The 2009 French NT thread

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

Eurobasket odds for 1-10 places from all main bookies.

Gold Medal
Spain 1.61

Silver Medal
Greece 10

Bronze Medal
France 13

4th place
Lithuania 15

5th place
Slovenia 21

6th place
Serbia 21

7th place
Croatia 26

8th place
Turkey 29

9th place
Russia 76

10th place
Poland 151

France is expected to win bronze.

[Freeze]

You LIED

You got proven as a LIAR

Now STFU

YOU lied, the link you gave is a game in France, the same I gave, not the Acropolis thing.

[Bruno]

Schedule for the Eurobakset first round (San Antonio time):
Monday 12:15pm against Germany.
Tuesday 12:15pm against Latvia.
Wednesday 9:30am against Russia.

[DPG21920]

Will they have links Bruno?

Also, Ian is very ripped. He has always looked lean, but man he is pretty jacked. I like his attitude when it comes to the Spurs. He knows how it works and that he will have to earn his spot.

That is good on the Spurs part for always being upfront and sometimes brutally honest.

[Bruno]

Will they have links Bruno?

You can watch the Eurobasket on espn 360.



Also, Ian is very ripped. He has always looked lean, but man he is pretty jacked.

Ian has chicken legs but a strong upper body.

[DPG21920]

Ya, he has always had "baby deer" legs. You can see him looking a little "clumsy-athletic" when he runs.

[DPG21920]

I am not seeing the link for the France-Germany game on 360. I see only Serbia-Spain & Turkey-Lithuania

[sonic21]

I am not seeing the link for the France-Germany game on 360. I see only Serbia-Spain & Turkey-Lithuania

some of the game are in the same time, so there won't be all the France games.

But there's other links, I (or someone else) will post them before the game.

[DPG21920]

cool...

[manufan10]

Can someone post updates for those of us that can't get the link?

[timaios]

Can someone post updates for those of us that can't get the link?

http://www.eurobasket2009.org/en/default.asp

[manufan10]

http://www.eurobasket2009.org/en/default.asp

:toast

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

Mahinmi hit his back............

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

Germany 37

France 33

halftime

[spursfan09]

Germany 37

France 33

halftime

What would this win/loss mean?

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

What would this win/loss mean?

Nothing. It's just the first game.

[velik_m]

What would this win/loss mean?

Nothing much, but this Germany is a really bad team. There are players from second (!) German league in there.

[DPG21920]

So is Ian hurt?

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

Nothing much, but this Germany is a really bad team. There are players from second (!) German league in there.

These idiots here actually believe France is some kind of good team because of all their "NBA stars". They are delusional. It won't matter if France loses every game they won't stop believing how "great" the "NBA stars" are.

Losing to Finland, losing to Belgium. Struggling against Germany..........they play like this against a good team and it will be a slaughter.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

So is Ian hurt?

I don't think so. He fell really bad on his back and it looked like he was. But then he got up so he must be ok.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

France won 70-65. They suck pretty much just as it seemed from the last two qualifying tournaments. Parker had to do everything for them to win against a crap German team.

They have no hope for a medal. None at all the way they have been playing.

[Bruno]

What a crappy game. Anyway, a win is a win but FNT has shown a lot of weaknesses (lack of shooting, lack of depth and size at PF/C...).

TP was damn bad during 3 and a half quarters before being awesome in the clutch.
Ian played few minutes in the first half. He was quite bad before hurting his back. He jumped over a German player and fall on his back a little like he did in D-League two years ago.
Nando was just awful. He was eaten alive defensively by German players, who are far from being great.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

This team only plays hard when it really matters. They beat this team without trying essentially.

lol OK you obviously did not watch the game.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

What a crappy game. Anyway, a win is a win but FNT has shown a lot of weaknesses (lack of shooting, lack of depth and size at PF/C...).

TP was damn bad during 3 and a half quarters before being awesome in the clutch.
Ian played few minutes in the first half. He was quite bad before hurting his back. He jumped over a German player and fall on his back a little like he did in D-League two years ago.
Nando was just awful. He was eaten alive defensively by German players, who are far from being great.

France needs to play much smarter from now on.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

Yeah, I did. Their effort against Belgium and Italy was much greater. There was literally no hustle exhibited by them during this game. They only decided to give some effort towards the end and it was just enough to get a win.

They won't win shit if they try that against a good team.

[tomtom]

How has Batum been doing?

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

How has Batum been doing?

He played like shit in this game. Parker was the only one that was good but even he was awful in the first 3 quarters.

[mathbzh]

I have to disagree. Turiaf was good. Of course he still makes some silly mistakes here and there (like this foul in the final minutes), but he plays with a lot of energy and kept the team afloat in the first half.
To be noticed: 18/33... France FT numbers.

[mathbzh]

How has Batum been doing?
Not that bad for someone who played like shit.
His stats: 12 pts (5/7)/8rbds/2 ast/ 3 TO in 32 minutes.

He didn't have a great game but I think it is more a team failure (still a win).

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

Not that bad for someone who played like shit.
His stats: 12 pts (5/7)/8rbds/2 ast/ 3 TO in 32 minutes.

He didn't have a great game but I think it is more a team failure (still a win).

He played no defense and all his offense was off broken plays. He played like crap.

[mathbzh]

He played no defense and all his offense was off broken plays. He played like crap.

The whole team played no defense, Batum was not worse than anyone else.
Offensively he played his game. Remember he is a 20 yo player and this is his first real competition with the French team.
I think you expect too much if you consider his game as crappy.

[TimDunkem]

Why doesn't ESPN360 provide any service for TWC customers?

[Bukefal]

I was surprised France had so long in the game until the end such a tough time with Germany. But, good win, Parker did great and I enjoyed Eva sitting there :)

[duncan228]

Parker leads France past Germany (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Parker_leads_France_past_Germany.html)

Spurs guard Tony Parker scored 11 of his game-high 19 points in the last 2:38 to carry France to a 70-65 victory over Germany on Monday on the opening day of the European basketball championship.

Germany sorely missed its NBA star, Dirk Nowitzki. The Dallas Mavericks forward led all scorers at the 2007 championships with 24 points per game, but Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has refused to allow him to play in the tournament.

Defending champion Russia also won its opener and joined France atop Group B.

Russia jumped out to an early lead against Latvia and then held off a late challenge to win 81-68 behind 24 points and nine rebounds from American-born Kelly McCarty and 22 points from point guard Sergey Bykov.

Latvia cut Russia's lead to 65-63 with 4:08 to play on a pair of free throws from Kaspars Kambala before the Russians closed with a 16-5 run.

Serbia used a stingy defense to upset world champion Spain 66-57.

Looking like one of the formidable Yugoslav teams of old, the young Serbian squad without any NBA stars thoroughly outplayed a lackluster Spain, clamping down on a Spanish attack led by Los Angeles Lakers center Pau Gasol.

"I think tonight my team absolutely deserved this victory," coach Duzan Ivkovic said. "We won with extremely great defense."

The Serbs used a 14-4 run in the last five minutes of the first half to open a 38-23 lead at the break.

After a cold first half, Spain still couldn't find its shooting touch after the break, making just just 2 of 19 from behind the arc and 54 percent from the line for the night. Serbia's lead was never less than eight points in the second half.

"They played a very good game, especially on the defensive end," Spain coach Sergio Scariolo said. "Our shooting percentages were tonight really low. So offensively we struggled, part due to the good defense of our opponent, and part we missed very, very open shots and free throws."

Gasol, who is coming off minor surgery on his left index finger after injuring it last month, struggled all night to find his range. The Lakers star shot 4 of 10 from the field, and hit just 1 of 8 free throws to finish with 9 points.

Serbia tops Group C along with Slovenia, which beat Britain 72-59 earlier Monday.

Greece, the 2005 European champion, jumped to an 18-5 lead in the first five minutes to open the tournament with an easy win over Macedonia in Group A. Point guard Vassilis Spanoulis led Greece with 17 points, and center Yannis Bourousis chipped in with 11 points and 8 rebounds.

"We didn't really know them and we'd heard that they could cause us trouble," Bourousis said. "But in the game, we started strong and stayed that way throughout."

Hedo Turkoglu scored 19 points to lead Turkey to an 84-76 upset of Lithuania in Group D.

Also host Poland beat Bulgaria 90-78 in Group D, and Croatia downed Israel 86-79 in Group A.

[DPG21920]

Man, I really hope for Ian's sake that he is ok. He cannot afford to come into preseason injured. It would spell disaster for him. It does not sound to serious, but I am sure it gave him a scare.

[Bruno]

Ian has a groin strain and will have a MRI.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

Man, I really hope for Ian's sake that he is ok. He cannot afford to come into preseason injured. It would spell disaster for him. It does not sound to serious, but I am sure it gave him a scare.

I will be honest if he plays like he has been with French NT he will never make Spurs. He is a disaster on defense.

[Bruno]

An interesting interview of Collet (in French):
http://www.basketnews.net/asp.net/main.news/details.aspx?id=4227

Papa Shultze :lol

[mathbzh]

Cela dit, les paniers y sont aussi pour quelque chose, le match précédent (Russie-Lettonie) ayant été aussi marqué par une maladresse inhabituelle au lancer, surtout pour des équipes comme la Russie et la Lettonie, des spécialistes dans le domaine.


What is the deal with the baskets?

[romain.star]

An interesting interview of Collet (in French):
http://www.basketnews.net/asp.net/main.news/details.aspx?id=4227

Papa Shultze :lol

Nice read thanks Bruno

[Bruno]

What is the deal with the baskets?

Rims are more or less "shooter-friendly". It's harder to shoot with a tight rim than with a loose one.

An article about rims and the NBA:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ys-nbarims110608&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

An article about rims and the NCAA:
http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2007/03/25/ncaa-tests-show-duke-has-loose-rims/

[mathbzh]

Rims are more or less "shooter-friendly". It's harder to shoot with a tight rim than with a loose one.

An article about rims and the NBA:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ys-nbarims110608&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

An article about rims and the NCAA:
http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2007/03/25/ncaa-tests-show-duke-has-loose-rims/

Thanks
I would have thought that at this level they were all the same.

[Spurs Brazil]

ian has a groin strain and will have a mri.

Bad news. I hope it's nothing

[bigfan]

Bad news. I hope it's nothing

This guy is a lost cause..... Time to shitcan his ass.

[Macca76]

This guy is a lost cause..... Time to shitcan his ass.
:sleep

[boutons_deux]

Groin strains can take a long time, easy to re-injure.

This guy is looking so fragile, has been hurt so many different ways so many times.

[Bruno]

At the half: Germany 45 - Russia 31

Maybe Germany isn't that bad after all.

[Bruno]

http://www.lequipe.fr/Basket/breves2009/20090908_174736_mahinimi-preserve.html

Ian won't play today but should be back tomorrow against Russia.

[Mel_13]

http://www.lequipe.fr/Basket/breves2009/20090908_174736_mahinimi-preserve.html

Ian won't play today but should be back tomorrow against Russia.

Good news.

[loveforthegame]

Hope it's nothing serious. I'd hate to see Ian held back because of injuries again.

[DPG21920]

Good to hear about Ian. Hope he comes into camp healthy. I am really rooting for him.

[completely deck]

http://www.lequipe.fr/Basket/breves2009/20090908_174736_mahinimi-preserve.html

Ian won't play today but should be back tomorrow against Russia.

Is this guy made of glass? Good lord, how is he going to handle the NBA level grind? :(

[Bruno]

Is this guy made of glass?

If you had seen the play where he got injured, you wouldn't say that.

[DPG21920]

If you had seen the play where he got injured, you wouldn't say that.

There is not point in even trying. You are not going to change some people's minds.

[tav1]

And besides, it doesn't sound too serious

[kace]

If you had seen the play where he got injured, you wouldn't say that.

i have to disagree. OK the collision with the ground was hard but look before at the reason why he ended there. he was send flying by a way more little player. Ian is very light on the lower body. imagine shaq or even the average NBA big in the same situation, he wouldn't even have moved of the ground.

not the same thing as made of glass but still related to his physical abilities.

[completely deck]

i have to disagree. OK the collision with the ground was hard but look before at the reason why he ended there. he was send flying by a way more little player. Ian is very light on the lower body. imagine shaq or even the average NBA big in the same situation, he wouldn't even have moved of the ground.

not the same thing as made of glass but still related to his physical abilities.

None of this matters if the guy can't get on the court.

[kace]

None of this matters if the guy can't get on the court.

i have faith that ian could be a useful bench player for the spurs. we'll have the answer soon.

[kace]

http://fr.justin.tv/keeperlive4/old

[Bruno]

i have to disagree. OK the collision with the ground was hard but look before at the reason why he ended there. he was send flying by a way more little player. Ian is very light on the lower body. imagine shaq or even the average NBA big in the same situation, he wouldn't even have moved of the ground.

not the same thing as made of glass but still related to his physical abilities.

