Lithuania is the European Champion!!! -
Sep 14, 2003 - by
Yarone Arbel
For the first time since 1939, for the first time since its new
foundation, Lithuania is the European Champion. As one of the most exciting
teams the European basketball has seen in the last years, Lithuania displayed a
big show in the finals as well, beating Spain 93-84, after leading most of the
2nd half by 20 points.
“Happiness can’t
even start to describe how I feel right now” said the MVP of EC03 Sarunas
Jasikevicius, that posted 10 pts and 9 assists in the finals. Saras
completed one of the most amazing season for an individual in the history of
European Basketball. He won the ACB title, the Spanish cup, the Euroleague,
the European Championship and was voted as MVP of the ACB Finals series and
MVP and best passer of EC03.
Lithuania displayed
one magnificent team. No one was able to compete with Stombergas, Siskauskas,
Macas and the Zukauskas-duo that joined Saras. Lithuania, that lost the 1995
finals, completed the task tonight, and hope to host the EC in 4 years from now.
The All Star team of
the EC03 is: Sarunas Jasikevicius (Lithuania), Tony Parker (France), Andrei
Kirilenko (Russia), Saulius Stombergas (Lithuania) & Pau Gasol (Spain)
Lithuania 93 – Spain 84 Both teams opened the
game with shots from outside the arc, and missed them, but quickly locked the
target and hit their shots. 2 minutes in the game and the refs whistle for a 2nd
foul of Saras, that went to the bench. The fans of Lithuania were shocked, until
Siskauskas woke them up with Lithuania’s first triplet. 7-7 tie after 3 minutes.
The refs balanced themselves by whistling two fouls to Navarro after half a
quarter, and the Spanish guard had a meeting with the bench as well. Stombergas
and Gasol (9 pts in first quarter) led their teams, but no one was able to open
a significant margin. Moncho Lopez called for his first time out to put some
order in his team’s game, while Lithuania was up by one, 20-19, a little over a
minute to go. The time out didn’t have any effect on the players or score.
Lithuania up by one after one quarter.
Saras was back in the
game with the 2nd quarter, but it was Siskauskas that lit up the arena with an
amazing dunk. Spain made a great job denying the ball from Saras, but once he
had the smallest chance he hit his first points, from behind the arc of course,
on the way to a 32-23 Lithuanian lead, with 6 minutes to go. Navarro himself, in
a great 2nd quarter (8 pts), took care of Spain and forced Sireika to take a
time out, 32-27. Navarro and Siskauskas exchanged 3 pointers but Lithuania gave
the final push. 40-31 after 2 quarters.
The big Zukauskas
dominated the paint, on Gasol’s account, in the first minutes of the 3rd,
leading Lithuania to a 14 point lead, 47-33. Lopez took another timeout, and
Spain managed to pull 2 triples by Navarro and Garbajosa, but the small
Zukauskas and Macas replied with their own three pointers. Lithuania decided it
was time to tighten up the defense and Gasol wasn’t able to touch the ball.
Lithuania scratched and hit constantly and Gasol’s reply was 4 straight missed
free throws. Lithuania had a 62-48 lead after 3 quarters on the sure way to the
gold.
Spain shot in such
poor field goal, and Stombergas kept the show going for the Greens to set the
difference on 20, 68-48, not more than 8 minutes to go. Macas didn’t let go and
extended the margin, but after he and Stombergas fouled out Spain made its last
comeback attempt. Navarro and Gasol made it all the way back to 12 and then the
small Zukauskas fouled out. But Lithuania still had Saras who in 2 amazing
passes made sure Spain will stay far behind. With 23 seconds to go the big
Zukauskas dunked the final winner, and Saras caught his head, can’t believe he
just won the European Championship. 93-84 was the final score, but it could not
be more deceiving. Lithuania was FAR better than Spain.
Lithuania
(20+20+22+31):
Arvydas Macijauskas (192-G-80) 21, E. Zukauskas 18, Saras 10 + 9 as,
Songaila 10, Stombergas 9, Siskauskas 9, Lavrinovic 7, M. Zukauskas 7, Slanina 2 Spain (19+12+17+36): Gasol 36 + 12 rbs, Navarro 18,
Garbajosa 17, Herreros 7, Calderon 5, De La Fuente 1
Italy will travel to Athens 2004!
France will stay at home - Sep 14, 2003
- by Yarone
Arbel 3-4
After 2 meaningless
games France and Italy met for a bronze medal and Olympics ticket battle. Italy
came to pick up a medal after missing the finals by a single shot. France
arrived to Sweden as a top medal candidate and the bronze one is the minimum of
it.
After 40 minutes Italy
took another close game. Took it and will travel to Athens, when it proves once
again that basketball is more than jumping high, athletic abilities and one NBA
champion. France that came to Sweden as a medal candidate and with more NBA
players than any other NT, lost to Italy that has no NBA players, and walked off
court very very disappointed for the 2nd time in 24 hours, after failing to
function in the last play down by 2.
