OT: FIBA 2023

[76ciology]

Canada has the talent to beat a flat USA team in the next 5 years.

Im rooting for Canada this year. Partly because of Nurse and partly for fun in rooting for the underdog

I think Canada has the talent to win and they seem to be more cohesive than US. But I dont know if that would be enough for the talent gap the US have.

Canada would certainly need some luck to win against the US.

[76ciology]

Philippines lose to Karl Towns’ Dominican Republic.

Towns shot 5/16 from the field but had 16FTAs. When his shot wasnt falling, he just take it inside generated a lot of calls from the refs. Philippines defense against him reminds me of that Celts defense when KAT would attack face up either on the right elbow on right above the break 3 then there will be 1-2 guards gambling for steals.

Jordan Clarkson played almost the entire first half just for PH to stay in the game. I thought Doms will pull away in the third. The game was close till the very end when Clarkson was called for his fifth foul and Philippines looked like they raised the white flag from there.

Philippines big’ Junmar Fajardo played well. He is our Boban Marjanovic. And he took advantage of Towns’ soft defense.

Philippines is pretty small at the guard position and we dont really have talented point guards unlike previous years. Clarkson had 8 TOs and our lead PG had 5 TOs. Overall the TOs and giving up a lot of pts at the line for Towns were the reasons why we lose the game.

Im not really expecting a lot from my team this year. Im not even watching every game live compared to the ones’ before lol But it sure is fun watching these international games.

[76ciology]

Best way for Canada to beat USA is the “Sixers Iverson Blueprint” let guys like Dilon Brooks and Dort slow down the USA scorers then turn it into a SGA vs Brunson battle.

[Pokuokic]

Philippines lose to Karl Towns’ Dominican Republic.

Towns shot 5/16 from the field but had 16FTAs. When his shot wasnt falling, he just take it inside generated a lot of calls from the refs. Philippines defense against him reminds me of that Celts defense when KAT would attack face up either on the right elbow on right above the break 3 then there will be 1-2 guards gambling for steals.

Jordan Clarkson played almost the entire first half just for PH to stay in the game. I thought Doms will pull away in the third. The game was close till the very end when Clarkson was called for his fifth foul and Philippines looked like they raised the white flag from there.

Philippines big’ Junmar Fajardo played well. He is our Boban Marjanovic. And he took advantage of Towns’ soft defense.

Philippines is pretty small at the guard position and we dont really have talented point guards unlike previous years. Clarkson had 8 TOs and our lead PG had 5 TOs. Overall the TOs and giving up a lot of pts at the line for Towns were the reasons why we lose the game.

Im not really expecting a lot from my team this year. Im not even watching every game live compared to the ones’ before lol But it sure is fun watching these international games.

What happened to Sotto? He was insanely hyped but everytime I ever watch him he's a massive flop despite the size/skills and barely plays and seems to have made some terrible career choices (didn't he go to play in Japan/Korea which pretty much limits his growth a s a player). Might go down as the biggest waste of talent in from the Phillpines if he does not turn it around.

[76ciology]

Philippines lose to Karl Towns’ Dominican Republic.

Towns shot 5/16 from the field but had 16FTAs. When his shot wasnt falling, he just take it inside generated a lot of calls from the refs. Philippines defense against him reminds me of that Celts defense when KAT would attack face up either on the right elbow on right above the break 3 then there will be 1-2 guards gambling for steals.

Jordan Clarkson played almost the entire first half just for PH to stay in the game. I thought Doms will pull away in the third. The game was close till the very end when Clarkson was called for his fifth foul and Philippines looked like they raised the white flag from there.

Philippines big’ Junmar Fajardo played well. He is our Boban Marjanovic. And he took advantage of Towns’ soft defense.

Philippines is pretty small at the guard position and we dont really have talented point guards unlike previous years. Clarkson had 8 TOs and our lead PG had 5 TOs. Overall the TOs and giving up a lot of pts at the line for Towns were the reasons why we lose the game.

Im not really expecting a lot from my team this year. Im not even watching every game live compared to the ones’ before lol But it sure is fun watching these international games.

What happened to Sotto? He was insanely hyped but everytime I ever watch him he's a massive flop despite the size/skills and barely plays and seems to have made some terrible career choices (didn't he go to play in Japan/Korea which pretty much limits his growth a s a player). Might go down as the biggest waste of talent in from the Phillpines if he does not turn it around.

He’s insanely hyped just so he can get a good contract to play in euro or japan, which is whats the trend right now with our current players. With a population of 110M, a lot of countries try to get our guys for the fanbase. He was never good, he’s just way taller than the competition locally.

The biggest waste in talent is Junmar, he’s the GOAT of our local league but he’s a very simple guy who came from the province. He’s already happy with his $20,000 usd monthly paycheck (mostly paid under the table) and a residential condo unit at shangrila. He’s past his prime now coming off from a major surgery.

[76ciology]

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Lol

[76ciology]

I like how the USA team is assembled. The top players may not be as talented as the dream team, but they have attributes that give them an edge over their opponents.

