EuroBasket Additional Qualifying Round

[brassviews]

Starts tomorrow

[Toxicity]

Here we go...

Probable starters for Italy:

Poeta (Giachetti)
Belinelli
Soragna
Gigli
Bargnani

[Julio]

Here we go..

Probable starters for France

PG: A.Jeanneau
SG: Batum
SF:Diaw
PF: Pietrus
C: Turiaf

IMO that should be the SL. TP is out, coming back for Finlande, and I think Gomis is as well (but I don't like his game, so no complain here) .
I would assume Collet (French coach) goes on with putting Boris at 3, which means Batum as a 2 and De Colo off the bench.

Key roles IMO: Batum, because he'll be the defender on Marco Bellineli, and Flo Pietrus, because he has to guard Bargnagni. And, of course, Boris. If he shows up, we can win the game IMO. If he's in his "I won't shoot, passing game is better, even tough I'm the most talented player on the team with TP out" mood, then I fear we're screwed. This type of game, that would mesh if we had a lot of shooters, or/and a good interior. In this configuration, Boris could go Phoenix mode (altough he did take over, and with some success, against Dallas in the PO). But with the historical weakness of this selection regarding shooting and post play, he HAS to be agressive and be a sort of go-to player. If not, we're doomed IMO, or else I'm vastly overrating Italia's team.

Anyway, Toxicity, hope for a good game on both sides, and may the best win.
No injury also.

[Toxicity]

http://www.fibaeurope.com/coid_eefKJLMMGiUsPoCrsl,P12.container_frontpage.articleMode_on.html

The time for talking is finally over.

Italy coach Carlo Recalcati cannot wait for the opening tip in the EuroBasket Additional Qualifying Round, with his team starting their campaign against France on Wednesday night.

After a month of preparations, Recalcati is eager to test his team and fight for a place in Poland.

"Finally we play," Recalcati said. "But I have emphasized to my players, this is not a single game. It is just the start.
"This is a group where we must also face Finland. The battle against France will be tight, but we are ready."

Italy will face a France team that has suffered a pair of high-profile setbacks in the last week, first having Joakim Noah ruled out as the Chicago Bulls refused to release him, and then losing Tony Parker to a sprained ankle which will rule him out of Wednesday's game. He may return later in the AQR.

"France will be different from what we have seen during the preparations," Recalcati said.

"They don't have Parker and Noah. They will have a differerent roster, much younger...We should be ready for something different.

"We should not leave anything to chance and play an intense game. We must prove we are more of a team."

In the opposite camp, France coach Vincent Collet is well aware of the importance of this game, and is not shying away from the pressure on his team.

"French basketball needs this qualification," he said. "We have a great responsibility. Although we have only had a short preparation, we want to launch into this competition.

"We will have to maintain our usual high tempo against Italy. They are strong and they can slow the pace down. We do not want this to happen."

[Toxicity]

Congrats France, win 77-80 after OT.

Italy sucks...

[brassviews]

Mancinelli's injury was key in Italy's loss. He was arguably their best player during the first half.

[ommmmmm7wytj]

http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/9049 ... italie.jpg

[TBpup]

Batum took over down the stretch and in OT for France.....nice work for the young kid.

[Toxicity]

Mancinelli's injury was key in Italy's loss. He was arguably their best player during the first half.

Yeah... and probably the one suffered a lot by french guys...

At least i hope after this Additional Round our federation will send Recalcati home... enough is enough.

[Julio]

Wow, nice victory for us, hard fought game.. I tought the shoot with the foul by your captain ( at least that's what french commentators said, he was number 7 I think) was a clincher, but Batum and Diot, the young ones, answered well. Good game by Diaw, good game by Pietrus ( WTF with the 4 3 pters at the end of the game tough), bad game for De Colo, I was hoping for better.
Jeanneau, as always, was steady, and will be a great backup for Tony.
I was impressed with your PG, he's really, really fast, and by Bellineli's faculty to go the line almost whenever he wanted. Bargnagni had a nice game, but not a great one. Kinda sad to see that when he wanted to score, he could, using his length and speed, but maybe wasn't agressive enough.

