NBA star (Hedo) Turkoglu, a player who takes many minutes during the game in Ersan Ilyasova and experienced point guards, but we'll try to play our game.
"We have to play the full-court game and not allow Turkey to play the half-court game because they take good positions on offense and try to play games on 60 to 65 points.
"We have to change that pace of the game."
Last Time Out: Turkey beat Spain 63-60 in Saturday's first game while Serbia defeated Poland 77-72.
Key Match-Up: Battle between centers Nenad Krstic of Serbia and Omer Asik of Turkey
X-Factor: Ender Arslan came off the bench and excelled defensively against Spain's backcourt. He will attempt to slow down Serbia point guard Milos Teodosic, who could play most of the game if back-up playmaker Markovic isn't fully fit.
- Serbia vs. Lithuania+6.0
- Spain vs. Turkey+5.0
Hosts Poland will hope to take a step closer to reaching the Quarter-Final stage of EuroBasket for the first time since 1997 when they go up against Serbia in their Qualifying Round opener on Saturday.
Wins over Bulgaria and Lithuania saw the Poles progress from Group D but they now face tough tests in the form of Serbia, Slovenia and Spain, who advanced from Group C, dubbed the ‘Group of Death'.
The home side look sure to use more of their high-octane offense as they try to improve to a 2-1 mark in Group F with a win. Their 82 points per game over the first three outings ranked third behind Greece and Turkey.
Serbia recorded a memorable win over world champions Spain and recovered from a defeat against Slovenia with a decisive win over Great Britain.
Captain Nenad Krstic provided timely baskets as Dusan Ivkovic's men used a 17-4 spurt late in the third quarter to put the outcome beyond all doubt.
The Serbs have done well when they took the initiative from the very start (as they did against Spain) but must do a better job of closing out games and not resting on their laurels too much.
Head to head: This will be the first official game between the two sides. Yugoslavia beat Poland in the opening round of EuroBasket 1997, on their way to winning the tournament.
Last time out: Poland suffered their first defeat, 87-69, at the hands of undefeated Turkey while Serbia sent Great Britain crashing out of the tournament with a 77-59 demolition.
Key match-up: Marcin Gortat v Nenad Krstic. The battle of the big men. While he has averaged more than 17 points through the first three games, Gortat insists his role primarily lies at the defensive end, as an intimidator. He has played that role to great effect so far, currently leading all players in blocks per game (2.3) and trailing only Andris Biedrins in the rebounding race (11.3). Krstic is at the very core of Serbia's offense and, in Gortat, faces perhaps his toughest and most physical opponent yet. He will be made to work very hard for every shot, basket and point.
X-factor: Lasting the distance. Poland will be eager to impress their fans in Gortat's home town and light up the scoreboard as they have done so far. That approach might prove costly. Serbia also have to manage themselves. They got off to a great start against Spain and held a 56-37 lead heading into the final quarter when they ran out of steam and were lucky the world champions couldn't find their range on the day.
Local odds for Serbia is at -4.5, bet now at Bet365 for bargain lines!
PREVIEW
Serbia's aim before the EuroBasket was to claim a top-six finish in order to qualify for the 2010 FIBA World Championship.
After Monday's 66-57 upset win against Spain, the Blues might want to set the bar even higher.
Serbia were awesome against Spain.
Dusan Ivkovic's team made life hell for the world champions, contesting every shot and beating Spain to many a loose ball.
When the contest was over, Serbia had come up with 12 steals.
The squad is full of youngsters, yet there was no intimidation against a Spain side that is full of international superstars like Juan Carlos Navarro, Pau Gasol and Ricky Rubio.
Slovenia, meanwhile, will be breathing a sigh of relief after overcoming the injury-forced absences of Matjaz Smodis and Uros Slokar to defeat Great Britain, 72-59.
Erazem Lorbek, plagued by foul trouble in the first half, ended up scoring a game-high 19 points.
If Slovenia had to contend with the impressive frontline of Great Britain, they will encounter a different style against the Serbs whose strength is their quickness and depth.
Last Time Out: Slovenia defeated Great Britain 72-59 and Serbia upset Spain 66-57.
Key Match-up: Goran Dragic v Milos Teodosic. Phoenix Suns reserve Dragic struggled against Team GB but will be one of the quickest players on the floor while Teodosic is coming off a strong game against Spain in which he virtually shut down Rubio.