Well Ian was in the air when he was hit by the German player.
He got injured more because he is a 6'11" player that jumped very high.

[bobbybob0]

http://fr.justin.tv/keeperlive4/old

Damn, Eric Besnard still have a job? I can't stand this announcer :bang

[kace]

Well Ian was in the air when he was hit by the German player.
He got injured more because he is a 6'11" player that jumped very high.

Is Ian ready to play for this game ?

EDIT: OK, didn't see your previous answer at this question. he'll be ready tomorrow, thanks.

[Dex]

Hope it's nothing serious and he can shake it off quickly. If Mahinmi even has to miss a day of training camp, you can expect excessive use of the pctoss emoticon.

[kace]

wow. 16-15 after 18 minutes.

Diaw and De Colo horrible. Turiaf with in big foul troubles. and tony in difficulty with his shot.

[sonic21]

i just checked the score

wtf

[sonic21]

i'm glad i can't watch this game

[kace]

3 pts in second quarter for France (10 min). :wow :bang

21-16 at half time for Latvia. Ugly game.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

Like I said the average NBA player is overrated shit. It's amazing that NBA fans are so deluded.

[polandprzem]

3 pts in second quarter for France (10 min). :wow :bang

21-16 at half time for Latvia. Ugly game.

You should better watch Poland vs Lithuania :toast

[kace]

You should better watch Poland vs Lithuania :toast


great game ? what's happening ?

[polandprzem]

great game ? what's happening ?

OIt was really nice game, good pace and passion.

Some turnovers and chaos sometimes but it did not spoiled the game much.

[BOHOLANO#21]

FNT won so WTF wrong with homo KBP...

[TimDunkem]

Is this guy made of glass? Good lord, how is he going to handle the NBA level grind? :(
He didn't break anything....

[timaios]

France points by quarter :

1 = 13
2 = 3 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3 = 25
4 = 19

:downspin::downspin::downspin:

[Bukefal]

If France manages to stick on first place in the group, and we - Macedonia stay on the third spot, which we will, we will play eachother i guess. Looking forward, Macedonia to play Parker, that would be cool.

[timaios]

http://www.eurobasket2009.org/en/cid_toT,ovGDH2EaLKL67XnPo2.compID_qMRZdYCZI6EoANOr Uf9le2.season_2009.gameID_6365-B-4-2.html

08 September 2009
France Book Place In Qualifying Round

Game Summary

Turning point: France picked up their defensive pressure with eight minutes left in the game, holding Latvia to seven points the rest of the way.

Hero: Tony Parker. The NBA guard once again took over in the second half for France on a time when no other starter scored in double figures. Parker scored France's final 10 points one day after scoring France's final 11 points against Germany.

Stats: 15. The other four French starters scored a combined 15 points.

--------------------------------------------------

Tony Parker once again took over the proceedings and carried France to a 60-51 victory over Latvia, scoring 21 of his 23 points after intermission in helping France overcome a 10-point third quarter deficit and book their spot in the Qualifying Round of EuroBasket 2009.

The other French starters combined for 15 points while Ali Traore came off the bench for 12 points for Vincent Collet's team, which held Latvia to just 33 percent shooting for the game and survived scoring just three points in the second quarter.

"For sure if we were alive after the first half it was only because of our defense. We were defending very well, we couldn't do better. In the second quarter we couldn't buy a basket. And this would have killed us if we gave up on defense. But fortunately we stayed focused on our defensive aspects," said Collet.

The game turned when Boris Diaw and Nando de Colo both knocked down back-to-back three-pointers in an 18-4 France run to close the third quarter

"Finally we started to make some open shots and the game changed when Boris hit two in a row and Nando hit two in a row. And after that Tony Parker showed why he's Tony Parker," said the coach.

Latvia dropped to 0-2 in Group B despite 18 points and seven rebounds from Kaspers Kambala and six points and 20 rebounds by Andris Biedrins. And Kristaps Janicenoks chipped in 12 points in a losing effort.

"I don't know. They just started to make a lot of three-point shots. We were more concentrated on not letting them shoot layups and close shots at the basket. So we were allowing them to take long shots. But they made some really big shots. That's how they came back," said Biedrins, who has scored just 12 points in the first two games.

Biedrins said the fourth quarter was just too much Tony Parker, who scored France's final 10 points one day after totaling France's final 11 points against Germany.

"Of course Tony is an All-Star player. And down the stretch is his time. He'll do everything to get his team a win. He was great."

Both teams started the game struggling on offense, with the French defense its usual self and the Latvians being spurred on by some 3,000 Latvian fans.

Kristaps Valters's basket gave Latvia an 8-5 lead with 3:15 to play but Kestutis Kemzura's men failed to score the rest of the quarter. And Traore, who entered the game when Ronny Turiaf picked up his second foul, scored France's final nine points of the quarter for a 13-8 French lead.

There was more of the same defense in the second quarter, in which neither side scored in the first four minutes.

Latvia finally were able to find the basket with Armands Skele and Kambala combining for 12 of Latvia's 13 points.

France however never found a rhythm and made just 1 of 16 shots and scored just three points in the quarter as Latvia led 21-16 at intermission.

Latvia took control of the game early in the third quarter with Janicenoks converting a lay-up and knocking down two three-pointers in three consecutive possessions while Biedrins' dunk gave Latvia a 33-23 lead.

France however turned up the defensive intensity and let Parker take over on offense as the Spurs star scored six points while helping set up the Diaw and de Colo three-pointers, the second de Colo triple completing an 18-4 run as France led 41-37 after three periods.

Janis Blums's three-pointer and two foul shots had Latvia ahead 44-43 with eight minutes left. But de Colo drained another three-ball and Parker scored two baskets to start his 10-point run in France's 11-2 fourth quarter spurt to make it 54-46.

[Bruno]

If France manages to stick on first place in the group, and we - Macedonia stay on the third spot, which we will, we will play eachother i guess. Looking forward, Macedonia to play Parker, that would be cool.

It doesn't work like that. If Macedonia doesn't end up last in its group, they will advance to the next qualifying round and play the top 3 team of the group B.

http://www.eurobasket2009.org/en/files/%7B02D312E6-9FB5-46F6-AC64-91BEBDE7D87C%7D.gif

[duncan228]

Parker leads France past Latvia (http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/courtside/)
By Doug Pils
Express-News

Tony Parker had a team-high 23 points, plus four rebounds, three assists and two steals as France secured a spot in the EuroBasket 2009 qualifying round with a 60-51 victory over Latvia on Tuesday in Gdansk, Poland.

The Spurs point guard committed an offensive foul with 1:40 remaining and France leading 56-51, but Latvia couldn't capitalize. Parker made four free throws in the final 21 seconds to seal the victory.

However, France is still having problems at the line. After making 18 of 33 in a victory over Germany on Monday, Les Bleus only made 12 of 20 (60 percent) on Tuesday.

At the end of the game, Parker was on the floor with two NBA players (Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw), 2009 Spurs second-round draft pick Nando De Colo and Florent Pietrus, younger brother of Mickael Pietrus.

De Colo made three 3-pointers to finish with nine points and four rebounds. Batum had seven points, eight rebounds and three assists. Diaw had five assists. Ali Traore had 12 points in 10 minutes off the bench for France.

Kristaps Valters was supposed to be Latvia's man on Parker, but he was shackled with foul trouble and scored just three points. Kaspars Kambala led Latvia with 18 points, while center Andris Biedrins (Golden State) pulled down 20 rebounds, seven on the offensive end.

France wraps up Group B play on Wednesday against Russia at 9:30 a.m. San Antonio time.

[Bukefal]

It doesn't work like that. If Macedonia doesn't end up last in its group, they will advance to the next qualifying round and play the top 3 team of the group B.


Isnt it that if Macedonia ends up third in group A, then they are A3. Then if France sticks to first in group B then they are B1.

Isnt then on the 11th at 21.00 - A3 against B1 ? Macedonia vs. France?
And after that A3 against B3 (russia/germany) on the 13th
and eventually A3 against B2 (russia/germany) ?

[Bruno]

Isnt it that if Macedonia ends up third in group A, then they are A3. Then if France sticks to first in group B then they are B1.

Isnt then on the 11th at 21.00 - A3 against B1 ? Macedonia vs. France?
And after that A3 against B3 (russia/germany) on the 13th
and eventually A3 against B2 (russia/germany) ?

It is that. Latvia isn't out of group B and can still qualified for the second stage.

[Bruno]

For tonight game: what a crappy first half. 3 points scored in the second quarter was unreal.
They wake up in the middle of the third with some 3's to finish the game with on a 40-18 run.

Refs sucked ass. NBA referee are light years ahead of FIBA refs.

Commentators said that Ian would be back for tomorrow game against Russia or for the first game of the second round on Friday.

[timaios]

...and Florent Pietrus, younger brother of Mickael Pietrus.

Florent Piétrus is 1 year older than Mickaël Piétrus.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

FNT won so WTF wrong with homo KBP...

Wow they struggles to win against Latvia? This is funny shit. They have not even played a good team yet.

[Limguogolo]

Do you sniff the gaz from the Delphic oracle?! Yeah the FNT is quite horrible, yes they don't know how to play together (thanks to tony...), yes they are athletic and there is no shooter on the team (no tp you're not with that horrible % at 3), but they win.

With this team we never know what could happen. They are bad with "average" team, but they are good against good team. What is the difference with the team wich has played well against teams like Spain, Greece, Russia?! Do you think it is Mike Pietrus or Mike Gelabale?! why not, but say it, what is the difference?

And are De Colo, Traoré playing in NBA?

The problem with this team is not to have average NBA players, it's the identity, the culture of play (fiba game), it's confidence and consistence.

In this tournament, any team can win. Even France, even Macedonia or Poland. If the FNT is bad, what could be said about de spanish team... they've almost lost a second game against great britain... Don't be so sure about the final result. It's always close... or Greece could lost by 30 against France...

[Solid D]

Anyone besides KBP get the feeling Greece may win this thing? They play well together, even without Theo and the Octopus Man.

[Henke]

Anyone besides KBP get the feeling Greece may win this thing? They play well together, even without Theo and the Octopus Man.

It will be very difficult.

Our frontcourt is really GREAT(the best frontcourt Greece ever had) but we have huge problems in our backcourt.
Spanoulis is a very good player but he's not a true pg.
He's a combo guard with scoring mentallity.We need a distributor.Calathes could be the man but not now.He's too young and he lacks experience of european basketball.
That's why Papaloukas' and Diamantidis' absences are huge for us.They are two of the best guards in Europe and are the leaders of this team.
Spanoulis is our best offensive weapon(even with Diamantidis and Papaloukas on the team) but I doubt he's so strong mentally to be our leader.

Our first half tonight was awesome though(52-31).Really great basketball.

[Bukefal]

Anyone besides KBP get the feeling Greece may win this thing? They play well together, even without Theo and the Octopus Man.

They are doing great, as expected and they have a big chance to win it, but I dont know, I think France will make some surprise. But then again, probably the team who we dont expect will take the title, everything is possible.

[duncan228]

Updated.

Parker’s second-half surge puts France into next round (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Parkers_second-half_surge_puts_France_into_next_round.html)
Staff and wire reports - Express-News

Tony Parker had 21 of his team-high 23 points in the second half as France secured a spot in the EuroBasket 2009 qualifying round with a 60-51 victory over Latvia on Tuesday in Gdansk, Poland.

Parker scored France’s final 10 points one day after scoring the team’s last 11 in a victory over Germany.

The Spurs point guard committed an offensive foul with 1:40 remaining and France leading 56-51, but Latvia, which scored seven points in the game’s final eight minutes, couldn’t capitalize.

Parker, who had four rebounds, three assists and two steals, made four free throws in the final 21 seconds to seal the victory.

France is still having problems at the line. After making 18 of 33 in a victory over Germany on Monday, Les Bleus only made 12 of 20 (60 percent) on Tuesday.

Spurs draft pick Nando De Colo made three 3-pointers to finish with nine points and four rebounds. Nicolas Batum had seven points, eight rebounds and three assists, and Boris Diaw had five assists. Ali Traore had 12 points in 10 minutes off the bench for France.

Kaspars Kambala led Latvia with 18 points, while center Andris Biedrins (Golden State) pulled down 20 rebounds, seven on the offensive end.

Latvia’s Kristaps Valters, charged with guarding Parker, was shackled with foul trouble and scored just three points.

France wraps up Group B play today, which it leads with two wins, against defending-champion Russia at 9:30 a.m.

*******

Germany 76, Russia 73: Germany upset Russia behind 19 points and 11 rebounds from Jan-Hendrik Jagla.

Russia, which only has three players from the team that upset Spain in the 2007 final, fell behind early and trailed by double digits for most of the game, before narrowing the gap to 68-67 on two free throws from forward Nikita Kurbanov with just under two minutes to play.