[Toxicity]

Wow, nice victory for us, hard fought game.. I tought the shoot with the foul by your captain ( at least that's what french commentators said, he was number 7 I think) was a clincher, but Batum and Diot, the young ones, answered well. Good game by Diaw, good game by Pietrus ( WTF with the 4 3 pters at the end of the game tough), bad game for De Colo, I was hoping for better.
Jeanneau, as always, was steady, and will be a great backup for Tony.

I was surprised by Batum... what improvements for him!

Also Pietrus did great but it's not new since he's one of the best PFs in Europe...

I was expecting more from De Colo and Turiaf, i admit.

And now you'll have also Parker... the qualification is 99,9% sure for you.

I was impressed with your PG, he's really, really fast, and by Bellineli's faculty to go the line almost whenever he wanted. Bargnagni had a nice game, but not a great one. Kinda sad to see that when he wanted to score, he could, using his length and speed, but maybe wasn't agressive enough.

Our starter PG, Giuseppe Poeta, is fast yeah but yesterday played few minutes (i don't know why) and didn't do well... his substitute Vitali, last mistake apart, did a good job finding the open man under the basket.

Bargnani wasn't involved at all... especially in the 1st half... so i'd say he played just decent... he looked lost on difense and under the boards though.

Recalcati go home!!!

[Julio]

Wow, nice victory for us, hard fought game.. I tought the shoot with the foul by your captain ( at least that's what french commentators said, he was number 7 I think) was a clincher, but Batum and Diot, the young ones, answered well. Good game by Diaw, good game by Pietrus ( WTF with the 4 3 pters at the end of the game tough), bad game for De Colo, I was hoping for better.
Jeanneau, as always, was steady, and will be a great backup for Tony.

I was surprised by Batum... what improvements for him!

Also Pietrus did great but it's not new since he's one of the best PFs in Europe...

I was expecting more from De Colo and Turiaf, i admit.

And now you'll have also Parker... the qualification is 99,9% sure for you.

I was impressed with your PG, he's really, really fast, and by Bellineli's faculty to go the line almost whenever he wanted. Bargnagni had a nice game, but not a great one. Kinda sad to see that when he wanted to score, he could, using his length and speed, but maybe wasn't agressive enough.

Our starter PG, Giuseppe Poeta, is fast yeah but yesterday played few minutes (i don't know why) and didn't do well... his substitute Vitali, last mistake apart, did a good job finding the open man under the basket.

Bargnani wasn't involved at all... especially in the 1st half... so i'd say he played just decent... he looked lost on difense and under the boards though.

Recalcati go home!!!

About Batum, don't know if he just had a hot hand from 3 or if he has made improvements. He was good attacking the basket , that's for sure.

Turiaf IMO the problem was using him way too high, like a point forward, and he didn't do well in that aspect. Otherwise, few FG for him (4), high energy, not a bad defensive game, well he wasn't too bad in general, just a role player.
Flo Pietrus I agree...Just his late missed shoots from 3, I tought they weren't good shots, and he should have gone to the basket. But good game yeah.
For your team, I did say Poeta was fast, not that he managed to produce something with his penetrations..Does not seem to be a great finisher, but still, just a one game sample.
As for Bargnagni, I don't know if the team wasn't involving him, or him being too passive (and Bellineli being a high usage chocker IMO, even if he scored well, some of the shoots, especially 3 pters, weren't good looks) , but yeah he wasn't nearly enough involved in the game...and I think had he taken more shoots, we would have been beaten. For his defence and rebounding perspective, well, haven't seen him too much in euroleague/NT/NBA, but it seemed like the usual Bargnagni to me..
In fact, he reminded me of Boris when he isn't in the game.

[gigante]

France - Finland : first half 46 35

8 pts, 2 rbds and 3 assists (even five if his mates hadn't missed 2 easy shots) and 1 steals for the young Diot.

10 pts, 2 blocks and 1 rebds for Batum

[gigante]

Final Score : France 82 - Finland 72

[gigante]

very very good match for Antoine Diot. He's just 20 and he plays like a veteran.