X-Factor: Goran Jagodnik. The Slovenia veteran has played in the Serbian league and is familiar with many of Tuesday's opponents. He had two big three-pointers in the second half to help fire his team to victory.
Key Stat: Monday's triumph over Spain was Serbia boss Ivkovic's 19th win in as many EuroBasket games as a coach. He won two titles as the coach of the former 'big' Yugoslavia, when the team still had all of the republics including Croatia. In 1995, he also led a 'small' Yugoslavia to the European title when the squad consisted of players from Serbia and Montenegro. (FIBA Europe)
POD: Macedonia vs. Greece-9.5 (4K units) W
PREVIEW
The first game of Group A in Poznan will feature Greece and FRYOM, two neighbor countries with a lot of political history, but none on the basketball court, yet.
Greece arrive to the competition as a riddle. After many years with Coach Panagiotis Yannakis, now there's a new boss on the bench in the face of the former Euroleague champion Lithuanian Jonas Kazlauskas, who coached the Chinese national team until the 2008 Olympics.
The Greeks were a dominating force in world basketball since winning EuroBasket 2005 and had a very unique and typical game style everybody around the continent knew to recognize even if you had taken off the names off the team jersey. Which face will Greece carry under the first foreigner coach of their national team since 1979?
On the other end of the court there will wait an ambitious underdog that has nothing to lose.
Other than Great Britain, in their first ever EuroBasket performance, FYROM is not only the team with the fewest performances in the competition among the present 16, but also the one with the biggest time gap from their last visit.
Ten years after their debut performance in 1999, the absence of FYROM is over and they are here to show Europe they can go at least one step further than ten years ago when they lost all three games.
Will they write their first ever EuroBasket win already on opening day against the noisy neighbors from the south, or keep the fantasy going for at least one more day?
Head-to-head: Actually, there was never any official game between Greece and FYROM. The two neighbors have never faced each other in any senior competition, so this game will be a special occasion.
Stats: Todor Gecevski was FYROM's main man in the qualifying round. He was their third top scorer (13.6), best rebounder (6.6), third top passer (2.1) and best shot blocker (1.0). In order for FYROM to have a good run in EuroBasket 2009, they need the versatility of the long haired big guy, especially with the impressive line-up the Greek team is bringing to the court.
Key Match-Up: Vrbica Stefanov and Nikos Zisis are the key point guards of each side. Stefanov is a veteran who came back from retirement to lead his team in his last performance on court as a basketball player. Zisis is at the top of his career playing for elite clubs as CSKA Moscow and Montepaschi Siena. If Stefanov is able to run the FYROM game as he wishes, his team will have a good chance to remain in the game and put up a fight for the Greek side. Zisis will need to eliminate him on defense, but keep the Greek offense on the move at the same time.
X-Factor: Coach Jovica Arsic had two options when he needed to pick the neutralized player to perform for FYROM, each in a totally different role - Point Guard Darius Washington and Power Forward Jeremiah Massey. He went with the later in hope the US spring will make the difference with his presence around both rims of the floor. Having playing in Greece for many years in the past might be another x-factor in favor of Massey who will focus a lot of attention from the Greek defense. (FIBA Europe)
Brazil will be facing Canada which handed the Dominican Republic a 76-80 sorry loss. Canada hasn't qualified for a FIBA World Championship since 2002 where they finished in 13 place. The Dominicans have missed the FIBA World Championship since 1978.
In their last game, Brazil beat the Canadians 68-59 but failed to cover the line. Leandro Barbosa scored 31 points by shooting from 11-16 from the field (3-6 3 pts) and 6-7 from the free throw line in 37 minutes played. Marcelo Huertas followed with 10 points while Anderson Varejao along with Guilherme Giovannoni scored 8 each. Canada was led by Levon Kendall with 12 points and was followed by Olu Famutimi and Joel Anthony with 10 each.
POD: Canada vs. Brazil-12.5 (3K units) L
Argentina moving up to the second place of Group B was one of four possible scenarios in play after the Argentineans defeated Panama on Saturday. With their victory over Dominican Republic on Sunday, Argentina eliminated Venezuela. Argentina had lost to Venezuela last Wednesday.
In their best performance so far, Argentina defeated the Dominican Republic 89-87 in overtime in the final day of Round 1.
Luis Scola finished with 30 points, Paolo Quinteros scored 14 and Pablo Prigioni 11 plus 5 assists for Argentina. Al Horford led the Dominicans with 24 points and 11 rebounds, Francisco Garcia scored 20, Luis Flores 16 and Jack Michael Martinez added 13. Charlie Villanueva had a bad day with 9 points by shooting 3-13 from the field but he helped the Dominican side with 10 rebounds.
