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GROUP F
Lithuania 6
Slovenia 6
France 5
Germany 4
Italy 3
Turkey 3
GROUP E
Russia 6
Spain 5
Croatia 5
Greece 4
Israel 4
Portugal 3
GROUP F
Lithuania 6
Slovenia 6
France 5
Germany 4
Italy 3
Turkey 3
GROUP E
Russia 6
Spain 5
Croatia 5
Greece 4
Israel 4
Portugal 3
Revenge on Germans would be sweet, but they always seem to give us trouble. I hope our guys will continue in this fighting spirit.
Man I wish Israel goes to the quarter finals, and plays with Slovenia.
This would be very important vs Germany. Maybe we will need some big shots to compete with Dirk.
Oh, we have unfinished business with them too...
Pretty much
Anyways.. as much as i hate how Pipan coaches offensively at least it looks like he did an outstanding job defensly.
(awsome defense-even though it makes game boring at times) Doesnt hurt the defensive plan to have a bunch of good defensive players.
I dont understand why there arent more 1 on 1 isolations for Smodis to play with his back to the basket-that is our strongest offensive weapon imo.
----------------
As for the players..... I MISS ČAPIN!
Lakovič-simply isnt playing good. Take that last second shot out and he simply sucks.
Dragič-excelent defence, goes hard for the rebounds, love to watch him play
Rasho-great game... first time in years i like watching him playing for the NT
Jagodnik-warrior,rebounds well, doesnt waste possesions, got to love it
Smodis-not very good game, but he doesnt get enough isolation plays imo-Pipans fault, decent still
Slokar-MVP
Lorbek brothers- decent, but nothing spectacular
good win
I am just worried for quarter finals what happens when opositions pressures Lakovic to the max.
The best part of our team is: our opponents never knows, who will hurt them most. In the first game it was Jaka, then it was Erazem, against France was Domen our best player or at least our best scorrer. Now was Rasho and Uroš. Good times!
And Pipan is surprising me. With exception of last quarter vs. Italy, he is coaching this team very well.
Jaka had 7 rebounds!
And how ironic is that....Pretty much
Anyways.. as much as i hate how Pipan coaches offensively at least it looks like he did an outstanding job defensly.
(awsome defense-even though it makes game boring at times) Doesnt hurt the defensive plan to have a bunch of good defensive players.
Who will be guarding Dirk?
From FIBAEUROPE.com:
Slokar Slays Turks
By David Hein
08 September 2007
A balanced attack led Slovenia to a 66-51 victory over Turkey in Group F of the 2007 EuroBasket and helped the Slovenians remain undefeated at 3-0 in Spain.
Uros Slokar provided a huge spark off the bench with 12 points in 19 minutes as Slovenia went on a 21-1 surge spanning the third and fourth quarters for a comfortable victory.
Radoslav Nesterovic led Slovenia with 13 points while Goran Dragic added 11 points, four rebounds and three assists and Jaka Lakovic chipped in five points, seven rebounds and three assists.
"In the first half, both teams made a lot of mistakes. In the second half we stepped on it and started to play better defense. Congratulations to my players. The next games are Germany and Lithuania and we can play with less pressure," said Slovenia coach Ales Pipan.
"I guess we've given something to the people back home in Slovenia to party about tonight."
"It’s not really about my three-point shots. I think without the defense on their main guys we wouldn’t have done that. I was just lucky that I was there at the right time and I made them and it helped my team," said the game-winner Slokar.
"I just stepped up and hit the three-pointers, but most importantly, that allowed us to get back into some rhythm. And it all started working again."
The Turks dropped to 0-3 in the group despite 17 points from Hidayet Turkoglu and 14 from Mehmet Okur. But Bogdan Tanjevic's side made just four-of-25 three-pointers (16%) and nine-of-16 foul shots.
"They played better than us and won. We have to just look forward, put this loss behind us and win as much as we can," said Turkoglu, who also grabbed eight rebounds.
"It was a good game, a close game, but Slokar came off the bench and made some big three-pointers and it changed the whole game."
Neither team really could stamp their authority on the game in the first quarter, which ended with Slovenia ahead 20-15.
Their lead was up to 10 points, 27-17, on Slokar's free-throw midway through the second quarter. But Turkey finally turned up their game and reeled off a 12-4 run to close the first half to trail by just two, 31-29, at the break
Turkoglu evened things up at 33-33 with a breakaway dunk in the early stages of the third period and Bogdan Tanjevic's troops soon found themselves ahead 39-36.
But Slokar gave the Slovenians a spark off the bench, dishing out an assist, hitting two three-pointers and grabbing an offensive rebound as Ales Pipan's men went on a 10-0 spurt and led 46-40 after three periods.
They continued their push in the fourth quarter, going on an 11-0 run to take a 57-40 lead with just over four minutes left. All told, Slovenia outscored Turkey 21-1 over the late third quarter and the start of the final frame and didn't allow their opponents to score in the period until Turkoglu's free-throw with 4:08 remaining.
The NBA star did score six straight points and Engin Atsur drained a three-pointer to trim the margin to 59-49. But Turkey would get no closer the rest of the way.