But Heiko Schaffartzik hit a 3-pointer for Germany, which held on for its first win in Group B. Germany is without NBA star Dirk Nowitzki.

Russia clearly missed the top two players from its 2007 squad — guard J.R. Holden and Andrei Kirilenko. But the Russians lost at the line, where they made just 28 of 49.

“I don’t know what to say about the free throws,” said Russia coach David Blatt. “Sometimes it’s contagious. If you see one guy miss, others miss as well.”

Spain 84, Britain 76: Pau Gasol scored nine of his 27 points in the fourth quarter to carry world champion Spain.

The Los Angeles Lakers center scored on a put-back, and made a free throw and a 3-pointer to put Spain ahead for good at 74-73. That put the world champions back on track in their quest for a first European title.

“We kept our nerves under control, and we also hit some important shots and played some good defense,” coach Sergio Scariolo said. “We stay alive and stay in the competition.”

[stéphane]

Petite question pour les parisiens...
Je suis en stage à Paris en ce moment et j'aimerai voir France-Russie, je suis à Réaumur-Sébastopol, des bars dont vous êtes sûrs qu'ils retransmettraient pas loin d'où je me trouve?
Merci d'avance.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

It will be very difficult.

Our frontcourt is really GREAT(the best frontcourt Greece ever had) but we have huge problems in our backcourt.
Spanoulis is a very good player but he's not a true pg.
He's a combo guard with scoring mentallity.We need a distributor.Calathes could be the man but not now.He's too young and he lacks experience of european basketball.
That's why Papaloukas' and Diamantidis' absences are huge for us.They are two of the best guards in Europe and are the leaders of this team.
Spanoulis is our best offensive weapon(even with Diamantidis and Papaloukas on the team) but I doubt he's so strong mentally to be our leader.

Our first half tonight was awesome though(52-31).Really great basketball.

We have the best team. And Theo and Diamantidis are obviously much better than almost all players on the roster. So is Vasilopoulos 3 of the by far best Greek players and are not playing.

But so what? These players all have some thing in common. They play SLOW and they all have bad lack of skills one way or another in offense. The team is very very slow and very very poor in offense with them. Of course as all around players they are great players and they each have certain quality that makes them great.

Diamantidis (all around great player does everything) Vasilopoulos (best defender in all Europe easily) Papaloukas (he is one of a kind play maker).

But what about this also?

Diamantidis = slow, no athletic ability, at his very best day ever an average offensive player at Euroleague level

Papaloukas = slow, and terrible, terrible shooter and quite poor scorer.

Vasilopoulos = no ball handling and no scoring


Now look at the players we have now taking all their minutes.

Spanoulis = fast, quick, athletic, great scorer, great one to one player, great shooter, great offense, great at creating his own shot, can make baskets literally from nowhere against any defense and team.

Zisis = fast, quick, athletic, great shooter, great scorer, great one to one player, you cannot leave him open or leave him on screens because he will punish teams. He has technically perfect offensive skills and game.

Kalabokis = fast, quick, athletic, can create his own shot, can break down defenses, can get to the rim any time, can spread the floor, can finish in the lane, etc.

Calathes = fast, quick, not athletic but still much more athletic than Diamantidis. Plus he plays the game fast, pushed the tempo, he tries to get fast breaks, he penetrates with a reason and purpose. Diamantidis does none of this and just bogs down an offense with his dribble, dribble, penetrate, throw a pass to the perimeter routine.

Calathes is something like a smaller, less athletic version of Papaloukas but difference is it's like young Papaloukas when he was fast and quick. Now Papaloukas is methodical, slow, predictable.

Obviously our team would be MUCH stronger on defense if we had Papaloukas and Diamantidis and it would be MUCH better in dribbling and controlling the ball. But at same time it would be MUCH MUCH slower and MUCH MUCH worse on offense.

Kazlauskas is actually using players that have offensive ability to score and shoot the ball and create their own shots. Players like Spanoulis and Zisis are easily NBA level (and even better than most NBA players for sure) and now they are free to play their game.

Giannakis, Papaloukas, Diamantidis is like Jeff Van Gundy basketball. Spanoulis, Zisis, Kazlauskas is like Popovich basketball. We always had much more talented players than Spain for example but Giannakis, Diamantidis, Papaloukas want to play the game at 60 points. Overall it is just not smart basketball, it is stupid JVG type 90s NBA basketball ans is old and outdated.

Now Greece is playing modern style basketball and letting their great offensive talents like Bourousis, Spanoulis, Zisis, Schortsanitis, Koufos, etc. play their game. Actually I think Greece should just bring Vasilopulos to replace Kaimakoglou next year and maybe 50/50 on Kalabokis or Diamantidis. It depends but for me Kalabokis is older and at end of his career but he fits the team much better. But that is one where you can take either of them.

I don't want to even see Papaloukas again on the team. I mean of course he is obviously a better player than Calathes is and this is clear obvious. But Calathes fits the team and style much better. And only reason I would want Vasilopoulos over Kaimakogou is because we lack a defender at wing positions and he is the best at that in all Europe. With him then the roster would be elite level.

And actually I will be honest Kazlauskas makes big mistake to not bring Pelekanos. If I have my choice Kalabokis, Diamantidis, Pelekanos I take Pelekanos for sure. He was never given a chance by Giannakis in national team or in Olympiacos.

But Pelekanos is incredible player. Look at the games of Olympiacos when he was given a chance. He is like 10 times as good as Childress for example. I hope Kazluaskas sees him play at Maroussi and understand this. He is most athletic player in Europe, he is the best one to one defender in Europe. He is the best dunker in Europe. His technical skills in the offense are flawless and his game is perfect. There are very few players anywhere with his talent level.

So I think next year bring the same team we have now but replace Kalabokis with Pelekanos and replace Kaimakoglou with Vasilopoulos and I am sure that we will achieve nothing less than at worst the silver medal at world championship.

I mean Diamantidis is like a Shane Battier type of player but he is never going to lead a team on offense. Players like Spanoulis and Zisis can lead a team.

[mathbzh]

Anyone besides KBP get the feeling Greece may win this thing? They play well together, even without Theo and the Octopus Man.

I think they have a good shot. This Euro is very open IMO.
Many teams have an unusual roster and it is not easy to evaluate how good they are, and more important how they will do against the top teams.


About France, I really don't know what to think. When the team is focused we can play suffocating defense and TP's talent can be enough to win games.
But I am afraid our bigmen can't resist to the Gasols or Bourousis/Schortsanitis.
We had a lot of problem with Kambala/Biedrins (a good combo indeed), but the rest of the Latvian team is not so good. I can't see us winning against Spain or Greece... but who knows, on one game anything is possible.

[sonic21]

Petite question pour les parisiens...
Je suis en stage à Paris en ce moment et j'aimerai voir France-Russie, je suis à Réaumur-Sébastopol, des bars dont vous êtes sûrs qu'ils retransmettraient pas loin d'où je me trouve?
Merci d'avance.

Je connais des bars qui retransmettent le foot, mais je ne suis pas sur pour le basket.

Voila un lien ou tu peux trouver les bars les plus connus avec le match. Il y a surement d'autres bars mais il faut appeler ou aller voir avant. En general, je cherche un match en allant trainer à chatelet pour trouver un bar.

link (http://www.allomatch.com/retransmission-match-bar/paris/basketball/euro-france-russie-09-09-2009.html#/retransmission-match-bar/paris/basketball/euro-france-russie-09-09-2009.html?page=1&zone_id=1&bounds=%28%2848.84709527021744%2C%202.305240631103 5156%29%2C%20%2848.8809734038198%2C%202.3567390441 89453%29%29&match_id=21151)

[romain.star]

I think they have a good shot. This Euro is very open IMO.
Many teams have an unusual roster and it is not easy to evaluate how good they are, and more important how they will do against the top teams.


About France, I really don't know what to think. When the team is focused we can play suffocating defense and TP's talent can be enough to win games.
But I am afraid our bigmen can't resist to the Gasols or Bourousis/Schortsanitis.
We had a lot of problem with Kambala/Biedrins (a good combo indeed), but the rest of the Latvian team is not so good. I can't see us winning against Spain or Greece... but who knows, on one game anything is possible.

with the kind of defense France played yesterday and with a good shooting %, I think France has a shot at winning it all.

Thing is, I don't trust french shooting % AT ALL (plus thoses polish rims are too hard)

[romain.star]

Je connais des bars qui retransmettent le foot, mais je ne suis pas sur pour le basket.

Voila un lien ou tu peux trouver les bars les plus connus avec le match. Il y a surement d'autres bars mais il faut appeler ou aller voir avant. En general, je cherche un match en allant trainer à chatelet pour trouver un bar.

link (http://www.allomatch.com/retransmission-match-bar/paris/basketball/euro-france-russie-09-09-2009.html#/retransmission-match-bar/paris/basketball/euro-france-russie-09-09-2009.html?page=1&zone_id=1&bounds=%28%2848.84709527021744%2C%202.305240631103 5156%29%2C%20%2848.8809734038198%2C%202.3567390441 89453%29%29&match_id=21151)

Je n'ai pas de bar qui me vienne en tête mais je te conseille également de trainer vers Chatelet-Les Halles 1/2 heures avant le match

Ceci posé, voici un lien vers un site répertoriant les bars qui broadcast le match sur Paris:

http://www.allomatch.com/retransmission-match-bar/paris/basketball/euro-france-russie-09-09-2009.html#/retransmission-match-bar/paris/basketball/euro-france-russie-09-09-2009.html?page=1&zone_id=1&bounds=((48.78877122776646%2C%202.2364044189453125 )%2C%20(48.92430395329745%2C%202.4423980712890625) )&team%5B%5D=1&match_id=21151?page=1&zone_id=1&bounds=((48.78877122776646%2C%202.2364044189453125 )%2C%20(48.92430395329745%2C%202.4423980712890625) )&team%5B%5D=1&team%5B%5D=2&match_id=21151

[ata]

..Spanoulis = fast, quick, athletic, great scorer, great one to one player, great shooter, great offense, great at creating his own shot, can make baskets literally from nowhere against any defense and team.
...
- he is turnover mashine, currently 2nd "best"


+ he can hit 3-pointer from free thow line

[stéphane]

Je n'ai pas de bar qui me vienne en tête mais je te conseille également de trainer vers Chatelet-Les Halles 1/2 heures avant le match

Ceci posé, voici un lien vers un site répertoriant les bars qui broadcast le match sur Paris:

http://www.allomatch.com/retransmission-match-bar/paris/basketball/euro-france-russie-09-09-2009.html#/retransmission-match-bar/paris/basketball/euro-france-russie-09-09-2009.html?page=1&zone_id=1&bounds=((48.78877122776646%2C%202.2364044189453125 )%2C%20(48.92430395329745%2C%202.4423980712890625) )&team%5B%5D=1&match_id=21151?page=1&zone_id=1&bounds=((48.78877122776646%2C%202.2364044189453125 )%2C%20(48.92430395329745%2C%202.4423980712890625) )&team%5B%5D=1&team%5B%5D=2&match_id=21151

Merci beaucoup jvais tester le Lions rue Montmartre. :toast

[Texas_Ranger]

I just heard that Tony got injured in the first quarter, but then he came back in game late in the 2 quarter. I hope he'll be fine.

[Limguogolo]

It's not an injury, it's a non call big foul.

[ForeignFan]

Russia 47-47 France 3rd Quarter, 3 min left

[ForeignFan]

FT shooting by France : 10/21 ...

ie same %age as 2 pts FG :depressed

[ForeignFan]

France with big advantage on rebounds, better Assist/TO ration,
Russia with better FG and FT shooting percentage

[ForeignFan]

France leads 61-57
Q4, 6 minutes left

[bobbybob0]

I'm still at work but looking at the boxscore it seems that Boris Diaw is finally taking his responsabilities on offense.

How was his game?

France win btw, 69-64 :)

[ForeignFan]

France 69-64, 44 secs left

Diaw with 19/6/7
Turiaf with 18 pts and 14 rbds
TP with 17/3/4 (and 5 TO's)...

[ForeignFan]

Final score 69-64 pour Les Bleus

[DPG21920]

I am assuming Ian did not play?

[Brazil]

Best game for the FNT so far with a very good Diaw: a 19 / 7 / 7 when the game didn't pass the 70 points is an impressive stat line. I like the way Collet is using him as a SF with 2 bigs playing in the same time, it gives strong matchup problems for the opponents.

I've seen an interesting stat regarding Parker: his scoring in the first half amounts to only 4 points vs. 17 points in the second half ! He is doing a good job at following Collet instructions to start slow to keep his teammates in the game to finish strong in the second half in particular in the 4th. Good job.

Saying that France cannot expect win this shit shooting <50% at the FT line.

Ian didn't play.