On the other side, perfect match for Haanpaa : 100%, 5/5 3pts, 1/1 2pts and 4/4 Freethrows

[Joana]

It seems Portugal won't make the Eurobasket this time, two of their starters are infected with swine flu and some other players are presenting symptoms.

[Toxicity]

Finland - Italy starts in 5 hours. Our last chance to keep hopes alive... we'll miss Mancinelli and Hackett due to injuries.

[Toxicity]

http://www.fibaeurope.com/coid_4FxdMKKAJLsz,gxT1eH6k0.container_frontpage.articleMode_on.html

Italy survived with a thrilling 77-75 win at Finland in the Additional Qualifying Round for the EuroBasket.

The never-say-day Finns trailed in their fortress Vantaa by 13 points in the fourth quarter but staged a furious comeback and had a chance to win in the waning seconds but Teemu Rannikko was off target with a three-ball.

The Azzurri, who lost their opening game at home to France in overtime, are now 1-1 and firmly in the hunt for a place in the EuroBasket while Finland are 0-2.

As France won in Italy by three points, the Italians know they must win by four points or more on Friday to gain the edge in a potential tie-breaker.

Finland will be hoping for an Italy win as well to keep their own hopes alive.

On Tuesday night, Italy dominated early on and led 17-10 by the end of the opening quarter.

They out-rebounded Finland 16-7 in the opening 10 minutes and the Finns, who shot so well from long range against France on Saturday, missed all seven of their attempts from behind the arc.

The momentum began to swing Finland's way when Italy's Andrea Bargnani picked up his third foul three minutes into the second quarter and had to leave the contest.

Though the Italians stayed on top, Henrik Dettmann's team eventually began to make inroads and outscored the Azzurri 15-6 over the last 3:38 over the frame to only trail 38-34 at half-time.

Italy's Marco Belinelli led all scorers with 10 points at the break.

The Finns kept the pressure on for the first 7:14 of the third quarter but Carlo Recalcati's players kept their noses in front before seemingly taking control with a 7-0 spurt for a 61-51 lead.

The advantage ballooned to 70-57 with 7:41 to play on a Belinelli three-ball and Finland appeared to be in trouble.

Rannikko, Bargnani and Petteri Koponen all drilled three-pointers to leave Italy in front at 73-63 when visiting captain Matteo Soragna was slapped with a technical foul.

Rannikko sank a pair of free-throws and Finland, who retained possession, then got a dunk from Kimmo Muurinen to close the gap to 73-67.

Fouled on the shot by Belinelli, Muurinen went to the charity stripe and converted the three-point play to reduced the arrears to just five points.

Following a Belinelli jumper with 4:52 to go, both teams went cold from the floor before Hanno Möttölä hit a jumper to take his haul to a team-high 16 points for Finland.

Finland, upping the pressure on defense, then drew an offensive foul by Belinelli and Shawn Huff responded by nailing a three-pointer to pull the Finns to within 75-73.

With cracks showing in the Italian armor, Bargnani picked up his fifth foul and put Koponen on the line.

The young Virtus Bologna guard made two to knot the contest at 75-75 with 1:42 remaining.

Belinelli replied with a jump shot to restore the two-point edge, and neither side scored again.

Rannikko missed from behind the arc, but Marco Mordente turned the ball back over to Finland.

Koponen then failed to connect from long range with 25 seconds to go, yet Huff's offensive rebound kept the ball in the home team's hands with 25 seconds to play.

Rannikko bravely attempted the last shot with just three ticks on the clock remaining and missed, and Mordente hauled in the rebound.

Belinelli led all scorers with 23 points and Bargnani had 21 with a game-high eight rebounds.

Italy ended up out-rebounding Finland 37-29.

[Batu7]

It looks like the Finnish put up a good fight. Didn't watch the game though, so I don't know the real story.

[diogo_pt]

It seems Portugal won't make the Eurobasket this time, two of their starters are infected with swine flu and some other players are presenting symptoms.