Turkey are all but eliminated and face Italy on Monday. The Slovenians can move to 4-0 in Group F when they take on Germany later Monday in Madrid.
21-1 Holy !!!
I watched the game, but I didn`t think our run was that good.
Erazem did a good job two years ago.
EuroBasket 2007 edged closer to the medal round as Lithuania and Slovenia clinched spots in the quarterfinals in the opening night of Group F games in Madrid...
Last but not least, Slovenia also reached the next round by thrashing Turkey 51-66 behind 13 points from Rasho Nesterovic. A 1-21 run broke the game open in the second half. Lithuania and Slovenia lead Group F with a 3-0 record, France is third at 2-1, Germany fourth at 1-2 while Turkey and Italy tie for the fifth place at 0-3.
Slovenia mathematically advanced to the quarterfinals by thrashing Turkey 51-66 in the last game on Saturday. Nesterovic paced the winners with 13 points, Uros Slokar of Triumph Lyubertsy added 12 while Goran Dragic of Tau Ceramica had 11 for Slovenia...
...gave Turkey a 39-36 edge. Rasho Nesterovic dunked it and Slokar added consecutive triples to put Slovenia back ahead, 40-46, after 30 minutes. Slovenia soon boosted its lead to double digits, 40-53, as Nesterovic was unstoppable now. He capped a mammoth 1-21 run with free throws, enough to seal the outcome long before the final buzzer.
http://www.euroleague.net/news/i/15260/180/item
I don't like the sound of that...
Same here.
For me the fighting spirit Smodis brings to the table is the centerpiece of succes this year.
A warrior, a winner.
I do not want them to lose their momentum or their confidence.
Agreed.
I saw enough apathetic play in the first half or so against Turkey.
The compe ion is only going to get harder. This is no time to go soft.
Absolutely crush everyone, I say.
Lots of photos:
http://www.kzs-zveza.si/kzs/index.php?x=2&novica=1171
Props to the "green team" so far !
It's always funny to see euro teams that are playing better without 3 or 4 of their big-headed supposed stars.
I hope though they won't lack of a clutch player in important elimination games that are coming.
FIBAEUROPE.com:
Slokar Plays Down Heroics
By Cindy Garcia-Bennett
10 September 2007
A lack of playing time with the Toronto Raptors last season convinced Uros Slokar that his future was in Europe with Dynamo Moscow.
And that future looks to be very bright after his game-winning performance against Turkey on Saturday night at the EuroBasket in Madrid.
With his team trailing by two points late in the third quarter, Slokar found himself open behind the arc and launched an attempt.
Slokar made that shot to put Slovenia in front for good and ended up three of three from long range.
He spoke to Cindy Garcia-Bennett after the game.
FIBA Europe: Congratulations Uros on that great performance against Turkey. What was going through your mind when you made those shots?
Slokar: “I was just lucky that I was there at the right time and I made them and it helped my team. It’s not really about my 3-point shots though. I think without the defense on their main guys, we wouldn’t have done that.”
FIBA Europe: The win was Slovenia's fourth in as many games at the EuroBasket and has all but put your national team into the quarter-finals.
Slokar: "I prefer to be cautious and until it's not 100% certain that we've made it, I will not be happy. We still have more games to play in the qualifying round. So far it's been pretty good. But you can always lose some games, we cannot rest on our laurels. We are not remembering the wins we just had we are only focusing on our next game. So far it has worked for us and we hope it will continue to do so."
FIBA Europe: Slovenia has arguably been the biggest surprise at the EuroBasket. The fact that in each contest you've had a different player step up when the game was on the line is the sign of a good team.
Slokar: "It's a strength but also the weakness of our team. There's not a bad player at this EuroBasket tournament. But if you look at Greece or Spain, every player of the team is the leader of their clubs during the regular season. We are trying to do the best we can with the players we have."
FIBA Europe: Many of Slovenia's veteran players elected not to play this summer in Spain. How was Slovenia able to recover?
Slokar: "Every player who came this summer tries to do its best, plays with heart and that is the most important thing for this national team. It doesn't mean that our individual strength is not as powerful as the group. I think with us, there were a lot of players who turned down the national team this summer for different reasons and those that have come have given everything."
FIBA Europe: Slovenia face a big test against Dirk Nowitzki's Germany on Monday.
Slokar: "It's going to be tough for us. In the German national team, everyone looks up to Dirk Nowitzki. He will score his 30 or 40 points but our chances are in limiting the other guys. Dirk is such a dominant player that if you base your game on him the likelyhood is you will fail. We cannot hope that Dirk has a bad game, you cannot count on luck, because it will kill you, it will destroy you."
FIBA Europe: How far can Slovenia go in this tournament?
Slokar: "We have to be realistic. We have had luck on our side, especially against Italy (Jaka Lakovic's buzzer beating three-pointer). This is a tough contest at the EuroBasket. You have both of the NBA MVP's competing here. The quality of the championship is unbelievable, it's hard to come by such a good tournament. We have been really successful so far and I hope it continues."
Article and photos
Lovely day to take down Germany.
Good luck! Looking forward to the game!
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