Roxsfan
09-06-2007, 12:13 AM
Special correspondent Bai Fan reports from Las Vegas http://nba.sports.tom.com/2007-09-05/0424/07038248.html
MVP
http://www.sinaimg.cn/ty/k/p/2007-09-03/U2138P6T12D3147112F44DT20070903125930.jpg
For the entire FIBA Americas Championship, the most jaw-dropping and surprising incident happened at the final award presentation ceremony.
Players of USA, Argentina and Puerto Rico (which beat Brazil to be placed 2nd runners-up) all lined up on the podium to wait for the announcement and the award of the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. With MVP trophy on her hand, the all-smiling ritual girl was slowly walking directly towards the USA team which just beat Argentina 118 vs 81, her eyes gazed firmly at Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony.
Suddenly, everyone heard the award winner was Argentina’s Luis Scola. The young girl’s smile freezed for several seconds, turned her head and looked at the Argentina team; very obviously, she did not know who is Luis Scola. Luckily, the considerate Luis Scola stepped forward and therefore sort of relieved the young lady from her embarrassment. Simultaneously, the American fans’ boos resonated from the stands. The USA team on the other hand showed their sportsmanship and demeanor; Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski), Lebron James, Kobe Bryant and Jason Kidd took the lead to applaud; Only Dwight Howard parsimoniously intersected his hands in front of his chest throughout the award ceremony.
The MVP of this FIBA Americas Championship was selected by votes from the media; Out of the 20 eligible voting media, 10 of them were US reporters. The vote counts showed that Luis Scola received a total of 8 votes, with only 2 of the votes came from American reporters. Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony got 6 votes each. When the reporter came across the managing director of the USA team, Jerry Colangelo, and enquired about his view why the MVP was not awarded to the US players, the white-haired old man shook his head and said: “Originally, Kobe Bryant, Leborn James and Carmelo Anthony all have their chances to win the MVP. But since the MVP was decided through a voting systems, it seemed some of the reporters have not voted for them.” What Jerry Colangelo hinted was that Luis Scola was voted in as the MVP by the media from South America.
But even Jerry Colangelo could not deny Luis Scola’s brilliant performance. “He is a good power forward; very comprehensive skills; very solid performance. I believe he can also have very good performance in NBA.” It was very clear to Jerry Colangelo that Luis Scola was one of the very few players in the FIBA Americas Championship that had caused troubles to the USA team. In the final, even though he was repeatedly double-teamed, Luis Scola still turned in with a great performance of 23 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
So Luis Scola is going to take back 2 big trophies to Argentina. The trophy for 1st runner up of the FIBA America Championship will be exhibited in the show room cabinet of the Argentine basketball association, while the MVP trophy will be displayed alongside with the 2 MVP trophies he received in the Spanish league in a cabinet in his home. Luis Scola will not bring the MVP trophies to Houston. “They all now belonged to the past; in NBA, I will be just a rookie. I won’t be showing off to anybody about these MVP honors, and I don’t think there is such necessity. I am now joining NBA, not because I was awarded several MVPs in the past, but it is more because of my value to my team.”
Now that the FIBA Americas Championship is over, the Argentine national team will temporarily disband; all his team mates will go on their vacation, but not for Luis Scola; he still has to complete the “summer assignment” handed to him by David Macha, Houston Rockets’ strength and conditioning coach. When he went to Houston to sign his contract, David Macha had passed to Luis Scola a very thick handbook, outlining all his requirements/guidelines for strength and conditioning. Due to his commitment to training and competition with the Argentine national team, Luis Scola basically just could not find the time to complete these “assignment”, and for this, he had expressed that he was “extremely sorry” when he met Daryl Morey, Houston Rockets’ General Manager in a short meeting in Las Vegas.
Yes, Luis Scola is of such character and temperament; he just simply does not allow himself to be slightly relaxed. He even asked a television station in Argentina to get him video of the games of the Houston Rockets, such that he can study and familiarize with his team mates’ play style and characteristics. Luis Scola said: “During the FIBA Americas Championship, in my brain, all I can think of and occupied is the Argentine national team. But (now that the tournament is over), there is only Houston Rockets in my heart.”
So Luis Scola’s MVP performance (in the FIBA Americas Championship) had ignited fervor and passion of a lot of Houston Rockets fans. Although there is a small portion of the fans still not able to put behind the disappointment Vassilis Spanoulis brought to the city, the majority of fans believe that Luis Scola will not be just another Vassilis Spanoulis, and that tragedy of the last season will not repeat itself in the new season. Some fans have such perception: “For international players that join NBA, it is more difficult for the guards to adapt than the forwards or centres, as the 3-pointer line is further away from the basket than that of FIBA.” But then, Luis Scola’s disposition is completely different to Vassilis Spanoulis. Some fans worry about the fact that Luis Scola likes to argue with referees; this might get him into troubles or getting unnecessary technicals. However, if one views it from a different angle, that is precisely to Luis Scola’s advantage; he is very extrovert and will be easier to mix and gel with his other team mates.
So, almost simultaneously as Luis Scola got his MVP trophy for the FIBA Americas Championship, the Houston Rockets just launched the propaganda slogan “IT’S TIME” for the new season. Indeed, as the Houston Rockets acquired Mike James, Steve Francis and the new MVP Luis Scola during the summer, now it’s time that the Houston Rockets to move forward and advance deeper into the playoff.