Tony Parker completed
an embarrassing 24 hours. A big winner he’s not, at least not until he proves
differently. In the Semi Finals he managed to lose the ball with France down by
2, and lost the game. Tonight not only he made an air ball from 3 and missed a
crucial free throw he also made another air ball in the last play while trying
to do his best thing – penetrating.
Italy and its coach,
Carlo Recalcati, deserve all the credit. After starting the games with 2
straight losses, including a VERY humiliating one to…France, they managed to
recover in time and eliminate Bosnia, Germany, Greece, lose by 2 to the big
Spain in the Semi Finals, and pay back to France in the ¾ game. All Italy’s 4
last games, vs. Germany, Greece, Spain & France were decided by a tiny small
difference. Italy won 3 of them.
Italy 69 – France 67 Italy had a great
start, especially from outside, while France bombed with not much of success and
finished the first quarter with 0/7 from 3. Galanda, once again, made it all for
Italy with points, rebounds and assists. Italy was up by 11, 24-13, after 10
minutes. France collected points from here and there, still not able to get
going, and certainly not able to stop Marconato that had 10 points in the 2nd
quarter. Italy took off, but France somehow managed to stay in the game. 39-27
after 2 quarters.
Italy kept holding a
double digit lead, until Sonko took over and with 5 straight points enabled a
French comeback. Parker, like in the Semi Finals, was too selfish, but did
manage to score 8 points in the quarter and by the end of the 3rd buzzer Italy
was up by no more than 6, 53-47.
France opened the 4th
with a small run that cut the margin down 1, but couldn’t take the lead in its
hands. Righetti in a great penetration and Basile in an even better 3 pointer
set the score on 62-58 for Italy, but France stayed as close as possible, and
Diaw tied the score, 62-62. Mian nailed only one from the line and Parker took
advantage of that to penetrate like only he knows and give France its first lead
in a long time.
Righetti on the other
end took the lead back to Italy, and Diaw’s turnover helped Italy increase their
lead by one more point. Sonko missed a triplet, Diaw missed a tip in, and now it
was time to send Marconato to the line. The Italian center made only one shot,
and France went for a very crucial possession down by 3, 65-62. Parker
air-balled a 3 pointer, but somehow France kept the ball and Foirest went to the
line. He made both shots, but Basile did the same on the other end with 16.8
seconds to go. Parker was sent to the live to avoid a possible 3 pointer, but
made only the 2nd one. Italy had the last possession but full court pressure by
France led to an Italian turnover. Parker got the ball back with 9.9 seconds,
penetrated and…another air ball. Italy got the rebounds, the win, the bronze
medal and the ticket to Athens 2004.
5-6
Both teams secured a spot in Athens 2004 already, so this time
the battle for the 5th place, that usually mean the last ticket for Olympics or
WC, was meaningless. Greece beat Serbia and won the 5th place, but that didn’t
prevent another big fight between coach Ionnidis and the Greek journalists in
the press conference. Serbia, just like the USA last year, arrived to the games
as the champion and finished in the 6th place. After
Greece 72 – Serbia 64 Greece took off right
away although only 3 players contributed points in the first 10 minutes –
Tskalidis, Dikoudis & Chatziverttas. An 8 point lead, 21-13, after one quarter
was just a glimpse of what Greece was about to present as the game went on. The
margin kept on growing, and by the end of the 3rd quarter Greece was up by 17,
57-40. Two half court baskets at the end of two quarters, were the only things
that squeezed some cheering from the fans. Serbia cut the difference in the last
quarter but finished with the 6th place.
Chatziverttas led
Greece with 21 points, Tskalidis had 16 and Dikoudis 15. Gurovic made 15 for
Serbia and Koturovic added 10.
7-8
Israel 89 – Russia 82 Israel missed the
injured Yoav Saffar, and on the other end of court, Russia got back Kirilenko,
that in a way tried to win the best scorer award, but failed to connect.
Kirilenko finished the game with no more than 11 points and a very disappointing
performance, including 2 air balls. The game was close for 3 quarters, but
Israel, the big surprise of the championship, took off in the first minutes of
the last quarter building an 11 point lead. Russia made a comeback, and cut the
lead down to 2, with less than half a minute to go, but Tapiro and Green, both
in a very impressive performance, made sure Israel will finish 7th.
Tapiro with 26, Green with 21 and Burstein with 19 did the job for Israel. Monia
shined for Russia with 26 and 7/10 from the 3 point line.
Lithuania vs. Spain in the Finals! -
Sep 13, 2003 - by
Yarone Arbel
Spain vs. Lithuania. The two best teams in Sweden will play for
the gold. Lithuania had to fight hard to beat France 74-70 with some help from
the refs in what some say was the true finals. Spain fought even harder but
deserved the 81-79 win over Italy. Both games were decided in the last seconds
with the team down by 2 fail to tie the score in the last seconds. Italy and
France will fight for the bronze medal and the last ticket to Athens 2004.
Spain, for the first time ever, or Lithuania, for the first time since 1939,
will keep a perfect record in Eurobasket2003 and win the gold.