[timaios]

TP with 17/3/4 (and 5 TO's)...

and 4 steals.

That was the 3rd game in 3 days and he was really tired at the end.

Boris Diaw was great... finally. I like when he is aggressive like that, he needs to keep playing this way.

3 games 3 wins that's the good thing but the free throws are absolutely beyond awful. This is ridiculous. France will not win huge games against the best euro teams with FT like that.

So the next 3 games are against Macedonia, Croatia & Greece.

I have a feeling that KBP will be in full bitch mode about the France/Greece game. :lol

[Bruno]

It was the best game played by FNT so far. Russia is without a lot of players but I found them better than Germany and Latvia. The FT% is worisome: 45/81 on the last 3 games. :wow

Boris finally wake up in the clutch after having slept for one month. It was welcome with TP being sidelined because of a cut on his lip.

De Colo hasn't been good so far. His shot is off and his defense is very very very bad. If he don't improve his D, he will never play with Spurs.

Next game is Friday against Macedonia. A win and they are qualified for the quarter-final round.

[timaios]

http://www.eurobasket2009.org/en/cid_toT,ovGDH2EaLKL67XnPo2.compID_qMRZdYCZI6EoANOr Uf9le2.season_2009.gameID_6365-B-5-3.html

09 September 2009
Preliminarily Perfect

Game Summary

Turning point: Boris Diaw scored on three straight possessions to turn a tie game into a 61-57 lead. Russia did not get closer than one point the rest of the way.

Hero: Boris Diaw - his three-possession stretched capped off a fine showing all game to keep France in rhythm offensively.

Stats: France won despite making just 15 of 28 free throws while out-rebounding Russia 39-23.

----------------------------------------------------

The NBA trio of Tony Parker, Boris Diaw and Ronny Turiaf were too much as France remained perfect at EuroBasket 2009, beating defending champions Russia 69-64 to take top honors in Group B.

The three stars combined for 54 points with Diaw leading the way with 19 points and Turiaf collecting 18 points and 14 rebounds for the 3-0 French, who out-rebounded Russia 39-23 including 15 offensive rebounds.

"We played our best game of the tournament. We defended at the same level. But we played much better on offense. We moved the ball much better and found some good situations," said France coach Vincent Collet.

"We really controlled what we wanted to do, committing only 12 turnovers. We dominated the boards. And that was very important for the game."

Turiaf added: "It was a tough game, very hard for both teams. We stayed focused for 40 minutes and played together and we are very happy to have beaten a tough Russian team."

Russia coach David Blatt was impressed that his team even was in the game after looking at the final statistics in front of reporters - including making just 12 of 20 free throws and giving up all the offensive rebounds.

"It's amazing we were in a position to win that game. That just speaks to our character and our ability to hang in there. With the kind of foul shooting we got and giving up 15 offensive rebounds, the sisters of the poor should beat us," said Blatt, whose team will advance along with France and Germany or Latvia to the Qualifying Round.

Russia, who dropped to 1-2, were led by 13 points from Kelly McCarty. Nikita Kurbanov came off the bench to score 12 points and Vitalii Fridzon added 11 points.

McCarty started the game in fine form, hitting a jumper and two three-pointers while Turiaf scored eight points in helping France jump ahead 14-10.

McCarty had to be helped off the floor with 3:32 left in the first quarter after getting hit hard on a drive to the basket.

But the Russian defense, especially Timofey Mozgov and his four first quarter blocked shots, helped keep Blatt's men in the game and Mozgov's basket even gave Russia a 17-15 lead after one period.

The second quarter saw Fridzon and Andrey Vorontsevich nail three-balls in helping Russia build a 28-21 advantage. France worked on pushing the ball after missed long shots and Collet's men chipped away at the lead and eventually pulled ahead 33-32 on Diaw's baby hook shot.

McCarty re-entered the game and made three free throws as the result of a technical foul on the French bench and Russia led 35-34 at intermission.

The Russians again used some long range shooting to pull ahead 47-40. Parker however drained back-to-back triples and Diaw converted twice more in the paint for a 52-51 French lead after three quarters.

Fridzon's three-ball knotted the game at 55-55 before Diaw came up with three straight baskets in building a 61-57 advantage. Kurbanov stole the ball from Parker for a break-away dunk to make it a one-point game.

But Russia went scoreless over the final 3:38 in the loss.

[velik_m]

The FT% is worisome: 45/81 on the last 3 games. :wow


At least you get to shoot them. We shot only 50 ft's in 3 games.

[Freeze]

The FT% is worisome: 45/81 on the last 3 games. :wow


Too many Spurs ?

:downspin:

[Bruno]

At least you get to shoot them. We shot only 50 ft's in 3 games.

Eurobasket's referees have been just bad in games I've seen. In some games they made bad calls both ways. In others (like the Spain-Slovenia game) their bad calls are always in the same way and they change the outcome of the game.

FIBA really needs to make effort to have a bunch of better refs for these competitions.

[Bukefal]

France vs Macedonia now!

This is a very interesting game for me, my favorite player TP from my favorite team Spurs, playing against my country, couldnt be better :). France is way better of course, but we do have shown that we can be a tough opponent. Im already glad we can play you, it would be lovely and I hope it will be a nice game full of action.

May the best one win :toast Allez le Bleus!

http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/4360/frmk.png

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/1243/frmk2.png

[Freeze]

France is way better of course

French NT is unpredictable, from the worst to the best, so don't worry, Macedonia still have a chance to win the game :rolleyes

Enjoy :toast

[romain.star]

France vs Macedonia now!

This is a very interesting game for me, my favorite player TP from my favorite team Spurs, playing against my country, couldnt be better :). France is way better of course, but we do have shown that we can be a tough opponent. Im already glad we can play you, it would be lovely and I hope it will be a nice game full of action.

May the best one win :toast Allez le Bleus!

http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/4360/frmk.png

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/1243/frmk2.png

:toast it will be a very interesting game indeed !

[angelbelow]

too bad ian didnt play, but they can afford to rest him.

[duncan228]

France defeats Russia at Euro basketball worlds (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/France_defeats_Russia_at_Euro_basketball_worlds.ht ml)
Staff and wire reports - Express-News

Golden State center Ronny Turiaf had a double-double, and Spurs point guard Tony Parker added 17 points to help France sweep Group B with a 69-64 win Wednesday over defending champion Russia at the European basketball championship in Gdansk, Poland.

France won three games in three days, while Russia and Germany advanced thanks to points differential after they and Latvia were all 1-2 in group play.

Turiaf had 18 points and 14 rebounds, and Charlotte Bobcats forward Boris Diaw added 19 points, seven assists and seven rebounds.

“It was a tough game, very hard for both teams,” Turiaf said. “We stayed focused for 40 minutes and played together, and we are very happy to have beaten a tough Russian team.”

Parker scored eight of his points in the first seven minutes of the third quarter, hitting two 3-pointers that kept Russia from pulling away. Parker had his 17 points by the end of the third quarter, and France led 52-51.

From there, Turiaf and Diaw led the way.

France now has three games against qualifying teams from Group A before possibly moving on to the Eurobasket quarterfinals. It plays Friday, Sunday and Tuesday with every game starting at 2 p.m.

Friday's game will be against Macedonia (1-2). On Sunday, Les Bleus meet Croatia (2-1), and on Tuesday they have a showdown with Greece (3-0).

Mahinmi injured: Ian Mahinmi, the star-crossed Spurs center, sat out his second consecutive game for France while nursing a left hip contusion. He suffered the injury during a four-minute stint in Monday's victory over Germany. He did not play in Tuesday's win over Latvia.

He has been cleared to resume playing for France and is considered day-to-day for EuroBasket.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

You guys should know that Mel_13 has said now several times in the forum that none of these games count. According to him ALL EuroBasket games are unofficial "exhibition games" and they are not even a real game. They are just an exhibition game and no one even takes them seriously and they are not even actually a real game.

He swears this is a fact. These EuroBasket games are NOT official competitions. They are just "exhibition games".

[BOHOLANO#21]

You guys should know that Mel_13 has said now several times in the forum that none of these games count. According to him ALL EuroBasket games are unofficial "exhibition games" and they are not even a real game. They are just an exhibition game and no one even takes them seriously and they are not even actually a real game.

He swears this is a fact. These EuroBasket games are NOT official competitions. They are just "exhibition games".
are you crying homo KBP?:lol

[sonic21]

game at 21h in france :tu

finally i'll be able to see a game.

[mountainballer]

You guys should know that Mel_13 has said now several times in the forum that none of these games count. According to him ALL EuroBasket games are unofficial "exhibition games" and they are not even a real game. They are just an exhibition game and no one even takes them seriously and they are not even actually a real game.

He swears this is a fact. These EuroBasket games are NOT official competitions. They are just "exhibition games".

ah, KBP starts the intriguers tactics again.
so, you guys should also know that whenever KBP alleges that another poster has said this or that, there is a good chance that he has just pulled this out of his a**.
(but I hope this advice was redundant anyhow. most know that Mel is a high quality poster and most also know who you are)

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

ah, KBP starts the intriguers tactics again.
so, you guys should also know that whenever KBP alleges that another poster has said this or that, there is a good chance that he has just pulled this out of his a**.
(but I hope this advice was redundant anyhow. most know that Mel is a high quality poster and most also know who you are)

Greek NT thread. NUMEROUS times Mel_13 states that the EuroBasket is an EXHIBITION and not an actual real competition. They are according to him EXHIBITION games only, not actual real games.

It is stated over and over numerous times by him in the Greek NT thread.

[spursfan1000]

We need to get rid of Ian, he is a piece of shit

[will_spurs]

How many teams get qualified for the World Championship through the Euro? All the teams reaching the QF (top 8), or only top 6?

[Bukefal]

I thought it was top 6

[mathbzh]

Only top 6. But there are also 4 wild cards (3 at most for Europe).
France should receive one if they doesn't crack the top 6.

[Bukefal]

France look to avoid letdown


France hope to avoid a major slip-up as they face off against Macedonia in Qualifying Round Group E action at EuroBasket 2009 in Bydgoszcz.
Vincent Collet's French look to remain perfect and move to 3-0 in the group while Macedonia are hunting for a major upset and improving to 1-2.

The unenviable task of containing Tony Parker will fall on the shoulders of Vrbica Stefanov. Save for when Tony Parker took over the action, France have struggled on offense in all three games - though they did improve in their victory over Russia. Collet hopes that ball and player movement seen against Russia can continue.

The French coach also would not mind his team building a big lead early so he can rest his starting point guard as Parker has already logged 33.3 minutes per game.

Macedonia meanwhile admit they are just happy to have advanced past the Preliminary Round. Everything from this point is just building upon the experience of playing at a high level tournament.
Jovica Arsic's men just want to play the best basketball that they can and hope that France struggle and give them a slight chance to spring the surprise. Macedonia do however have the low post players to play with France with the likes of Jeremiah Massey, Pero Antic, Todor Gechevski and Predrag Samardziski. But the question will be if the wings and guards can keep up with the French athleticism.

Head to Head: France and Macedonia have only faced off once and France won that encounter, 71-67 at EuroBasket 1999.

Last Time Out: France notched their third straight victory of the tournament beating Russia 69-64. Macedonia had a 17 point lead against Croatia before losing 81-71.

Key Match-up: Vrbica Stefanov vs Tony Parker. France's Tony Parker torched Germany, Latvia and Russia for an average of 19.7 points in the Preliminary Round. Next up for the 27-year-old NBA star is 35-year-old veteran Stefanov, who must figure out a way to slow down Parker for Macedonia to have even a minor chance for an upset.

X-Factor: Macedonian outside shooters. Macedonia have taken the most three-pointers in the tournament - 29.7 per game - but Arsic's men have only made 27 percent of the long balls (only France, Serbia and Bulgaria were worse). If Vrbica Stefanov and Riste Stefanov - a combined 8 of 31 - can finally find their form then Macedonia may have a chance.

Key stat: 40.3 and 30.7. France have grabbed the most rebounds per game with 40.3, including 14.0 offensive boards per game, which has given them 9.3 more rebounds per game than their opponents. Macedonia average just 30.7 rebounds a game - the lowest for any team still at EuroBasket 2009 - and watched their opponents grab 6.7 more rebounds per game.

Sounding off: "We are really just happy to be here but we will try to present as good basketball as we can. And if they give us a chance then we will try to use it. But they are a better team than us." -Macedonian coach Jovica Arsic

[Mel_13]

How many teams get qualified for the World Championship through the Euro? All the teams reaching the QF (top 8), or only top 6?

The top 6 qualify. In reality, all 8 will almost certainly go.

Turkey has already qualified as host. If they make the QF, which seems likely as they are the only 2-0 team in their group, then 7 quarterfinalists will go.

In addition, FIBA will name 4 NTs as wildcards to WC. It is a virtual certainty that the 8th place team at Eurobasket will receive one of the wildcard bids.