Also on Sunday, Brazil defeated Panama 84-64. Leandro Barbosa scored 17 points, Marcelo Huertas and Anderson Varejao added 15 each. Danilo Pinnock netted 24 points for Panama while Leonardo Pomare finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
All teams are off Monday although light workouts will take place in preparation for the quarterfinals. Teams will be playing four games each in the upcoming phase. The quarterfinals begin on Tuesday and will be played until Friday. The top 4 teams reach the 2010 FIBA World Championship.
FINAL STANDINGS (end of Qualifying Round)
Team - W | L
Group A
Puerto Rico - 4 | 0
Uruguay - 3 | 1
Canada - 2 | 2
Mexico - 1 | 3
Group B
Brazil - 4 | 0
Argentina - 2 | 2
Dominican Rep. - 2 | 2
Panama - 1 | 3
Tensions came to a head when Mexico’s star player Romel Beck got into the face of Uruguayan guard Emilio Taboada after a foul call.
From there, it was mayhem as players faced off, not knowing where to turn they punched, grabbed, and kicked at each other, throwing chairs and anything else they could get their hands on.
Eventually the Uruguayan players sought refuge in their locker room as many of the Mexican players followed looking to continue the fight.
The game was called after the tussle. Mexico was up at that point 68-60 with 46 seconds remaining in the third period.
POD: Brazil vs. Argentina+9.5 (3K units) W
POD: Dominican Republic vs. Brazil-9.0 ( 3K units) W
This is just a thought.... agree or disagree?
Bad news: Jordan is their opponent in the knockout quarter finals game. The Jordanians demolished the Philippines with a 30-point win in their last meeting at the Jones Cup.
Their only lost in Tianjin was against the Chinese last night by 6 points which means that Jordan is beatable if the Philippines can bring their A-game in their duel for a spot in the semi-finals. I'm taking the Pinoys plus the points.
POD: Jordan vs. Team Pilipinas+15.5 (5K units) W
1400 Hrs: Jordan vs Philippines
1600 Hrs: Qatar vs Iran
1900 Hrs: Chinese Taipei vs China
2100 Hrs: Korea vs Lebanon
TIANJIN (FIBA Asia Championship) - Jordan and Korea displayed such prowess pitted against much more fancied rivals that those seeking competitive basketball in the knockout rounds were left well pleased.
Jordan provided a few shocks to China, but seasoned campaigner Wang Zhizhi turned the saviour for the hosts steering them to an 89-83 win. A win that gave China the top place in Group F and Jordan their first defeat in the Championship.
Korea, bronze medalists of the 2007 edition, gave defending champions Iran a mighty scare before the latter woke up in time to post an 82-66 win.
The result put Iran on top of Group E, while handing Korea their first loss.
In other Group E action, Chinese Taipei took the fourth available quarterfinal spot with a comfortable 99-79 triumph over Japan and Philippines were rather nonchalant in beating Kuwait 85-71.
In Group F, Lebanon overpowered and ousted last edition’s semifinalists Kazakhstan 91-45 to help Qatar book the fourth place after Qatar had rolled past United Arab Emirates 91-45.
Group E
A blistering 14-0 run helped Iran race past Korea
Korea did run the floor hard in the opening quarter.
Yang Donggeun, Kim Joo Sung and Yang Heejong sank a three-pointer each as Korea led 19-18 at the end of the first quarter.
They carried the edge into the second quarter too, but Iran made their move in the last three minutes of the first half.
Hamed Afagh scored five – including a three-pointer – of his game-high 24 points to lead Iran to a 14-0 run after Iran never trailed.
Afagh fired nine points in all out of his game-high 24 points and Hamed EHadadi scored six of his 21 in the second quarter as Iran took a comfortable 44-31 lead going to the change rooms.
EHadadi also collected a game-high 16 points.
Korea were surely brow beaten by that spree and never recovered.
Yang Donggeun led Korea’s scoring with 13 points, but five of them coming in the first quarter.
Kim Joo Sung had 12 and Yang Heejong had 11, but drew a blank in the fourth quarter.
Chinese Taipei justified their wild card entry by making the quarterfinals, thus keeping Japan out of the top eight for the first time.
“It’s quite an achievement entering the last eight in this highly competitive fray,” said Taipei coach Chung Kwang-Suk.