Spain 81 – Italy 79
Four years ago they met in the
finals. Today they fought each other for the ticket to the finals. Italy and
Spain, two teams with a lot of history, went head-2-head, shoulder-2-shoulder,
in the race to the Eurobasket 2003 finals.
After 40 minutes of big fight Italy’s
journey has come to an end. Italy started the EC with 2 losses, but since then
eliminated Bosnia, Germany and Greece in a row. Just like in the first Semi
Finals, one of the teams was down by 2 with the last ball, but failed to tie or
win the game.
Spain went for Gasol over and over
early in the game and he delivered 10 points in the first quarter. Italy had
Galanda and a much more organized and team play, but they also had one more
thing – the lead. After 5 minutes Italy was up by 7, 17-10. Moncho Lopez called
a time out and Spain came back with a 10-0 run and a 20-19 lead after 10
minutes.
In the 2nd quarter Bulleri’s hand got
hot. He penetrated, he nailed 3 pointers, and all that Spain had was some points
in the paint by Felipe Reyes and De La Fuente. A big defensive play by Radulovic
and another 3 pointer by Bulleri send Italy to an 11 point lead, 40-29, with
2:30 to go. Carlos Marco with 5 straight points sent Spain to the half time rest
down by no more than 6, 44-38, and a lot to think about.
And thinking they did. Spain kept
Italy on 2 points in the first five minutes of the 3rd quarter, and with a 10-2
run took the lead back in their hands. Bulleri, who else, woke up in time, and
made sure Spain isn’t going anywhere too far. Garbajosa and Navarro kept the
pressure on, but it wasn’t enough for anything more than 62-60 after 3 quarters.
Lots of respect on the Italian side for Mian and Chiacig.
Last quarter and it seemed like Gasol
will take the game in his hands once again, after scoring only 2 points in the
last 2 quarters, and a total of 12. Only this time Spain laid its future in
Navarro’s hands. A mini Navarro-Bulleri battle was on the roll, with Bulleri
kind of stuttering. Navarro penetrate and finished well but Italy was still in
the game.
In the last minutes everything went
through Navarro and he didn’t disappoint. Spain took a 6 point lead, 80-74, and
in such a close game it seems like too much for Italy. Radulovic in a good move
cut it down to 4, and Gasol with only one accurate free throw (total of 2 points
in the 4th) set it on 5, 81-76, with less than a minute to go. Now it was time
for Bulleri that once again showed how much character he has. With a huge 3
pointer he cut Spain’s lead to 2. In the next possession the refs whistles for
an offensive foul, when Navarro tried to penetrate. The Spanish fans were
wishing some unpleasant future to the refs, but Italy had the last chance. This
time Bulleri drove in, but couldn’t release a good shot. The ball bounced once
and landed in Spanish hands. 81-79. Spain in the finals. Italy is out. Spain (20+18+24+19): Navarro 23, Gasol 14, Garbajosa 11,
Jimenez 8, Marco 7, Reyes F. 7, Calderon 6, De La Fuente 4, Herreros 1 Italy (19+15+16+19): Bulleri 24, Basile 14, Galanda 11,
Chiacig 10, Mian 7, De Pol 4, Marconato 4, Radulovic 3, Soragna 2
Lithuania 74 – France 70
Lithuania is the first
team in the Eurobasket 2003 Finals. France was able to give a good fight and
lead by 5 with 3:30 to go, but failed to score in the remaining time and
Lithuania made a 9-0 run that decided the game. Tony Parker took the game on
himself and almost made it all the way, but lost the last ball and the game.
Sarunas Jasikevicius was 3 assists short of a triple double, but he will get
another chance, in the finals. For the first time since 1995 Lithuania is back
in the EC Finals, and adds to that a ticket to Athens 2004.
Lithuanian’s line up
was very massive in the first minutes with the big Zukauskas and Lavrinovic.
Less than one minute into the game the Greens were leading 7-0. Tony Parker
shook up his team and led a 2-14 run, keeping Lithuania on 2 points in the next
6 minutes. Lithuania wasn’t too bothered. Saras went down to the bench, while
Macas nailed a big 3 pointer, that sparked an 11-2 run. Lithuania leads 20-16
after one quarter.
The Zukauskas brothers
had a little party in the French paint as Saras added another unforgettable pass
and scored his first points in the game, behind the arc of course, 34-25
Lithuania. France made another comeback and took off with a 2-9 run, but Saras
and Stombergas didn’t give up and in two great plays sent Lithuania to the
locker room leading 45-37.
Saras nailed a fast 3
pointer in the first possession of the quarter, and set a double digit lead for
the Greens, but Tony Parker, once again, carried France back to the game. His
assists to Foirest finished with another 3 pointer, and this time it was enough
to bring France to minus 1, 54-53, with a little less than 4 minutes to play.
Why would Parker stop there? Next he finished a fast break with a 3 pointer that
gave France its first lead since the first quarter. Wait one more second. Parker
is not done yet. Last possession of the 3rd and Parker waits till the very last
seconds to sank another huge three pointer with Macas’ hand in his face. 58-60
France after 30 minutes.