So a French win today will almost certainly clinch a ticket to the WC next year.

[will_spurs]

So a French win today will almost certainly clinch a ticket to the WC next year.

This is in essence what I wanted to know. But seeing how hard it was for France to qualify for the Euro, I don't want to see them finish at the last non-qualifying spot yet again and then get snubbed by FIBA...

[Bruno]

Ian practiced with the team yesterday and is ready to play for today's game.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

I thought it was top 6

Top 6 not counting Turkey. So if Turkey makes top 6, then it is top 7 teams. Also Europe gets 3 out of the 4 wild cards.

[Bukefal]

Well, games is going to begin in a while, looking forward to it!! I hope we are going to see attractive basketball full of action. May the best one win !! :toast Allez le Bleus! - Напред Македонија!

[stéphane]

Impressive ball movement and athleticism on display so far for the french. 24-9 at the end of 1st

[manufan10]

Is Ian suited up or is he going to play?

[Alain]

What was the score of Greece vs Macedonia, already?

[kace]

44-15 in 17 minutes:wow with our bench playing for quite a while

[kace]

49-18 at the half for France.

[Bruno]

49-18 at the half.

[Mel_13]

FIBA needs a mercy rule.

[Bruno]

Is Ian suited up or is he going to play?


He is suited up but he likely won't play. NT coach doesn't want to take risks with him.

Link (in french):
http://www.sport24.com/basket-nba/euro-2009/fil-info/mahinmi-presque-forfait-296363/

[El Jefe]

Macedonia doesn't look much like they belong out there. France has been putting on an impressive offensive display

[kace]

He is suited up but he likely won't play. NT coach doesn't want to take risks with him.

Link (in french):
http://www.sport24.com/basket-nba/euro-2009/fil-info/mahinmi-presque-forfait-296363/

and it's a shame considering the game. He could have had PT in this game.

[Bukefal]

Damn, we got our asses kicked, you just crushed us big time. We all expected to lose, but this easy? damn, we did not do our best, i dont know, they were lost, dont know what happened. At least seeing my favorite player, TP playing my country made my day :)

Congratulations :toast

[Bruno]

Final score 83-57
The game was over after 15 minutes.

FNT is now mathematically qualified for the quarter-final round . The last two games will only decides at what spot. Given how close are the teams of the other group, it isn't a big deal. The key will be to be fresh for the quarter-final. Today games was good in that area since the blowout allow Collet to rest his main players.

[Freeze]

Damn, we got our asses kicked, you just crushed us big time. We all expected to lose, but this easy? damn, we did not do our best, i dont know, they were lost, dont know what happened. At least seeing my favorite player, TP playing my country made my day :)

Congratulations :toast

Maybe that was the problem :rolleyes

[Freeze]

What was the score of Greece vs Macedonia, already?

84-56

http://www.eurobasket2009.org/en/cid_toT,ovGDH2EaLKL67XnPo2.gameID_6365-A-1-1.compID_qMRZdYCZI6EoANOrUf9le2.season_2009.roundI D_6328.teamID_.html#{5E70D78D-E480-4F66-9B60-839D032EE21A}

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

Macedonia doesn't look much like they belong out there. France has been putting on an impressive offensive display

Macedonia team whole strategy is to just launch 3 point shots. if they do not hit them they have no chance to win games.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

What was the score of Greece vs Macedonia, already?

86-54

http://www.eurobasket2009.org/en/cid_toT,ovGDH2EaLKL67XnPo2.gameID_6365-A-1-1.compID_qMRZdYCZI6EoANOrUf9le2.season_2009.roundI D_6328.teamID_.html

Same type of game as this one, basic over in middle of first quarter.

[angelbelow]

Nice

[Alain]

86-54

Same type of game as this one, basic over in middle of first quarter.

I still wonder how Israel managed to loose against Macedonia.
Anyway, I expect a non game between Greece and France as ranking won't matter much. Hope both teams will meet again in final.

Btw, now that Les bleus are almost qualified for the World Championship, I can't help but salivating at the idea of 10 NBA starters on the floor at the same time. I know it's a reach, but that would be awesome!

[Bukefal]

I still wonder how Israel managed to loose against Macedonia.
Anyway, I expect a non game between Greece and France as ranking won't matter much. Hope both teams will meet again in final.

Btw, now that Les bleus are almost qualified for the World Championship, I can't help but salivating at the idea of 10 NBA starters on the floor at the same time. I know it's a reach, but that would be awesome!

Well, ISrael is not so good, Macedonia can play very well, we have beaten some good teams, especilly in test games. We played great against israel and against Croatia. This today and with Greece, is not who we are, we did not do our best. I dont get it, its strange, like something happened when they see a big team, maybe its impression or something, they are paralized, i dont know.

[Mel_13]

Question for the French posters:

France has won the AQR, swept their first 4 games at the EC, and qualified for the QFs. Assuming that they do enough to secure a spot at the WC, is this summer already a success? Are they playing with house money from this point forward?

[Freeze]

secure a spot at the WC is the minimum they want, a success would be a medal, a triumph the gold.

[Alain]

The main idea is to finally build a real team up to the potential of the players we have. Then, results and medals should come.

[Brazil]

secure a spot at the WC is the minimum they want, a success would be a medal, a triumph the gold.

^that

[timaios]

http://www.eurobasket2009.org/en/cid_toT,ovGDH2EaLKL67XnPo2.compID_qMRZdYCZI6EoANOr Uf9le2.season_2009.gameID_6366-E-3-1.html

11 September 2009
France Katowice Bound After Demolition Of F.Y.R.O.M.

Game Summary

Turning point: The opening tip - France started the game on a 17-3 run, setting the tone for the rest of the game.

Hero: The French bench. Vincent Collet's reserves tallied 39 points with De Colo leading the way with 14 points while Ali Traore had 13.

Stats: France shot 61 percent for the game and held F.Y.R.O.M. to just 35 percent.

------------------------------------------------------

France booked their spot in the quarter-finals with an overwhelming 83-57 victory over the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia to remain perfect at EuroBasket 2009.

Florent Pietrus and Nando de Colo led five scorers in double figures for Vincent Collet's team with 14 points each while Tony Parker, Ali Traore and Nicolas Batum all added 13 points.

The French improved to 3-0 in the Qualifying Round Group E and join Greece into the final eight, which start on 17 September in Katowice.

"We started very strong. We wanted to put a lot of pressure on (F.Y.R.O.M.). We watched their other games and saw that if they could develop their game that they could shoot, including their big men. And we didn't want them to have their position. And that helped us early. And the game was over at half-time," said Collet, whose team used a 17-3 run to start the game and never looked back.

"We started the game well, just like the coach asked us too. We knew that we had to start well. Even though they were considered the weakest team in the group, there was no reason to let up," said de Colo.

F.Y.R. of Macedonia slumped to 0-3 in the group despite nine points each from Jeremiah Massey and Darko Sokolov while Predrag Samardziski had seven points and eight rebounds for Jovica Arsic's team, whose team shot just 35 percent for the game.

"They played much better than my team. We didn't play defense like we should have. They scored almost 50 points (48 points) in our point. And that is unacceptable," said Arsic.

Riste Stefanov nailed a three-pointer about two minutes into the game as Arsic's men took their only lead of the game at 3-2.

Pietrus and Batum led a 15-0 charge which eventually saw the French lead 24-9 after one period.

Parker scored the first seven points of the second quarter for France, who opened the period with a 14-0 surge for a 38-9 advantage. Todor Gechevski finally got F.Y.R.O.M. on the scoring board with four minutes left in the second quarter and Arsic's underdogs trailed 49-18 at intermission.

Pietrus's triple to start the second half pushed the gap to 34 points and Collet's team would not allow their opponents any closer than 28 points in the period and led 67-35 after three quarters.

The French's final reserves came on in the fourth and watched F.Y.R.O.M. go on a 9-3 run to cut the deficit to 70-44. But France scored the next seven points and the gap did not go lower than 26 points the rest of the way.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

Well, ISrael is not so good, Macedonia can play very well, we have beaten some good teams, especilly in test games. We played great against israel and against Croatia. This today and with Greece, is not who we are, we did not do our best. I dont get it, its strange, like something happened when they see a big team, maybe its impression or something, they are paralized, i dont know.


They are too much relying on 3 point shot. This is what happens with such teams you can win games if they go in even against good teams like how you had Croatia by 17 but then if you miss shots then it falls apart which is like Croatia coming back to win.

Shots go in = win Israel for example

shots miss = France and Greece games for example

I think Macedonia should have instead had same strategy that German team has used this tournament.

[duncan228]

Parker leads France to 83-57 win over Macedonia (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-eurochampionship&prov=ap&type=lgns)

San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker led France on a 17-3 game-opening run in an 83-57 victory over Macedonia on Friday that kept the French unbeaten at the European basketball championship.

Forward Florent Pietrus and reserve guard Nando De Colo each scored 14 points to lead five French players in double figures in the second-round game.

Earlier, defending champion Russia defeated Croatia 62-59 behind 18 points and eight rebounds from center Timofey Mozgov. Tied at 55 with a minute to play, Russia made seven of 10 free throws down the stretch.

Russia next plays Macedonia on Sunday, and Croatia takes on Germany.

In another Group E matchup, guard Vasileios Spanoulis scored 20 points to lead Greece to an 84-76 victory over Germany. Heiko Schaffartzik had 23 points for the Germans.

The top four teams in Group E and Group F advance to the quarterfinals.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

I still wonder how Israel managed to loose against Macedonia.
Anyway, I expect a non game between Greece and France as ranking won't matter much. Hope both teams will meet again in final.

Btw, now that Les bleus are almost qualified for the World Championship, I can't help but salivating at the idea of 10 NBA starters on the floor at the same time. I know it's a reach, but that would be awesome!

Israel team has some very talented players like Burstein, Eliyahu, Halperin. But the problem with their team is that these same players are like this:

Burstein = more like glue player, like champion role player, not a lead player

Halperin = most mentally weak and biggest choking player alive

Eliyahu = 100% offense and 0% defense. He is like extreme version of Amare almost.

[Bruno]

Highlitghs of the game (some nice dunks and alley hoops):
http://www.fibatv.com/page/fibaeuropeVideoDetail/0,,12805~1397063,00.html

Nico Batum :tu

I will consider this summer as a success if FNT get his qualification for the next WC. I'm not asking or hoping for more.
The main reason why they won their first 4 games is that they get a great draw. It's quite unreal how a side of the bracket is stronger than the other in this Eurobasket.

[Freeze]

I've just noticed that TP is leading the tournament in steals with 2.8 SPG.

Sweet

:toast

[Bukefal]

Highlitghs of the game (some nice dunks and alley hoops):
http://www.fibatv.com/page/fibaeuropeVideoDetail/0,,12805~1397063,00.html

Nico Batum :tu

I will consider this summer as a success if FNT get his qualification for the next WC. I'm not asking or hoping for more.
The main reason why they won their first 4 games is that they get a great draw. It's quite unreal how a side of the bracket is stronger than the other in this Eurobasket.

Yeah, that was nice to see, they made some nice dunks in the beginning and also a nice one a bit later in the game

[Thompson]

Did Ian get playing time, or is he still recovering?

[EricB]

Nice to see De Colo playing well.

[Pucho!!!]

Anyway we could get Florent Pietrus, that guys got a helleuva lot of athleticism and sum skills.

[Bruno]

For french speaking posters, a nice video on the qualification for the Euro:
http://player.canalplus.fr/#/274465/

[will_spurs]

FNT is now mathematically qualified for the quarter-final round . The last two games will only decides at what spot. Given how close are the teams of the other group, it isn't a big deal. The key will be to be fresh for the quarter-final. Today games was good in that area since the blowout allow Collet to rest his main players.

Yes and no. I know that between Turkey and the wild card France is already "technically" qualified for the WC... but I'd rather have them finish in the top 6 and be done with the drama. In that sense the QF will be a major game. So yes for the team to be rested and ready (and injuries please!), on the other hand a slightly easier matchup will be better too (not too easy since we know how the French team performs against "easy" opponents!)

[Bruno]

Yes and no. I know that between Turkey and the wild card France is already "technically" qualified for the WC... but I'd rather have them finish in the top 6 and be done with the drama. In that sense the QF will be a major game. So yes for the team to be rested and ready (and injuries please!), on the other hand a slightly easier matchup will be better too (not too easy since we know how the French team performs against "easy" opponents!)

Teams in the other group are damn close. The team finishing 1st in the other group won't really be stronger than the team finishing 4th.

I also want to see the team ending in the top 6 or 7 to be directly qualified for the WC but I don't think them finishing 1st or 4th in their group will have a significant impact on that goal.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

Anyway we could get Florent Pietrus, that guys got a helleuva lot of athleticism and sum skills.