Japan held the scoring edge in the first five minutes of the game but a 10-0 run turned the tables in Taipei’s favour.
Tseng-Wen Ting returned a game-high 20 points, 14 of them in the second half. Lee Hsueh-Lin and Chang Chih-Feng had held the Taipei campaign on course before that.
Lee Hsueh scored 15 of his game’s 16 points in the first half. And Chang Chih contributed 12 for the game, 10 of them in the first quarter.
Tien Li was consistent throughout for his 16 points.
Joji Takeuchi and Kei Igarashi shared the scoring honours for Japan with 18 points each.
With everything including their standing in Group E eight-final round confirmed even before the start of the game Philippines played against Kuwait without any pressure.
Pauliasi Taulava played his longest game of the competition and justified it with a double-double – 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Cyrus Baguio led Philippines’ scoring with 14 points.
“We have achieved better than last time’s finish of ninth. That was the first goal here. Now we want to fight and go as far as we can,” Philippines coach Joseller Guiao said of the quarterfinal clash against Jordan.
Rashed Alrabah and Mohammad Ashkanani both returned a game-high 20 each for Kuwait.
Group F
Seasoned campaigner Wang Zhizhi fired in all cylinders at the crucial junctures and spearhead Yi Jianlian played an all-round consistent game to steer hosts China past Jordan.
Wang Zhizhi, the first Chinese to play in the NBA, scored twice in the paint as China scored the first eight points of the game.
Jordan attempted a fight back in the second quarter, bringing the score close to 34-36, but Wang stepped up again. The 213-cm centre scored four points to spearhead a 9-0 run
And when Jordan closed in 74-77 in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, Wang moved in yet again – pulling down two defensive rebounds, scoring five points as China went ahead with the win.
Wang finished with 23 points, and pulled down eight rebounds.
Yi led the game in scoring – 29 points – as well as rebounds – 18 boards.
Jordan, for sure, did not give up. Just every time they tried to stage a comeback, China had Wang protecting their cause.
Rasheim Wright was, as usual, the leading scorer for Jordan, but for the first time in the Championship in a losing cause – with 28 points.
Zaid Abbas returned a 14-point game.
Lebanon gave Kazakhstan no allowance right from the word go.
The West Asian powerhouse scored the first 10 points of the game and cruised along.
Fadi El Khatib, Mat Freije and Jackson Vroman all made merry improving their PPG average.
El Khatib returned a game-high 24 points.
Freije contributed 19 and Vroman had 17.
Alexander Tyutyunik was the highest scorer for Kazakhstan with 12 points.
Saad Ali led the scoring for Qatar with 18 points and Yaseen Ismail contributed 13 points.
Talal Alnuaimi was the highest scorer for UAE with 15 points. (fiba.com)
POD: Taiwan-7.5 vs. Japan (10K units) W
Other leans:
WNBA
- Detroit+3.0 @ Washington W
- Sacramento @ San Antonio-7.5 L
- New York @ Los Angeles-5.5 L
- AU-20.5 @ AUF L
- EAC @ UPHR+10.5 W
POD: Indiana @ Los Angeles-2.0 (5K units) W
With this in mind, I expect Jordan to show their might against Kazakhstan and to avoid a quarter finals match-up with either Iran or Korea.
The top 4 teams of Group A and B as well as that of Group C and D will move on to the crossover quarter finals.
POD: Jordan-18.5 vs. Kazahkstan (15K units) L
Other leans:
WNBA
- Washington @ Connecticut-4.5 W
- San Antonio+2.5 @ Minnesota W
- Chicago @ Detroit-7.5 L -- damn you Fowles :)
NCAA
- MIT vs. SSC-R-14.5 L
- SBC-5.5 vs. JRU W
FIBA-Asia
- Korea-40.5 vs. Kuwait L
- Japan vs. Iran-14.5 W
- Pilipinas pk vs. Taiwan W
- China vs. UAE+50.5 W
- Sri Lanka vs. Uzbekistan-50.5 L
- India vs. Indonesia+10.5 L
- Qatar vs. Lebanon-12.5 L
I will be posting tomorrow's POD in about 30 minutes.
The lines are not yet out for tomorrow but I'm leaning on the side of the favorites since I do not see any possible upsets in the making. I just hope that the lines are not that bloated again.
Bettors beware of the inflated Philippine odds, the local bookies know that you'll bet on Team Pilipinas similar to what happened to the RP vs. Japan game where the line should only be at -2.5 but was released at -5.0.