After 3 quarters of
both teams making runs all the time, it was time for a close tight game.
Lithuania took the lead back and stayed there until half way in the 4th. Julian
made a big basket and France took a 66-65 lead, 5 minutes to go. Parker and
Saras eliminate each other with big misses but France had Diaw and Abdul Wahad
who flew high in the air and took a 70-65 lead with 3:30 to go.
There was not one
Green player impressed. Macas nailed another big three, and in less than one
minute Lithuania tied the score. Stombergas completed a 7-0 run to take the lead
back. France took a time out and tried to tie the game, but Diaw missed the
first, and Sonko missed the 2nd chance. Lithuania had the chance to decide the
game, but couldn’t release the ball before the 24 seconds clock was off. With
15.9 seconds to play France had the last ball. Tony Parker, that scored only 2
points in the last quarter, had the ball in the final play, but lost it before
crossing the half court line, perhaps because of hitting the ref’s leg.
Siskauskas nailed the last 2 shots from the line and Lithuania travel to the
finals for the first time since 1995. France will try to win the bronze medal
and last ticket to Athens 2004. Lithuania (20+25+13+16): Stombergas 22,
Zukauskas E. 12, Siskauskas 11, Saras 11 + 10 rbs + 7 as, Macas 8, Zukauskas M.
4, Lavrinovic 2, Slanina 2, Songaila 2 France (16+21+23+10): Parker 24, Abdul Wahad 16, Julian
12, Moiso 6, Pietrus 4, Diaw 4, Foirest 3, Dioumassi 1
Serbia and Greece will battle for the
5th place - Sep 12, 2003 - by
Yarone Arbel
Russia showed up to the game without Kirilenko while Serbia
missed not only Peja but also Marko Jaric, who got injured in the QF loss to
Lithuania. After 40 minutes of game it was clear who missed its star most.
Russia opened Sweden 2003 with a 15 point win over Serbia, when both teams were
able to use all their players. Today they couldn’t really put Serbia’s lead in
danger.
Greece couldn’t bare
another loss after the surprising upset in the Quarter Finals. Israel tried to
get its first win and show it really belonged in Stockholm. Both teams got their
wish, in a way. Greece won the game alright, but Israel did give a fight, as
always, and lost by no more than 7 points.
On Sunday Greece and
Serbia, two teams that will play in Athens 2004 for sure, will battle for the
meaningless 5th place, while Russia will face Israel for the 7th place game.
Greece 63 – Israel 56 The first minutes of
the game looked exactly what one would expect from two teams that were
eliminated the day before. Many stupid mistakes and lack of concentration on
both sides. Israel made the first basket but Greece replied with a 9-0 run and
kept that lead from that point until the end. Israel moved to its famous zone,
and the Greeks were a little confused, but kept the lead all the way till the
end of the first quarter, 17-10.
Greece made a 6-0 run
in the first minutes of the 2nd quarter and took a 13 point lead. Yaniv Green
kept Israel somewhere in the game, and the Greek lead went under 10, 28-20.
Greece locked the paint, didn’t allow Burstein to penetrate, and took off again,
with an 8-2 run, to lead 36-22 at half time.
The Greek lead climbed
up to 17, but Yotam Halperin, the 19 yr old prospect of Israel, was sent to the
game for the first time, and with 5 straight points led a small comeback of the
Israeli team, 46-37 for Greece. Until the end of the quarter Greece made another
small run, and went down to the 3rd quarter break leading by 12, 51-39.
Last and final
quarter, and the Greek lead kept cruising between 7 and 13. All that was left
for the fans, between two exciting penetrations of Halperin, was join in
solidarity and scream “Time out! Time Out!” to get one more show of the exciting
cheerleaders, that were, beyond any doubt far more exciting than the game. The
next called Time Out was received in big cheers, and the Lithuanian fans, that
got REALLY bored, started a “Wave” that will be remembered forever as the “First
ever wave in an arena that is only 12% full”. The cheerleaders came back for a
final show for today, and Greece won the game 63-56.
Serbia 86 – Russia 77 Drobnjak, the last
NBA player in the Serbian roster, was dominating the first quarter, and after
less than 5 minutes Serbia had a double digit lead. Serbia kept the lead for the
rest of the quarter, and was up by 11 after 10 minutes, 29-18.
Serguei Monia and
Victor Krhyapa woke up in the 2nd quarter and led Russia back in the game.
Russia cut the margin down to 5, but Serbia managed to take off again and again
whenever it was needed. 48-40 after one half.
The scenario repeated
in the 3rd quarter. Russia came closer with 3 pointers and dunks by
Khryapamonia, but Serbia knew what it takes to keep the lead with some nice post
up moves of Koturovic and 3 point shots by Vukcevic and Gurovic. 67-58 for
Serbia after 30 minutes of game.
The repeating scenario
must have put Serbia to sleep. The former European champion scored only 4 points
in the first 7 minutes of the last quarter and Russia was able to make it down
to 1 point margin, 71-70. Serbia response was a 7-1 run that decided the game.
86-77 was the final score.
