Kori Ellis
08-10-2005, 04:23 PM
MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina (August 10, 2005)-- After falling behind by 13 points in the first quarter the 2005 USA U21 World Championship Team (5-0) fought back to nip Slovenia (2-3) 82-79 at the 2005 FIBA U21 World Championship on Wednesday afternoon in Mar del Plata, Argentina.Curtis Withers(Charlotte / Charlotte, N.C.) andTerrence Roberts(Syracuse / Jersey City, N.J.) came up big on the inside with 15 and 14 points, respectively, after shooting woes held the USA to just 13.6 percent (3-33 3pt FGs) from 3-point land.
The USA advances to quarterfinals play at the top of Group B and will face the winner of tonight's Canada versus Israel game, which will determine the Group A fourth place team, on Aug. 12 at 8:00 p.m. (EDT and subject to change).
"No matter where you play basketball, whether it be professional, international or in college, sometimes the team that plays better doesn't always win," said USA and Saint Joseph's University (Pa.) head coachPhil Martelli. "And today that happened. The team that played better didn't win. I salute Slovenia for their efforts and I agree with their coach in that players we did not anticipate playing significant minutes did a terrific job tonight. I wish them well in the rest of the tournament."
"We had two early chances to get ready for the medal round, we had (the Global Games in) Texas and then pool play," said Withers. "So we have to take what we have and what we learned from these games, as well as how to better warm up, how to be consistent and what we need to do to win. It starts with defense and we also have to be one team."
Unlike in previous contests for the USA, this one went down to the wire as an off-balanced 3-point attempt by Slovenia's Miha Fon at the buzzer kept it from going into extra periods. With 6.6 seconds showing on the clock, and an infraction to give before sending the U.S. to the line,Marcus Williams(Connecticut / Los Angeles, Calif.) was fouled on an inbounds pass. On the next inbounds play, it wasJ.J. Redick(Duke / Roanoke, Va.) who was fouled and sent to the line. Ranked second in the NCAA during the past season for his 93.8 percent accuracy from the stripe, Redick uncharacteristically missed his first attempt, but swished the next and Slovenia had 4.9 seconds to get the ball up the court. Slovenia got the ball in, Fon received a pass and finally broke free from his defender, but it was too late and he wasn't able to get off a good shot as the U.S. came away with the close win.
Shooting 28.6 percent (6-21 FGs) in the first quarter, while allowing Slovenia, which made good on 64.3 percent (9-14 FGs), several uncontested layups, the result was a wake-up call. In addition to the poor shooting, which included 0-of-5 from beyond the arc, the United States amassed four turnovers and had just a pair of assists in the first 10 minutes.
Slovenia stomped out to an early 7-0 lead after the U.S. wasn't able to convert on its first three possessions, and by the 5:01 mark the lead was up to 15-4. By the time the buzzer sounded the teams to their benches for the break, the USA had dug itself a 26-13 hole.
"I don't think we prepared mentally for this game," said Redick. "We weren't sharp, even in warm-ups, and it carried over to the first quarter. It took us almost the whole entire first half to get it up to an even level of effort, to focus our energy on Slovenia. When you do that to a team and give them confidence, they're going to hang around the whole game and that's what happened."
Box Score (http://www.usabasketball.com/men/2005/05_mu21_game5_box.html)
Postgame Quotes (http://www.usabasketball.com/men/2005/05_mu21_game5_quotes.html)
The USA advances to quarterfinals play at the top of Group B and will face the winner of tonight's Canada versus Israel game, which will determine the Group A fourth place team, on Aug. 12 at 8:00 p.m. (EDT and subject to change).
"No matter where you play basketball, whether it be professional, international or in college, sometimes the team that plays better doesn't always win," said USA and Saint Joseph's University (Pa.) head coachPhil Martelli. "And today that happened. The team that played better didn't win. I salute Slovenia for their efforts and I agree with their coach in that players we did not anticipate playing significant minutes did a terrific job tonight. I wish them well in the rest of the tournament."
"We had two early chances to get ready for the medal round, we had (the Global Games in) Texas and then pool play," said Withers. "So we have to take what we have and what we learned from these games, as well as how to better warm up, how to be consistent and what we need to do to win. It starts with defense and we also have to be one team."
Unlike in previous contests for the USA, this one went down to the wire as an off-balanced 3-point attempt by Slovenia's Miha Fon at the buzzer kept it from going into extra periods. With 6.6 seconds showing on the clock, and an infraction to give before sending the U.S. to the line,Marcus Williams(Connecticut / Los Angeles, Calif.) was fouled on an inbounds pass. On the next inbounds play, it wasJ.J. Redick(Duke / Roanoke, Va.) who was fouled and sent to the line. Ranked second in the NCAA during the past season for his 93.8 percent accuracy from the stripe, Redick uncharacteristically missed his first attempt, but swished the next and Slovenia had 4.9 seconds to get the ball up the court. Slovenia got the ball in, Fon received a pass and finally broke free from his defender, but it was too late and he wasn't able to get off a good shot as the U.S. came away with the close win.
Shooting 28.6 percent (6-21 FGs) in the first quarter, while allowing Slovenia, which made good on 64.3 percent (9-14 FGs), several uncontested layups, the result was a wake-up call. In addition to the poor shooting, which included 0-of-5 from beyond the arc, the United States amassed four turnovers and had just a pair of assists in the first 10 minutes.
Slovenia stomped out to an early 7-0 lead after the U.S. wasn't able to convert on its first three possessions, and by the 5:01 mark the lead was up to 15-4. By the time the buzzer sounded the teams to their benches for the break, the USA had dug itself a 26-13 hole.
"I don't think we prepared mentally for this game," said Redick. "We weren't sharp, even in warm-ups, and it carried over to the first quarter. It took us almost the whole entire first half to get it up to an even level of effort, to focus our energy on Slovenia. When you do that to a team and give them confidence, they're going to hang around the whole game and that's what happened."
Box Score (http://www.usabasketball.com/men/2005/05_mu21_game5_box.html)
Postgame Quotes (http://www.usabasketball.com/men/2005/05_mu21_game5_quotes.html)