MVP
http://www.sinaimg.cn/ty/k/p/2007-09-03/U2138P6T12D3147112F44DT20070903125930.jpg
For the entire FIBA Americas Championship, the most jaw-dropping and surprising incident happened at the final award presentation ceremony.
Players of USA, Argentina and Puerto Rico (which beat Brazil to be placed 2nd runners-up) all lined up on the podium to wait for the announcement and the award of the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. With MVP trophy on her hand, the all-smiling ritual girl was slowly walking directly towards the USA team which just beat Argentina 118 vs 81, her eyes gazed firmly at Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony.
Suddenly, everyone heard the award winner was Argentina’s Luis Scola. The young girl’s smile freezed for several seconds, turned her head and looked at the Argentina team; very obviously, she did not know who is Luis Scola. Luckily, the considerate Luis Scola stepped forward and therefore sort of relieved the young lady from her embarrassment. Simultaneously, the American fans’ boos resonated from the stands. The USA team on the other hand showed their sportsmanship and demeanor; Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski), Lebron James, Kobe Bryant and Jason Kidd took the lead to applaud; Only Dwight Howard parsimoniously intersected his hands in front of his chest throughout the award ceremony.
The MVP of this FIBA Americas Championship was selected by votes from the media; Out of the 20 eligible voting media, 10 of them were US reporters. The vote counts showed that Luis Scola received a total of 8 votes, with only 2 of the votes came from American reporters. Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony got 6 votes each. When the reporter came across the managing director of the USA team, Jerry Colangelo, and enquired about his view why the MVP was not awarded to the US players, the white-haired old man shook his head and said: “Originally, Kobe Bryant, Leborn James and Carmelo Anthony all have their chances to win the MVP. But since the MVP was decided through a voting systems, it seemed some of the reporters have not voted for them.” What Jerry Colangelo hinted was that Luis Scola was voted in as the MVP by the media from South America.
But even Jerry Colangelo could not deny Luis Scola’s brilliant performance. “He is a good power forward; very comprehensive skills; very solid performance. I believe he can also have very good performance in NBA.” It was very clear to Jerry Colangelo that Luis Scola was one of the very few players in the FIBA Americas Championship that had caused troubles to the USA team. In the final, even though he was repeatedly double-teamed, Luis Scola still turned in with a great performance of 23 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
So Luis Scola is going to take back 2 big trophies to Argentina. The trophy for 1st runner up of the FIBA America Championship will be exhibited in the show room cabinet of the Argentine basketball association, while the MVP trophy will be displayed alongside with the 2 MVP trophies he received in the Spanish league in a cabinet in his home. Luis Scola will not bring the MVP trophies to Houston. “They all now belonged to the past; in NBA, I will be just a rookie. I won’t be showing off to anybody about these MVP honors, and I don’t think there is such necessity. I am now joining NBA, not because I was awarded several MVPs in the past, but it is more because of my value to my team.”
Now that the FIBA Americas Championship is over, the Argentine national team will temporarily disband; all his team mates will go on their vacation, but not for Luis Scola; he still has to complete the “summer assignment” handed to him by David Macha, Houston Rockets’ strength and conditioning coach. When he went to Houston to sign his contract, David Macha had passed to Luis Scola a very thick handbook, outlining all his requirements/guidelines for strength and conditioning. Due to his commitment to training and competition with the Argentine national team, Luis Scola basically just could not find the time to complete these “assignment”, and for this, he had expressed that he was “extremely sorry” when he met Daryl Morey, Houston Rockets’ General Manager in a short meeting in Las Vegas.
Yes, Luis Scola is of such character and temperament; he just simply does not allow himself to be slightly relaxed. He even asked a television station in Argentina to get him video of the games of the Houston Rockets, such that he can study and familiarize with his team mates’ play style and characteristics. Luis Scola said: “During the FIBA Americas Championship, in my brain, all I can think of and occupied is the Argentine national team. But (now that the tournament is over), there is only Houston Rockets in my heart.”
So Luis Scola’s MVP performance (in the FIBA Americas Championship) had ignited fervor and passion of a lot of Houston Rockets fans. Although there is a small portion of the fans still not able to put behind the disappointment Vassilis Spanoulis brought to the city, the majority of fans believe that Luis Scola will not be just another Vassilis Spanoulis, and that tragedy of the last season will not repeat itself in the new season. Some fans have such perception: “For international players that join NBA, it is more difficult for the guards to adapt than the forwards or centres, as the 3-pointer line is further away from the basket than that of FIBA.” But then, Luis Scola’s disposition is completely different to Vassilis Spanoulis. Some fans worry about the fact that Luis Scola likes to argue with referees; this might get him into troubles or getting unnecessary technicals. However, if one views it from a different angle, that is precisely to Luis Scola’s advantage; he is very extrovert and will be easier to mix and gel with his other team mates.
So, almost simultaneously as Luis Scola got his MVP trophy for the FIBA Americas Championship, the Houston Rockets just launched the propaganda slogan “IT’S TIME” for the new season. Indeed, as the Houston Rockets acquired Mike James, Steve Francis and the new MVP Luis Scola during the summer, now it’s time that the Houston Rockets to move forward and advance deeper into the playoff.