Day 6, Playoffs quarterfinals,
September 11, 2003 - Sep 11, 2003 Spain is the 3rd team in the Semi Finals
of Eurobasket 2003. Spain beat the surprising team of Israel 78-64 but had to
sweat much more than the final score implies. Their rivals in the Semi Finals
are coming from Italy, in a re-match of the 1999 Finals. Italy eliminated Greece
tonight in a tough battle, and complete a great achivement. It eliminated the
bronze medal winner of the last WC - Germany, and tonight did it to one of the
top candidates to win a medal in Sweden.
The battle for the
Athens 2004 is not over yet. Europe gets 5 tickers, while Serbia, as World
Champion, and Greece, as hosting team, qualify automatically. The top 3 teams in
Eurobasket 2003 will join them, so the battle for the bronze medal will also
decide who will be the 5th European team in Athens 2004.
Spain
- Israel 78-64 (28-22,44-36,58-51,78-64) by
Karl Rohlin
Photo: Pau Gasol
Juan-Carlos Navarro and
Pau Gasol (214-F-80) came off with a good start as
they were scoring at will, but Isreal tried to stop the misery as they double up
in defence on Gasol. He was able to find the open shooter so Isreal played with
2-3 zone for the reminder of the 2nd half, it was successful, but Jorge
Garbajosa responded from down town and the zone was abandonded. Meir Tapiero was
the main offence from Isreal in first half but he didn't make anything in
second.
Even in the second half of the game,
Isreal had trouble getting any organized offence, but Derrick Sharp helped as he
had the right touch. Spain was able to respond as the Isrealian team moved
closer and Gasol got to the FT line at will in the fourth period. It was quite
appearant that the Isrealian team didnt have any answer to Gasol, player of the
game, (25 points 7 rebound FG 8/11).
Spain opened with an 8-2 lead, and despite a small run by the Israeli Burstein
and sharp, Israel had to take its first time out with 3:11 left in the quarter
and down by 7, 18-11. Gasol dominated under the boards with 8 points in the
first quarter and Spain took a 10 point lead, but for the fighters of Israel it
wasn’t a big deal. Tapiro nailed his first 3 pointer, and before the final
buzzer sank another bucket. 28-22 for Spain after 10 minutes.
The Israelis switched
to zone and stopped the Spanish team on 0 points in the first 4 minutes of the
2nd quarter. Lopez, the Spanish coach, sent his best shooters to the coach, but
that didn’t work either. Tapiro nailed another 3 and tied the score, 32-32 with
4 minutes to go. Then Spain woke up with an 8-0 run, Tapiro and Saffar were in
foul trouble with 3 each, and after 2 quarters Spain was up by 8, 44-36.
One minute into the
3rd quarter and Israel lost Yoav Saffar that got injured and had to leave the
court. Spain climbed to 11+, 49-38, and it seemed like Israel is giving up, but
Sharp nailed a big 3 pointer that sparked a 1-9 run and Spain is up by no more
than 3, 50-47, 5 minutes to go. Spain took off once again toward the 10 and
finished the 3rd leading by 7, 58-51.
Israel tried to go
with its young prospect, 19 yr old Yotam Halperin, after Tapiro made his 4th
foul. Sharp hit 2 more 3 pointers and limit the Spanish lead to 4, but Spain
ruled the paint in its paint, and Pau Gasol dunked twice in a row, on his way to
14 points straight in the last quarter, to ensure Spain’s spot in the Semi
Finals. 78-64 was the final score.
Isreal: Sharp 16, Kozikaro 13, Tapiro
12p 6r, Green 10, Burstein 5, Saffar 4, Gordon 2, Shelef 2:
Italy
62 - Greece 59 by
Yarone Arbel
Photo:
Giacomo Galanda
(210-C-75)
Both teams went to their Power Forwards in the first quarter. Fotsis connected
for Greece while Galanda had 8 for Italy, and after 10 minutes Italy was up by
1, 17-16. Greece was everywhere in the paint, and got 3 accurate shots from
behind the arc by Sigalas, but Italy managed to stay close and Mian nailed a
couple of 3 pointers himself to send the Italian team to the locker room down by
no more than 4, 36-32.
Rentzias and Chiacig
fought under the boards and the two teams were glued to each other. Galanda
nailed a 3 pointer to give Italy the lead, 46-45, and although Greece managed to
tie it, Radulovic was there to set the 3rd quarter score on 47-49 for Italy.
It took Italy 4
minutes to score its first points in the last quarter, but once it went in they
never looked back. Italy scored 5 in a row, took the lead back, and then stopped
the Greeks on no points for several minutes. With 3 minutes to go the scoreboard
displayed 54-52 for Italy and Greece seemed lost. Italy doubled the gap, and
Dikoudis cut it down in half from the line, but with 40 ticks to go he missed 2
free throws in a row, and Hatziverttas missed a 3 pointer after an offensive
rebound.
Greece sent Bulleri to
the line with 23 seconds to go, and the MVP of the Italian league hit only the
first shot. Greece had one more hope but lost the ball. Game over? Not yet.