I hope you are joking. No way in hell should he be considered by the Spurs.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

yeah... well he's not greek indeed


Damn we have some retarded Spurs fans. Flo Pietrus sucks. No way in hell is he Spurs material.

[Freeze]

http://www.eurobasket2009.org/en/coid_f9Hw-EZeImItOS4t6Glcs2.articleMode_on.html

Quarter-Final Bound France Take On Croatia

12 September 2009
By Yarone Arbel


The last game of the second day in Group E played in Bydgoszcz will feature two power houses in two different momentums - Croatia and France.

The French team is on fire having a perfect 3-0 record after not dropping a single game the whole championship. Their concert against F.Y.R.O.M. two days ago set an example what can happen when things connect for the squad of Coach Vincent Collet.

Coach Collet enjoys a deep roster with experienced players but also some uprising stars as Nando De Colo and Antoine Diot who show they fit the level in their first EuroBasket performance.

It's very tough to play against the highly athletic French team, who put big pressure on defense, and use their size and physical attributes to dominate the offensive side.

The only big riddle about the French team is how they are going to react when they face their first big opponent, as so far they have gained three wins against the least skilled and deep Group B teams and added another on F.Y.R.O.M.

Rarely there are good games on EuroBasket, but facing a team with a short bench is easier for a team that relays a lot of pressure on defense and exhausting the key players of the opponent as France.

How they will react against a long list of top players is a question they still didn't answer.

Croatia at the other end is in trouble and not only because of their 1-2 record in the group.

Before the championship started it seemed as Croatia would be the one to fit the description of a highly talented team with a team roster - of the kind France didn't face yet, but In the 16 quarters they played so far, they can count maybe three as successful ones. The rest, and the Croats are the first to admit it, doesn't fit their potential.

There are a lot of doubts and hesitations in the Croat camp regarding what holds them from bringing to the court their expected level.

A 12 man roster loaded with talent, experience, skills, size, athleticism, shooters, intelligence, pride and they are even a glued group of friends who support each other the whole way.

On the bench sits one of the best coaches in Europe - Jasmin Repesa, who has his share of experience in EuroBasket as well as finals in top club competitions, backed by Drazen Anzulovic - a coach with a resume thicker and more impressive then some of the head coaches in the competition.

It seems like every minute the Croats can blow up and bring the expected level of play, but after four games they are still looking for their answers, and with a loss to France they could be 40 minutes from a shocking elimination.

Will France prove they can make it happen against the big names too or will Croatia finally blow up and give France their first defeat? All the eyes of basketball fans in Europe are set on this interesting match.

Head-to-head: In a span of 14 years these two teams faced each other only five times, and Croatia won three of them. The last of them was two years ago in EuroBasket 2007 when Croatia won 86-69 in the 5-8 classification games behind 15 points by Zoran Planinic and Marko Popovic.

Last time out: Croatia suffered a tough 62-59 loss to Russia behind a very bad shooting day, while France easily crushed F.Y.R.O.M. 83-57.

Stats: After four games in the group France have the best defensive numbers by allowing only 59.3 ppg. Croatia already showed they have trouble against tough defense as Greece and Russia, so a lot will depend on their outside shooting. So far in their two losses Croatia was accurate in 31.6% and 29.4% from the arc, while in their two wins jumped to 50% and 38.5%. This will be a factor against France as well probably, but there's one thing the players of Coach Repesa must keep in mind. So far in this EuroBasket there's one team that allow both the fewest made three pointers (5.8) and lowest percentage from the same distance (28.4%) and that team is no other than...France.

Key Match-Up: Zoran Planinic and Tony Parker are the hearts and minds of their teams. The Croat leads his team in assists (ranked 2nd in the competition), while the French in points (2nd) and steals (1st). Planinic is so far the most consistent contributor in his team's back court, while Parker is the French postman - always delivers and on time.

X-Factor: Davor Kus of Croatia is the barometer when it comes to his team's three point shooting. In the good shooting nights of Croatia he scored twice from distance in good percentages, while in the two bad shooting days he missed all of his attempts. Follow his performance to learn more on what is about to come for Croatia in this game.

Sounding-Off: "Playing against Croatia after they lost to Russia can't be good for us, because they will come hurt and must win if they want to make the quarter-finals, but if we play good we could beat them." - France's Boris Diaw.


http://www.eurobasket2009.org/en/files/%7B2ABE6ABF-66F6-4D82-B840-2586871AA093%7Dflexible.jpg

http://www.fibaeurope.com/files/%7BC4C6B1A1-08F2-4251-95EC-9FC7C2A0FA7D%7Dflexible.jpg

http://www.fibaeurope.com/files/%7B01CC3CFD-42FA-48D9-B7CD-830AD5C9F29A%7Dflexible.jpg

http://www.fibaeurope.com/files/%7B85DFF24A-4511-4D69-AD48-17C47A23DE32%7Dflexible.jpg

[Bruno]

I just read in l'équipe that Ian is uncertain for today :depressed

I also just read it. :depressed

The story:
Ian should have played against Macedonia but felt a pain during the warm up. He didn't practiced with the team yesterday and is unlikely to play today.

[Bruno]

http://basket.blog.lemonde.fr/2009/09/12/eva-longoria-dechaine-les-passions/

http://basket.blog.lemonde.fr/files/2009/09/journalistes-amoureux.1252748435.jpg

For tonight game:
Croatia has one of the most talented team of this Eurobasket. It will be a damn hard game for FNT if Croatian players are motivated.

Croatia has also great shamans. :stirpot:

[velik_m]

http://www.eurobasket2009.org/en/coid_O4,LEK4JI-YA1ps11e5wr0.articleMode_on.html

Ghosts Of 2000 Haunt Croatia-France Match-Up
13 September 2009
By Yarone Arbel

FIBA Europe holds every summer three youth events, in up to three divisons, where the stars of the future show their face to the world of basketball.

EuroBasket is a great chance to see just how far the "stars of the future" actually made it in retrospect, but sometimes, as in the case of the France-Croatia game, when no less than seven players who faced each other in the finals of a youth event are on the same court, there's an added value for that check.

10. Zoran Planinic (Croatia)
Zoran Planinic was in Zadar and led the tournament in scoring.
The first U18 European Championship of the millennium took place in Zadar, Croatia. The main candidate for the gold was the local team that featured Marko Popovic, Zoran Planinic, Kresimir Loncar, Marin Rozic and Toni Dijan.

The first four are on the team here in EuroBasket 20009, while the last disappeared from the map of top European basketball, mostly due to injuries.

Planinic, who was voted to the All-Tournament team of the championship and was also the top scorer, along with Popovic, who was the top passer, combined the great back court, and were also the leaders of the team that made it all the way to the finals without dropping a game on the way.

In the gold medal game they faced the team from France, who earlier in the competition beat Bulgaria 83-33 and a Greece team that included Nikos Zisis and Vasilis Spanoulis 68-39 on the way to the finals, but did drop a single game on the path - the game against Croatia.

France had on that team no less than Tony Parker, Boris Diaw, Ronny Turiaf, Yakhouba Diawara and Mickael Pietrus.

The first three are here in Poland, and the last two are NBA players themselves.

Nevertheless the clear favorites before the finals tipped off were the Croats.

"We won the first game between the teams, we were the home team and the atmosphere in the finals was one of the best I have ever played in my whole career," shared Popovic with eurobasket2009.org.

Indeed the arena in Zadar is famous around the whole continent to be one of the hottest places to be when a big basketball game is played there.

Yet there was more to it.

Parker, the eventual MVP of the tournament, was already a big name that everybody wanted to catch but for Diaw it was only the first European Championship and he was still adjusting, and Turiaf was still just a developing back-up center. The potential was clearly there, but for that time Croatia were the favorites.

"That game was very important for us and the final score hurt us a lot.

"Everybody was crying in the locker room and we couldn't believe it slipped from out hands," Popovic recalls.

The final score he refers to was 65-64 in favor of France after two overtimes in one of the most memorable finals in youth competitions history.

Parker wasn't even on the floor in the big drama since he fouled out after playing no more than 28 minutes.

France had the chance to win the game before the original buzzer, while Croatia followed in the first overtime.

It came down to a huge blocked shot by Diaw to give France the last ball in the last seconds of the second overtime.

"I remember Turiaf shot the ball, and Dijan managed to touch it but the ball still went in," speaks Popovic.

It was only the first field goal made by Turiaf the whole game, but the sweetest one.

"Playing the youth tournaments help the players mold together," shares Turiaf today.

"Since that tournament Boris, Tony and me are very good friends and I have great memories from that tourney.

"The gold medal we won...it was a unique game," he remembers.

Winning that title, and actually their first medal ever, had a big influence on the French players who rode to stardom from there, but pay attention to what Parker, who had won a few things since those days, has to say.

"That game is one of my best memories as a basketball player, and my love for the national team started in that game," he said.

"Since we won that trophy I dream to win in the next level, in EuroBasket, too and that's why I'm here.

"We have a lot of good memories from that championship, and it gave us a lot of confidence for the future.

"My connection with Turiaf and Diaw started in that championship and we carry it on to this championship here."

One who managed to repress that game is Loncar, back then the top big guy of Croatia and a big time prospect.

"That finals was so many years ago I really don't remember much, other than that last shot by Turiaf," he shares.

"I don't see any connection to the game today and it's certainly not a matter of revenge for us, because back then it was a kids game and now it's the real thing."

"We were considered the best team but if you look at the final results five of the players in France made it to the NBA and in our team Planinic is the only one who made it to the NBA before coming back, so I guess it means they were the better team."

Nevertheless, when the ball will tip off tomorrow those seven players, now stronger, tougher and more experienced, will fight just like they did nine years ago.

We can only wish for a double-overtime game with a buzzer beater game winning shot, yet watching how far these players have made it from the FIBA Europe youth events all the way to the grand platform is a beauty to follow by itself.

[Bukefal]

http://basket.blog.lemonde.fr/2009/09/12/eva-longoria-dechaine-les-passions/

http://basket.blog.lemonde.fr/files/2009/09/journalistes-amoureux.1252748435.jpg



:lmao

[DPG21920]

Come on Ian, get well. Don't let this be another injury that costs you a chance.

[velik_m]

Good job France :tu

[Freeze]

Good job France :tu

Yep, TP with an impressive stat line 24/6/6/2steals/1TO

:toast

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

French team is RETARDED. Now they will probably have to play Spain at quarterfinals. What a bunch of fucking morons.

[sonic21]

they're not pussies. Who's afraid of spain except greeks?

Oh and the four teams in spain's group are really close

[Bruno]

Nice win. :tu

FNT is now sure to finish first or second of their group. They wanted it because it gives them a better schedule.

Last game is quite meaningless for FNT, I guess Collet will give a lot of rests to his main players given that they played a lot today. France could even tank the game to avoid Spain (it will depend on tomorrow results).

OTOH, I guess Greece will try to win that last game. If, as expected, Russia beat Macedonia in the game before, Greece would finish 3rd with a loss and finishing 3rd will give them the "bad " schedule.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

they're not pussies. Who's afraid of spain except greeks?

Oh and the four teams in spain's group are really close

:lmao:lmao:lmao:lmao:lmao:lmao:lmao:lmao:lmao:lmao :lmao:lmao:lmao

French team is mentally handicapped just like you. They lose to Spain and they might not even qualify for World Championship. You sound like typical "educated American". Like French team you probably cannot even look at the bracket and figure out who the opponent would be at quarterfinals.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

How can you possibly say that with two games remaining in the other group?
Can you guess the Euromillion lotery numbers and PM me please?

Oh my god. The people in this forum are so dumb it is astonishing thing.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

Nice win. :tu

FNT is now sure to finish first or second of their group. They wanted it because it gives them a better schedule.

Last game is quite meaningless for FNT, I guess Collet will give a lot of rests to his main players given that they played a lot today. France could even tank the game to avoid Spain (it will depend on tomorrow results).

OTOH, I guess Greece will try to win that last game. If, as expected, Russia beat Macedonia in the game before, Greece would finish 3rd with a loss and finishing 3rd will give them the "bad " schedule.

WTF are you crazy? Why the hell would Greece want to win and play Spain? You think they are as dumb as the French?

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

Spain has 2 games remaining and play Poland and Lithuania, the teams ranked 5th and 6th in the group... they will very probably not finish 4th of their group.

In France group the last game against Greece will decide who is ranked 1st and who is ranked 2nd... it's really way too early to say.

Maybe you're just a bit upset that Greece lost and France won...

I think you fail to understand how FIBA rules work.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

No, you don't understand. Greece lost against Russia on purpose. They want the third spot.. ;)

Greece wants to avoid Spain at quarterfinals. The French must be brain dead. If you lose at quarterfinal you might not qualify to world championship. Thank god for Greece France is such a stupid team.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

RACIST!! No..they're not retarded. They just believe in themselves. Just because your Greek team doesn't believe they can beat Spain doesn't mean the French team is retarded...it just means your team knows they can't beat them. So...why are the Greeks playing, anyway, if they don't think they can win?