Two of the best examples I see are Josh Hart and Banchero. Josh Hart rebounds like a big man but has the body of a point guard. Meanwhile, Banchero is simply a mismatch at the 5 position. The USA also boasts long, rangy wings like Ingram, Mikal, and Cam. These players are mismatches themselves because you'd typically need a power forward to defend them, but they move as quickly as guards. These wings can be easily plugged into whatever strategy Kerr chooses to use against the opponent.

Off the bench, the USA has Hali, Portis, and Edwards. All four of these players play more of a "spark plug" role to ensure they play hard for the full 48 minutes, which was the biggest problem with the 2004 team. Edwards pressures the ball handler, while Hali generates steals through passing lanes and pushes the break.

Banchero at the 5 position alongside the wings forms their "deathball" unit. He's a constant mismatch on the court, and with all the switching, USA can force teams to beat them in 1v1 situations. This defensive edge, combined with USA's superior offensive talent, can give them an advantage over almost anyone.

[76ciology]

[tweet] https://x.com/fibawc/status/1695721343080407278?s=46&t=bJcUtOCSwzTqqyZgysWpbQ[/tweet]

fiba patty mills!

[76ciology]

The most entertaining player in the entire FIBA tournament

[youtube] https://youtu.be/mlB8hArHdHY?si=vGus96m_7bCi3tXL[/youtube]

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Maxey
RHJ
Tobias
Tucker
Embiid

The Kobe of Jordan!

[Negrodamus]

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Does Clarkson pretty much print money in Philippines since he’s the only NBA player on the team and he’s a decent one at that? Knowing how passionate they are about basketball, I’d imagine he’d be very marketable over there.

[76ciology]

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Does Clarkson pretty much print money in Philippines since he’s the only NBA player on the team and he’s a decent one at that? Knowing how passionate they are about basketball, I’d imagine he’d be very marketable over there.

He’s paid only $1M for this FIBA, not including insurance. As windy said, he can run for public office here after he retires in the NBA. Its how much a joke this country is lol

[Mik317]

I was stupid high on RHJ when he came out of Arizona lol.

[Negrodamus]

If anything, RHJ balling out in that gaem should show just how insanely skilled these guys are and most are simply playing a role in the NBA because the stars are more consistent with increased usage. Children on Twitter can clown players in the NBA for not producing, but all of them will obliterate any competition below the NBA.

[Jailblazers7]

The Lakers are gonna be fascinating to watch this year. They need to hand the reigns over a bit to Reaves which leaves Lebron in an awkward position offensively. He’s still such an amazing floor general & passer that you have to give him a lot of touches but his shot needs to be much better next year for the Lakers to reach their potential.

[76ciology]

I’d be watching RHJ vs USA team live. Interesting to see how he fares against NBA caliber wing defenders.

[Negrodamus]

I think it’ll be funny when there are super mid teams in international play in the future. Like fringe stars who can’t get onto team USA but want a chance in the Olympics/World Cup get together and cut a deal with Luxembourg to gain citizenship and challenge the US.

[76ciology]

I think it’ll be funny when there are super mid teams in international play in the future. Like fringe stars who can’t get onto team USA but want a chance in the Olympics/World Cup get together and cut a deal with Luxembourg to gain citizenship and challenge the US.

If im not mistaken, each team can only have 1 naturalized player. Canada is one team that almost fits your description having a lot of “mid” players.

[Negrodamus]

I think it’ll be funny when there are super mid teams in international play in the future. Like fringe stars who can’t get onto team USA but want a chance in the Olympics/World Cup get together and cut a deal with Luxembourg to gain citizenship and challenge the US.

If im not mistaken, each team can only have 1 naturalized player. Canada is one team that almost fits your description having a lot of “mid” players.

Ah, didn’t realize that. I’d probably choose the largest market where I can make the most money. Looking at you, India.

[76ciology]

I think it’ll be funny when there are super mid teams in international play in the future. Like fringe stars who can’t get onto team USA but want a chance in the Olympics/World Cup get together and cut a deal with Luxembourg to gain citizenship and challenge the US.

If im not mistaken, each team can only have 1 naturalized player. Canada is one team that almost fits your description having a lot of “mid” players.

Ah, didn’t realize that. I’d probably choose the largest market where I can make the most money. Looking at you, India.

I’d go for China. Basketball is also surprisingly crazy in China, players like Harden and Klay are making money there. But China does not “naturalize” players without chinese heritage.

[76ciology]

I’d be watching RHJ vs USA team live. Interesting to see how he fares against NBA caliber wing defenders.

Rondae can play. I think he’s a revelation in this FIBA tourney. His shot mechanics looks weird but he can shoot. He also mastered that kicking movement that he can “cam thomas” his way to the freethrow line. His defense is still there, he had several deflections this game. He showed discipline where he just played in the flow of the offense.

Not much to say about USA team. They flat out dominated. One thing stood out was the competitive spirit of Ant. I find his hot start put quite an impression over Jordan and didnt give them a chance from the jump ball. Having lengthy wings on small ball handlers is also a prevalent theme, having Mikal and Reeves on Jordan PGs certainly created havoc out there.

Will watch again if USA will battle Canada for the finals.