Basile hit only one from the line and Dikoudis nailed a 3 point shot with 8
seconds to go. 60-59 to Italy. Soragna was fouled and this time he hit both
shots. Greece missed the final chance to tie, and sent Greece for the 5-8 games.
Italy will meet Spain in the Semi Finals in a re-match of the 1999 Finals.
Day 5, Playoffs Quarterfinals,
September 10, 2003 - Sep 10, 2003 France
- Russia 76-69 by
Yarone Arbel
Photo: Parker
France showed up to the QF with an injured Tariq Abdul Wahad in the starting 5,
and he indeed waved goodbye to the game after a few minutes. France went to Tony
Parker, that tried a little bit too much by himself, but kept France in the
game. Kirilenko and Karassev ruled for Russia, and after 1 quarter France was up
by 3, 21-18.
Boris Diaw, that took Abdul Wahad’s
spot, showed in some moved why he was picked so high in the first round of the
draft, and France started to fly around the rim with dunks, blocks and rebounds.
37-27 after 17 minutes. Karassev and Kirilenko once again didn’t allow France to
get too far, and with a 10-2 run, cut the margin. France was up by no more than
3 at half time, 42-39 after the 2nd quarter that finished with an impressive
display of block shots by both teams.
France kept going to Diaw, that after
scoring 10 in the first half, added another amazing dunk. France took off to a
13 point lead, 53-40, and this time all Kirilenko was able to do was cut it down
to 10, 63-53 after 3 quarters.
France didn’t allow to Russia another
comeback. The Russians started to bomb from outside with no stop, but hit
nothing but rim. France was dominating the paint, gained a 13 point lead once
again, 68-55 with 5:24 to go, and that was it. Or at least that’s what the
France team thought. With 2 minutes to go they moved to full court pressure, and
all of a sudden France lead was cut to 4, 70-66 with a minute to play. Sonko hit
3 crucial free throws, Kirilneko missed the last chance of Russia. 76-69.
Lithuania
- Serbia & Montenegro 98-82 by
Mindaugas Veromejus
Photo:
Ramunas Siskauskas (197-G-78)
On the 10th of September 2003 Lithuanian national team players created
great feast for Lithuanian national team basketball fans (that means to all
Lithuanian people)! There were several reasons which made usual Wednesday night
- a national holiday. Lithuanian national team was playing in quarter finals of
European championships, they were playing for the spot in the Olympics, but the
most important: THEY WERE PLAYING AGAINST FORMER YUGOSLAVIAN NATIONAL TEAM!
Memories of defeats to Yugoslavian national team in the final of European
Championships in Athens in 1995, in the semi-final of Atlanta Olympic games in
1996, in the quarter-final in European Championships in Spain in 1997 are still
alive and each time playing against Yugoslavian national team Lithuanians are
dreaming about sweet revenge. Seems, that current national team players still
remember Sabonis’ generation Lithuanian national team’s painful losses to
Yugoslavia. And new generation players against Yugoslavia play more concentrated
with more energy and passion than usually.
Sarunas Jasikevicius (192-G-76, college: Maryland) performed his magic once
again, and Lithuanian national team had to win against Yugoslavia (which is now
known as Serbia & Montenegro) some time. Sarunas Jasikevicius prooved once
again, that in the games against Serbia you can count on him. Once again he was
steady floor general contributing with 21 points and 11 assists.
However, Ramunas Siskauskas (197-G-78) was the best player on the court,
finishing with 27 points in just 28 minutes!
Lithuanians started showing why they're one of the Europe's elite teams at the
beginning of the game and controled the game through the first half, leading
57-43 at halftime. Lithuanians continued their domination during the third until
the last minutes of the quarter, before Serbia & Montenegro won the stretch
17:0 and reduced the difference to 4 points – 80-76. But Lithuanian
sweet-shooting guard hit a very important 3-pointer to stop the run with 5.15
left in the fourth. Lithuania also went on to score the next 4 points by
Songaila and Stombergas to build their lead back up to 11, 87-76.
With absence of leading scorer and captain of the team Predrag Stojakovic, as
Serbia & Montenegro were unable to conjure up a sufficient comeback against
Lithuanians.
Lithuanians managed to increase the difference and win the game by a margin of
16 points, 98-82.
The stars for Lithuania was their guard duo Sarunas Jasikevicius, 21 points plus
11 assists, and ,,, , 20 points plus 7 rebounds. Ramunas Siskauskas scored a
game high 27 points on 9 for 14 shooting. Lithuania also recived 14 points from
forward Darius Songaila.
After all: Lithuanians were “red, hot and rollin’” and outplayed Serbia &
Montenegro in the first half. Despite of that current European and World
Champions Serbs lacked most of their superstars, they brought strong team to
Sweden with 3 NBA players and victory against Serbs will always be exceptionally
valued by Lithuanian fans. After the final whistle Vilnius streets got unusually
for Wednesday night crowded and celebration in the streets continued until the
daybreak. All Lithuanian national team fans, all Lithuanians were celebrating in
the streets together, from tramps to the rich. It was prooved once more, that
victories in basketball court helps Lithuanian national identity to emerge.
