AI-square
08-11-2006, 01:07 PM
I just reached home a couple of hours ago, having gone to watch basketball at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, where Argentina played Serbia & Montenegro and Spain played Slovenia.
Most of the people here came to watch Manu. There was extra excitement whenever he touched the ball. Luis Scola and Fabricio Oberto also played for Argentina, but they were beaten by Serbia & Montenegro (by double digits), with Darko Milicic playing a big role. Darko not only dominated the glass, he overpowered Scola and Oberto and even made a couple of 3-pointers. Andres Nocioni was quite the showman, trying to wow the crowd with an array of dunks and some hot shooting during the warm-up. Carlos Delfino scored the most points for the Argentines, who were quite disappointing.
I managed to get Pau Gasol's signature. Later on, I was quite surprised to realize that there was another Gasol in the Spanish team, and I reckon some guys asked the wrong Gasol for his autograph, and I think the Spanish players knew about it because they were laughing among themselves as the other Gasol signed autographs while Argentina and Serbia & Montenegro were still playing. The main difference between the two was that Pau had the full goatee.
Beno Udrih and Rasho Nesterovic played for Slovenia, who also had the likes of Primo Brezec and Nachbar. Beno had a big first half (as did Rasho) and it was a tight game until the third quarter, when the Spanish team started to pull away. Jose Calderon looked really good on the court, setting up plays and making baskets. It's tough to figure out why he's been on the bench for Toronto when he can play like that. Gasol's Spain won the high-scoring game quite comfortably.
It was great fun watching the two games. Manu was a joy to watch despite his limited minutes, and it was nice to see Darko and Beno playing major minutes. Both of them gave great account of themselves. I cannot stress how much better Darko looked in comparison to Scola, especially considering the Spurs have been trying to sign the latter for years.
Hopefully I will be able to post some pictures tomorrow.
Most of the people here came to watch Manu. There was extra excitement whenever he touched the ball. Luis Scola and Fabricio Oberto also played for Argentina, but they were beaten by Serbia & Montenegro (by double digits), with Darko Milicic playing a big role. Darko not only dominated the glass, he overpowered Scola and Oberto and even made a couple of 3-pointers. Andres Nocioni was quite the showman, trying to wow the crowd with an array of dunks and some hot shooting during the warm-up. Carlos Delfino scored the most points for the Argentines, who were quite disappointing.
I managed to get Pau Gasol's signature. Later on, I was quite surprised to realize that there was another Gasol in the Spanish team, and I reckon some guys asked the wrong Gasol for his autograph, and I think the Spanish players knew about it because they were laughing among themselves as the other Gasol signed autographs while Argentina and Serbia & Montenegro were still playing. The main difference between the two was that Pau had the full goatee.
Beno Udrih and Rasho Nesterovic played for Slovenia, who also had the likes of Primo Brezec and Nachbar. Beno had a big first half (as did Rasho) and it was a tight game until the third quarter, when the Spanish team started to pull away. Jose Calderon looked really good on the court, setting up plays and making baskets. It's tough to figure out why he's been on the bench for Toronto when he can play like that. Gasol's Spain won the high-scoring game quite comfortably.
It was great fun watching the two games. Manu was a joy to watch despite his limited minutes, and it was nice to see Darko and Beno playing major minutes. Both of them gave great account of themselves. I cannot stress how much better Darko looked in comparison to Scola, especially considering the Spurs have been trying to sign the latter for years.
Hopefully I will be able to post some pictures tomorrow.