If you lose at quarterfinal you might not qualify to world championship. What part of this is too difficult for you to comprehend? I know average Texan has IQ of 83 (as official UN records show) but isn't there at least a few of you that have maybe like 100 IQ?

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

what kind of team lose on purpose to avoid another team? weak

A smart one. One that is actually trying to win a medal and actually trying to qualify for world championship. French will be a laughing stock if they lose at quarterfinals.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

So Greeks are intentionally losing pussies and the French are brave men who will play any opponent at any time.

Sounds about right.


Greeks are educated and smart. French are retarded and can't do basic math or have basic logic and thinking skills. Much like Texans in this forum with the 83 IQ your state boasts.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

Considering your logic, France will own Greece then right ?

I do like this idea.

:toast


You are a fucking dumb ass.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

Which official UN records.

Give us a link.


The ones that shows all IQ in US and by each state. Average IQ in US is 87 and average IQ in Texas is 83. World average IQ is 100.

[timaios]

If Greece is 2nd and Spain 3rd... then Greece will play Spain !

Who is 1st of the group if Greece win against France ?

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

What's the stat in Arkansas ?

I look this up for you. Average IQ in Arkansas is 83 also. Highest IQ in US is California 107, New York 108, New Hampshire 109. US average is 87. Again world average is 100. America on average has lowest IQ in world except for Mexico and Africa countries.

[Alain]

What about France?

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

One should never talk to KBP after a greek loss. Hey, he may even say things ban worthy, who knows?

have fun playing Spainards at quarterfinals.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

lmao...I guarantee I'm smarter than your Mountain Home, Arkansas ass...what I'm getting at is the fact that if you lose on purpose to avoid playing a team, that means you know you're going to lose to them..so what's the point? If you make it to the World Championship, you're going to lose to them anyway, and everyone else will lose to the USA, so it won't matter...so why not try to win, and grow a sack?

It is clear that you are simply a moron.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

If Greece is 2nd and Spain 3rd... then Greece will play Spain !

Who is 1st of the group if Greece win against France ?


France first means they play probably play Spain.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

Spain has two games to play.

You lose on purpose:
1-if you're pussies.
2-if other teams have played all their games and you know the other teams' seeding

You do not understand FIBA rules and you are a fucking idiot. No one could even reason with you.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

What about France?

French IQ you mean?

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

Dyslexia ?

? explain please

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

Yep. Maybe that would explain why French team and fans don't understand your logic


French average IQ is 106. But French team is full of Africans. Average IQ in Africa is 81. Average IQ of blacks in US for example is 83.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

It is clear that you are a bullshitter. The average IQ in the United States is 98. Greece? They average 92...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQ_and_the_Wealth_of_Nations

dumbass...

Texas' average IQ is 100..which is above the nation's average....California's is 95.5...where the hell are you getting your ignorant, made up numbers? #1 is Massachusetts with a 104.3 average IQ.

http://www.top50states.com/average-iq-score.html

And only a retarded Texan like you would believe some retarded propaganda bull shit from Wikipedia. Your god damn bull shit never ends. The official IQ which the UN tracks is 87 for America and 83 for Texas.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

Is that an old nazi study?

No. It is from 2006 UN study. I know this because I work on it.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

so there's a rule that says Spain will finish 4th...

link?

You lack knowledge.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

you are a fucking idiot...the "bullshit propaganda" isn't even from the US..it's from Ireland...why the hell would they care? This "official IQ" you're coming up with is bullshit...I show links..I have proof..you have nothing...as usual, you're full of shit.

I assure you that the average American is retarded. We did this study three times at UN. Nuclear wastes retarded people in US, Canada, Mexico, Russia and old Soviet states.

In lower Africa the people are also retarded from lack of foods and also from bad drugs given to them as experiments. Of course since you are from Texas and have a retarded IQ you lack the ability to comprehend this even when it is explained to you.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

At least his IQ was high enough to provide a link.

Yours is not.

The Irish have much higher IQ than the Americans (actually Ireland has one of very highest IQs in world along with China, Japan, Israel). They are also well know as be cheats and liars. The Irish and the Dutch they don't amount to much.

[Kill_Bill_Pana]

Why do people even talk to this kbp guy is beyond my comprehension...
I don't see the point, you won't reason with him, he's beyond reaching, he's lost already, let him speak alone in the void of internet.

Why you say such thing?

[sonic21]

french NT's offense was much better the last 2 games :tu

[Alain]

french NT's offense was much better the last 2 games :tu

Yeah. Boris is heating up and no one is playing sub-par, except maybe Alain Koffi. Too bad Ian is injured, the fifth big man spot was for him.

[Limguogolo]

Nice win for the FNT.

Have a look on the statistics :

Parker : average IQ : 98; IQ today : 114 (the rest of the planet was particulary stupid today, especialy in Greece); basketball IQ today : 135

Batum: average IQ : 86; IQ today : 98; basketball IQ today : 149

Diaw : average IQ : 65 (because of Secret Story), IQ today : 102 (he missed Secret story); basketball IQ today : 135

Flo Pietrus : average IQ : 90, IQ today : 94; basketball IQ today : 165

Ronny Turiaf :average IQ : 115 (he speaks five langages, wow); IQ today : 85 (he speaks french and itsnautewfaoul, sometimes in the same time); basketball IQ today : 25 (jump jump jump - no i am not a kangourou).


From whatismyrealcolor.com:

Parker is blackowhitelastic from americano-dusch parents, Batum is blackowhitebatmaniac from franco-franco, Diaw is blackowhitecroissantwithlittlegrapeandcherrybobo, Flo Pietrus is blackoblackantillaswithmoustacheandonewhiteancesto r, Turiaf is blackoblackantillaswithdynamiteandheart.

ps: according to the genetic, there is just one race. There is not enough genectic difference between a pygmy and a german to talk about "races". We are all different and all identical (except grec people).

[Lady M]

Nice win for the FNT.

Have a look on the statistics :

Parker : average IQ : 98; IQ today : 114 (the rest of the planet was particulary stupid today, especialy in Greece); basketball IQ today : 135

Batum: average IQ : 86; IQ today : 98; basketball IQ today : 149

Diaw : average IQ : 65 (because of Secret Story), IQ today : 102 (he missed Secret story); basketball IQ today : 135

Flo Pietrus : average IQ : 90, IQ today : 94; basketball IQ today : 165

Ronny Turiaf :average IQ : 115 (he speaks five langages, wow); IQ today : 85 (he speaks french and itsnautewfaoul, sometimes in the same time); basketball IQ today : 25 (jump jump jump - no i am not a kangourou).


From whatismyrealcolor.com:

Parker is blackowhitelastic from americano-dusch parents, Batum is blackowhitebatmaniac from franco-franco, Diaw is blackowhitecroissantwithlittlegrapeandcherrybobo, Flo Pietrus is blackoblackantillaswithmoustacheandonewhiteancesto r, Turiaf is blackoblackantillaswithdynamiteandheart.

ps: according to the genetic, there is just one race. There is not enough genectic difference between a pygmy and a german to talk about "races". We are all different and all identical (except grec people).

:lmao:rollin:lmao

[Freeze]

France Remain Perfect, Top Croatia

13 September 2009
By Yarone Arbel


France remained the only perfect team in Group E in Bydgoszcz after an 87-79 victory over Croatia following a big second half.

Tony Parker had 24 points, six assists and six rebounds for the winning side while Marko Popovic wrote the second best scoring performance in the championship with 30 points.

Turning point: In the 28th minute it was still a two point game in favor of France, but then Croatia's Marko Banic fouled out and Nikola Prkacin followed with a technical. France used that to reach an 11 point lead, and despite Croatia managing to come closer several times, the lead never changed hands again and France remained the dominant force.

Hero: Parker was the main man once again, but not only for the 24 points, six rebounds and six assists but the way he spread it. Half of his points were scored in the third quarter when his team turned a Croatian lead to a ten point game in their favor. In the last quarter he focused on anything but scoring and dished no less than five of his six assists in addition to three of his rebounds.

Stats: Croatia enjoyed a good shooting night with seven three-pointers on 54% shooting, but saw France better them with 12 long distance arrows. When a team like France shoot like that from distance, it's close to impossible to beat them.

http://www.eurobasket2009.org/en/cid_toT,ovGDH2EaLKL67XnPo2.pageID_ennxqQ8fGrUVHf9p KLAyv1.compID_qMRZdYCZI6EoANOrUf9le2.season_2009.c oid_iI1gagQdHi-5OuahxG-TX2.articleMode_on.html

[Freeze]

http://www.eurobasket2009.org/en/files/%7BDB315904-FA15-47FF-AE03-23C6545F8D3D%7Dflexible.jpg

[Freeze]

http://www.fibaeurope.com/files/%7BCBF2B36A-030A-4CED-9FEF-CB0E5C188C2F%7Dflexible.jpg

[Freeze]

http://www.fibaeurope.com/files/%7B35B78D91-FA23-4937-B48D-8907B4FCC23B%7Dflexible.jpg

[Freeze]

http://www.fibaeurope.com/files/%7BFFC20EDA-E8E5-4A04-95D9-D0E060D49169%7Dflexible.jpg

[Freeze]

http://www.fibaeurope.com/files/%7B3DAF38D2-3F5E-4E19-9917-527D36BED477%7Dflexible.jpg

[DPG21920]

Freeze, any update on Ian?

[Freeze]

http://www.fibaeurope.com/files/%7B80DA42B5-1004-4BC6-ABAC-CB87ED3F7395%7Dflexible.jpg

[Freeze]

http://www.fibaeurope.com/files/%7B790C9250-CE1E-4CC5-A996-A41D3D6C2951%7Dflexible.jpg

[Freeze]

http://www.fibaeurope.com/files/%7B2C5831F3-F858-4E1E-ACAF-432CDE32295B%7Dflexible.jpg

[duncan228]

Parker’s big third-quarter rallies France (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Parkers_big_third-quarter_rallies_France.html)

BYDGOSZCZ, Poland — Spurs guard Tony Parker scored 12 of his 24 points in the third quarter and France remained unbeaten at the European basketball championship with an 87-79 victory over Croatia on Sunday.

Parker’s third-quarter heroics helped France turn a five-point halftime deficit into a seven-point lead at the start of the fourth.

France also got strong performances from NBA players Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw.

Batum, who plays for the Portland Trail Blazers, had 18 points, and Charlotte Bobcats forward Diaw had 15.

Earlier, defending champion Russia slipped past Greece 68-65 and Macedonia beat Germany 86-75 for its first Group E victory.

Russia, which has only three players from the team that upset Spain in the 2007 final, struggled in the first round of this year’s tournament.

But the team has steadily improved and took a big step toward the quarterfinals with the victory over a previously unbeaten Greece.

Macedonia broke open a tight game late in the third quarter when Dime Tasovski hit a 3-pointer to spark a 14-2 run that made it 69-52 with just under eight minutes to play.

Group-leader France faces Greece on Tuesday, Macedonia plays Russia, and Germany takes on Croatia.

The top four teams in each group advance to the quarterfinals.

[Freeze]

Freeze, any update on Ian?

Nope, maybe in l'équipe tomorrow.

There's some postgames quotes in French, no mention about him.
Basically, they are happy, they have been agressive in the 2nd half, Parker/Diaw/turiaf/Pietrus are the core of the team, and their leader, they want to win against Greece to be unbeaten before the quarter-final round.

[timvp]

Thread cleaned up. KPB is gone for good. I warned him about spewing his trash, made a thread specifically for him and nothing worked. Late.

Hopefully this thread can get back on track and stay there without KPB constantly derailing it.

[Spursfan092120]

Thread cleaned up. KPB is gone for good. I warned him about spewing his trash, made a thread specifically for him and nothing worked. Late.

Hopefully this thread can get back on track and stay there without KPB constantly derailing it.
?? If you don't mind me asking, what did you do? How is he gone for good?

[timvp]

?? If you don't mind me asking, what did you do? How is he gone for good?

Doesn't matter. Keep this subject on the FNT.

Thanks.

[ChumpDumper]

I'm happy for the FNT. It seems like things might be finally coming together for them.

[Milo]

Nope, maybe in l'équipe tomorrow.

There's some postgames quotes in French, no mention about him.
Basically, they are happy, they have been agressive in the 2nd half, Parker/Diaw/turiaf/Pietrus are the core of the team, and their leader, they want to win against Greece to be unbeaten before the quarter-final round.

to me the core is parker, diaw and batum. nicolas batum really impressed me with his defense, rbounding and athleticism.

[Spursfan092120]

Doesn't matter. Keep this subject on the FNT.

Thanks.
ok...sounds good...