Basketball is part of our customs, tradition and history. After big Lithuanian
national team’s victories each Lithuanian feels being strong, being independent,
being part of Lithuanian nation.
Lithuania: Siskauskas 27, Jasikevicius 21, Macijauskas 20, Songaila 14,
Stombergas 4, E.Zukauskas 4, M.Zukauskas 4, Lavrinovic 4, Slanina, Praskevicius
Serbia / Montenegro: Ostojic 17, Gurovic 14, Jaric 14, Vujanic 13, Drobnjak 13,
Avdalovic 5, Koturovic 4, Vukcecvic 2, Bogavac
Day 4, Playoffs, September 8, 2003 -
Sep 8, 2003
The winners of todays' games advanced to the quarterfinals. There were no easy
games at that stage as two of them ended by 2 points difference, while two
others ended with just 4-point victory. defending champion Serbia & Montenegro
managed to got a victory over Turkey and save their honour. Israel upset
Slovenia as Italy did to German team. Russia had a tough game against ambitious
Croatia, but managed to make it to quarterfinals. A2
- B3 Slovenia - Israel 76-78 Photo: Yaniv Green
Slovenia: Gorenc 21, Nachbar 14, Tusek 10, Jurkovic 10, Lakovic 7, Golemac 5,
Milic 1, Petrov
Israel: Green 14, Burstein 13, Kozikaro 12, Sharp 9, Tapiro 9, Saffar 8, Mizrahi
7, Shelef 3, Sheinfeld 2, Halperin 1, Katz B2
- A3 Germany - Italy 84-86 Photo: Massimo Bulleri
Germany: Demirel 23, Nowitzki 22, Okulaja 13, Femerling 10, Pesic 10, Garris 4,
Arigbabu 2, Hamann, Maras, Lutcke
Italy: Bulleri 17, Galanda 16, Radulovic 14, Marconato 11, Righetti 11, Soragna
7, Mian 5, Chiacig 3, Basile 2, De Pol, Lamma C2
- D3 Russia - Croatia 81-77 Photo: Andrei Kirilenko
Russia: Kirilenko 29, Karassev 13, Khryapa 12, Pachoutine 9, Likholitov 8, Monya
8, Samoilenko 2, Savrasenko, Koubrakov, Soloviev
Croatia: Mulaomerovic 26, Bagaric 13, Mamic 11, Zizic 8, Popovic 7, Giricek 5,
Planinic 4, Bazdaric 2, Prkacin 1, Nicevic D2
- C3 Turkey - Serbia & Montenegro 76-80 by
Alev Sonmez and
Aleksandar Vrzina
Photo:
Marko Jaric
(198-G-78)
Turkey: Okur 20, Kutluay 15, Turkoglu 11, Arslan 9, Peker 9, Tunceri 6, Yildirim
4, Turkcan 2, Onan
Serbia & Montenegro: Jaric 18, Gurovic 16, Drobnjak 12, Stojakovic 10, Koturovic
10, Vujanic 9, Ostojic 5, Vukcevic
Turkey looses against Serbia with the bad play of Hidayet Tukoglu and Mirsad
Turkcan. The main problme was the bad organization. Everybody wanted to be as a
leader but they never remembered that beaing a leader is not just scoring but
being a part of the team playing a teamgame. Hidayet once again worked for the
rival and let them win against Turkey.
Mehmet Okur
(210-C/F-79) was the hero of the game making a double double with 20 points and
11 rebounds
The Coach of 12 Giant Men decided to quit after the lose against Serbia and
Montenegro. The Korac Cup winner coach told that all of the responsibility was
his and he would talk about that topic after coming to Turkey with the Turkish
Basketball Federation responsibles and announce his resignation in 2-3 days.
Most of the basketball audience
expect Ergin Ataman (Saporta Cup Winner and Euroleague 3rd Place Winner) or
Murat Didin (Still coach of Vip Rimini in Italy) to be on duty at the place of
Mr. Ors.
It was a really good game,last night against
Turkey!SRB did not play a great game,but they have shown a huge morallity!
They were struggling for the game,through all the game!It is extension from game
against Spain.Shape goes up constantly.SRB is back in golden rush.
Will it be"deja-vu",time will show,but,one is sure.Nobody will unestimate this
team of SRB,in further games.They are not maybe the best team on
tournament,but,they know how to come up from toughest situations.It was
case,last night to.
In the very importrant game vs. Turkey last nigh,SRB won it in the end,due
better concentration and stronger nervs!It looked bad on start.SRB had not
fluency in their offense.Peja was kept,very well.Several fouls on him were not
blown.
After one penetration,he stayed on the floor.It was ancle injury.After that,he
played just a few minutes.That fact,makes this win,even more bigger!Key player
for Turks,was Mehmet Okur.He played very well on low-post position.Forced all
his direct opponents in foul trouble.Koturovic,Ostojic,Drobnjak,had three fouls
in first half.