[Kobayagi]

Thread cleaned up. KPB is gone for good.

:tu :tu :tu



I believe I got some laughs on this message board before Eurobasket began when I said I consider FNT the 2nd strongest contenders behind Spain even though they barely qualified for this tournament. :king

[Freeze]

Ian didn't warm up.

[DPG21920]

Ya, I read that. I was just wondering if their were any reports of the injury being more serious than first thought. They said he warmed up the game before but "felt pain", so they sat him out.

[Freeze]

to me the core is parker, diaw and batum. nicolas batum really impressed me with his defense, rbounding and athleticism.

Batum is playing great, but he lacks of experience.
The 4 others are the leaders on the floor, and in the locker too.

[Milo]

Did you see how TP was mad at Ian during half time of France vs Belgium during the qualification tournament, from the Canal+ video someone gave the link few pages ago?
He was yelling after him pretty rough.
I have the feeling that Ian is not ready to play at that level yet... and I'm not talking about physical issues.

[Milo]

Batum is playing great, but he lacks of experience.
The 4 others are the leaders on the floor, and in the locker too.

well I don't know, Batum looks pretty mature on the floor, high IQ, very professional, doing the right stuff to help the team and not scared to take big shots either.
And he's got so much more talents and potential than Ronnie or Pietrus; no offense to them, I think they play great during this tournament, but they're rather limited when it comes to pure talent.
If the game was on the line, I'd rather have Batum taking the winning shot or the ultimate block or rebound, than either Ronnie or Pietrus.
Now I agree that in the locker room, because of the history of the FNT, Ronnie along with TP and Boris are the natural leaders, and Batum just a rookie.

[Freeze]

Did you see how TP was mad at Ian during half time of France vs Belgium during the qualification tournament, from the Canal+ video someone gave the link few pages ago?
He was yelling after him pretty rough.
I have the feeling that Ian is not ready to play at that level yet... and I'm not talking about physical issues.

TP yells a lot in FNT, it's the best player, the captain, and one of the older now. He explained it in an interview (video in French (http://www.dailymotion.pl/video/xagq94_tony-parker-tout-le-monde-joue-a-so_sport)) it's part of his role, and can do it now that the previous generation (Foirest, Weis, Julian,...) is gone and replaced by the next generation (Batum, Diot, Mahinmi,...). It's for their own good, and not because he is upset.

[angelbelow]

Well I hope Ian is alright and it seems like everytime I read an update its "Parker scores X of his 20 points in the 4th to lead France to victory.."

[timaios]

http://www.eurobasket2009.org/en/cid_toT,ovGDH2EaLKL67XnPo2.compID_qMRZdYCZI6EoANOr Uf9le2.season_2009.gameID_6366-E-6-2.html

13 September 2009
France Remain Perfect, Top Croatia

Game Summary

Turning point: In the 28th minute it was still a two point game in favor of France, but then Croatia's Marko Banic fouled out and Nikola Prkacin followed with a technical. France used that to reach an 11 point lead, and despite Croatia managing to come closer several times, the lead never changed hands again and France remained the dominant force.

Hero: Parker was the main man once again, but not only for the 24 points, six rebounds and six assists but the way he spread it. Half of his points were scored in the third quarter when his team turned a Croatian lead to a ten point game in their favor. In the last quarter he focused on anything but scoring and dished no less than five of his six assists in addition to three of his rebounds.

Stats: Croatia enjoyed a good shooting night with seven three-pointers on 54% shooting, but saw France better them with 12 long distance arrows. When a team like France shoot like that from distance, it's close to impossible to beat them.

-------------------------------------------------

After the second day of games in Group E in Bydgoszcz there's only one team perfect and that is France following an 87-79 victory over Croatia.

The French climbed to a 4-0 record, but still must beat Greece on the last day to secure the top spot.

Croatia dropped to an unexpected 1-3 record and must beat Germany on the closing day to avoid a shocking elimination.

There were two different halves to this game.

In the first Croatia played their best basketball so far in the championship, and reached a nine point lead behind great shooting led by Marko Popovic.

The sequel showed a tougher French defense and a big performance by Tony Parker who took over the game, and led his team-mates to a rare performance of eight three pointers on 66.6% shooting.

"At half time we decided to change our gameplan," said winning Coach Vincent Collet.

"We didn't play well in the first half and the fact we were down by just five made us happy.

"We knew that if we step up on defense we can come back and that's what we did."

After Croatia was the dominating force in the first half, France wrote two runs to put them on top.

They used a technical foul on Nikola Prkacin, who fouled out as a result, to open the gap Croatia never managed to beat.

Parker led his team with 24 points, six assists and six rebounds but spread them in a perfect way.

Half of his points came in the third quarter, just when France took over the lead, while five assists and three rebounds joined the stat line in the closing quarter.

Nicholas Batum followed behind with 18 points, half of them from distance, five boards and two blocks.

Boris Diaw added 15 behind four long distance balls in addition to six assists and four rebounds.

Florent Pietrus added 14.

Croatia enjoyed 30 points by Popovic - the second best scoring performance in the competition so far - who spread his points almost equally between the first and the second halves.

He actually started his scoring drive only with the last basket of the first quarter and scored all of his points from either the charity stripe or beyond the arc.

Roko-Leni Ukic added 11 and Marko Banic had ten.

"The first 20 minutes was maybe our best (we played) in this tournament, but we need to play like that the whole game," said Coach Jasmin Repesa of Croatia.

Already in the first quarter France collected three triples.

Diaw started with an air-ball but added two hits from distance down the stretch of the first quarter, and Parker showed his skills with an off-dribble shot.

Croatia at the other end attacked the rim time and time both with the guards and inside players.

Ukic and Planinic drove to the rim while Banic and Prkacin posted up to bring their team to the last possession of the quarter down by a point, 19-18.

Popovic beat the buzzer to give his team the first points behind the arc but kept that momentum into the second quarter.

Kus and Popovic added two more three-pointers and a minute inside the second quarter it was already a 29-20 Croatian lead after an 11-1 run.

Balls were jumping on the rim and out for the French side, while Popovic remained hot reaching 16 points before the break, and his team up by seven, 46-39.

Diaw hit two from the line and saw Batum block a Planinic attempt to beat the clock, as the teams separated by five.

"We missed many free throws in the first half and if we had shot better we could have held a ten point lead at the break," referred Coach Repesa to the seven misses his team committed in the first 20 minutes.

"What mostly concerns me is that our mental strength was very, very bad.

"Once things didn't work for us we lost control of the game," he added.

Just inside the second half France was back on top after Pietrus and Parker led a 10-2 run.

Yannick Bokolo, who did a great job limiting Popovic for some minutes in the third, recorded a big block on Ukic which kept France on top, but the following play got Croatia in trouble.

Banic fouled out and Prkacin's protest sentenced him to the same destiny limiting Repesa's options on the bigs.

Parker hurt Croatia with a three-pointer, Pietrus added some of his own and another 12-1 French run wrote a 63-52 difference late in the third.

The French defense continued to make it tough for the Croats until Popovic woke up with five points in a row and forced a time out by Coach Collet up by only five, 70-65.

Mistakes on both ends of the floor allowed Croatia to enter the last four minutes down 73-69, but a three point by Bokolo and a fast break lay up by Batum pushed it to nine once more.

Croatia cut it down once more to four inside the last minute before Diaw sank the decisive three ball that told the story of the game.

13 September 2009
Quotes Croatia vs. France

Roko Leni Ukic (Croatia):

"It was very tough game. They are a very athletic team. They have the incredible Tony Parker who is very hard to stop. They had a good shooting day, scoring a lot of points from the outside."

Vincent Collet (France Coach):

"We lost the first half. In the second half we went back to playing tough defense. We kept the control. We finished the game with a good shooting percentage."

Jasmin Repesa (Croatia Coach):

"I'm satisfied how we played the first 13 minutes. The start of the second half was the key point of the game. We lost control of the game and of ourselves. It was very difficult to get back into the game. The first minutes of the game were our best in Poland. The game against Germany will be the key one for us."

[will_spurs]

Well I hope Ian is alright and it seems like everytime I read an update its "Parker scores X of his 20 points in the 4th to lead France to victory.."

This time it was in the 3rd :lol

I think what's more important is that Parker said today he'd do "anything" to lead France to victory. Collet strikes me as a good coach with a strategy and Parker is ok to follow that, apparently, including slowing down in the first half, taking over when needed. I think Parker is proving how great a player he s yet again, scoring when needed, distributing the ball when needed, being clutch, taking a back seat, etc.

[romain.star]

TP is on his way to the Euro MVP

[Brazil]

Nice win ! TP is doing fine he is showing how versatile and flexible he can be.

[romain.star]

if France wins Gold (this is a huge if), is TP a lock for the HOF?

after a quick look at the list, i'd say yeah

[ForeignFan]

Quite impossible to determine France's QF opponent, whether or not they beat Greece: Serbia, Spain and Slovenia may well all finish with 3 wins/2 losses.

Anyway, I am not sure it matters, I would be incapable of saying who's the best "fit" for France...

[Kobayagi]

Quite impossible to determine France's QF opponent, whether or not they beat Greece: Serbia, Spain and Slovenia may well all finish with 3 wins/2 losses.

Anyway, I am not sure it matters, I would be incapable of saying who's the best "fit" for France...


I wouldn't want to meet France in QF, even though I think if we stopped Tony, we shouldn't have many problems beating you. The thing is...I like your team. If we don't win it, I wouldn't mind France winning it all this year. :toast

[Alain]

http://www.lequipe.fr/Basket/breves2009/20090914_172429_les-bleus-toujours-a-onze.html

Collet worrying about Ian in lequipe.fr today.

"his absence is a bit harmfull" said the coach, who doesn't know what to think about the player. "It won't be easy for him to break the rotation in quarter-final"

Ian was cleared 6 days ago but still feels pain. It seems that he is reluctant to risk another injury right before training camp (my guess).

[Milo]

Quite impossible to determine France's QF opponent, whether or not they beat Greece:
Serbia, Spain and Slovenia may well all finish with 3 wins/2 losses.
Which seems likely; and with Serbia beating Spain, Spain beating Slovenia and Slovenia beating Serbia, how do they break the tie and determine the ranking?
Is goal average the next criteria?

[Alain]

Turkey beat Serbia in overtime.

Spain is now 3rd but can eventually move up to the second place if Turkey beat Slovenia thursday or down to 4th if Serbia defeats Lithuania.

Anyway, it is totally impossible to guess the group F final ranking and thus trying to play it "smart" against Greece. The best strategy is always to try to win every game!

[Alain]

Which seems likely; and with Serbia beating Spain, Spain beating Slovenia and Slovenia beating Serbia, how do they break the tie and determine the ranking?
Is goal average the next criteria?

D.1 Procedure
Teams shall be classified according to their win-loss records, namely two (2) points
for each game won, one (1) point for each game lost (including lost by default) and
zero (0) points for a game lost by forfeit.
D.1.1 If there are two teams in the classification with equal points, the result(s) of the
game(s) between the two teams involved will be used to determine the placings.
D.1.2 If the points and the goal average in the games between the two teams are still the
same, the classification will be determined by the goal average of all the games
played in the group by each team.
D.1.3 If more than two teams are equal in the placing, a second classification will be
established, taking into account only the results of the games between the teams
that are tied.
D.1.4 If there are still teams tied after the second classification, then goal average will be
used to determine the placing, taking into account only the results of the games
between the teams still tied.
D.1.5 If there are still teams tied, the placing will be determined using the goal average
from the results of all their games played in the group.
D.1.6 If, at any stage, using the above criteria, a multiple team tie is reduced to a tie
involving only two teams, the procedure in D.1.1 and D.1.2 above will be applied.
D.1.7 If, at any stage, it is reduced to a tie still involving more than two teams, the
procedure, beginning with D.1.3 above, is repeated.
D.1.8 Goal average will always be calculated by division.

[tso & lo Cavfanatic]

IF Lithuania-Poland-Turkey win 1.Turkey 2. Slovenia 3. Serbia 4. Poland

IF Lithuania-Poland-Slovenia win 1. Slovenia 2.Turkey 3. Serbia 4. Poland

IF Lithuania-Spain-Turkey win 1. Turkey 2. Spain 3. Slovenia 4. Serbia

IF Lithuania-Spain-Slovenia 1. Slovenia 2. Turkey 3. Spain 4. Serbia

IF Serbia-Poland-Turkey win 1. Turkey 2. Slovenia 3. Serbia 4. Poland

IF Serbia-Spain-Turkey win 1. Turkey 2. Slovenia 3. Serbia 4. Spain

IF Serbia-Spain-Slovenia win 1.Slovenia 2. Turkey 3. Serbia 4. Spain

IF Serbia- Poland-Slovenia win 1. Slovenia 2. Turkey 3. Serbia 4. Poland