In the first half Turks were poor from three-point range.SRB were lucky.Second
half openning,was great for Turks.Okur forced double team on him,that opened
outside shooters,especially Kutlay!
But,SRB found solutions for that.Gurovic played great.Kept Kutlay,well.Scored
several three pointers.Maked-up Peja's points.Drobnjak,changed his style of
playing in this game.He is pop up player.Now,he scored so many points from 3"
area!Vujanic made importrant three pointer,deeply in third qtr.,and made four
free throws,at the end.
Koturovic is back.He had to go out because of fouls,but,played well in offense
in third quarter,grabbed many balls.Ostojic scored five points in
finish.Maybe,key points!Jaric controlled rhythm of the game.It was team victory.
That is very importrant in quarter finals,against Lithuania!Lithuania has a
different composition of roster,than Turkey.
They scored over 100 points in all three games in group.If SRB,succeed to
control rhythm of the game,with Peja in full strenght,there is a chance.We will
see,was a game against Turkey,crucial,for SRB NT!It looks like that.Answer is
comming!!!
Day 3, September 7, 2003 - Sep 8, 2003
Group A Slovenia
- France 82-88 by
Philippe Joubert
Photo: Tony Parker
With 3 wins in 3 games, French players are allowed to go on in the european
championship 2003. After struggling a bit against bosnia with a great
Jerome Moiso (208-C/F-78, college:
UCLA)
(15 pts, 5 rbs) and an outstanding
Laurent Foirest (197-F-73) (19 pts, 5 ass, 4 rbs),
France has exploded Italia by 33 points thanks to
Cyril Julian (206-F/C-75, agent:
Capicchioni Luciano) (14 pts, 6 rbs)
and
Tariq Abdul-Wahad (198-F-74, college:
San Jose St.) (16 pts, 6 rbs). The last game versus
slovenia lets France wins by 6.
Tony Parker (183-G-80) (21 pts, 3 ass) and
Mustapha Sonko (192-G-72) (14 pts, 2 ass) have
perfectly worked at the 1 post and laurent Foirest (19 pts, 3 rbs) was another
time fully fit.
Slovenia: Jurkovic 15, Brezec 14, Golemac 12, Milic 11, Lakovic 8, Gorenc 7,
Tusek 5, Kraljevic 4, Nachbar 3, Petrov 3
France: Parker 21, Abdul Wahad 19, Sonko 14, Pietrus 6, Rupert 3, Moiso 2,
Digbeu 2, Julian 2, Diaw, Dioumassi Bosnia
& Herzegovina - Italy 72-80 by
Gianni Pascucci
Photo: Massimo Bulleri
ITALY: Radulovic 9 (0/1, 2/2), Basile 13 (2/3, 3/8), Galanda 11(4/6, 1/6),
Soragna dnp, Marconato 3 (1/2), De Pol 8 (1/2, 2/2), Righetti, Lamma, Bulleri 24
(5/8, 2/4), Mian 5 (1/2, 1/1), Chiacig 7 (3/5 da due), Cittadini dnp. Coach:
Carlo Recalcati.
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA: Castle 12 (2/4, 2/4), Ovcina 4 (2/3), Krupalija 8 (1/4,
2/5), Leric 7 (3/3), Stevanovic (0/1), Hukic 10 (3/6, 1/4), Kovacevic dnp,
Krasic 8 (1/4, 2/4), Mrsic 12 (0/2, 3/7), Bajramovic dnp, Taletovic dnp,
Mujezinovic 11 (3/5, 1/3). Coach: Drasko Prodanovic
Group B Lithuania
- Germany 93-71 by
Moritz Korff
Photo: Stombergas
Germany had no chance as they met Lithuania in the last game of Group B and lost
71-93. Lithuania was leading 46-33 at halftime and shot 48% of their 3pointers,
especially
Saulius Stombergas (203-F-73, agent:
Capicchioni Luciano) had a great day
and added 28 points (5 three-pointers). The German defense wasn't able to
control him at all. On the offense-end Germany again caused too many turnovers
and didn't find any way against the aggressive Lithuanian defense. Lithuania: Stombergas: 28 points; Siskauskas: 19 pts;
Macijauskas: 15 pts; Jasikevicius: 14 pts; Songaila: 7 pts; E. Zukauskas: 6 pts;
Praskevicius: 2 pts; Lavrinovic: 2 pts; Gustas: 0 pts; M. Zukauskas: 0 pts;
Salenga: 0 pts; Slanina: 0 pts Germany: Nowitzki: 19 pts, 9 rebs; Femerling: 12 pts; Okulaja:
8 pts; Pesic: 7 pts; Demirel: 7 pts; Nikagbatse: 5 pts; Arigbabu: 4 pts; Maras:
3 pts; Garris: 2 pts; Schultze: 2 pts; Lütcke: 2 pts; Hamann: 0 pts Israel
- Latvia 91-75 by
Amos Gueta Photo: Burstein
In light of the NT's pervious performances, what happend today in Sweden is
nothing short of unbelievable. As by magic, the NT turned into a coordinated,
aggresive troup which played
