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發表於 2004-8-16 04:37:48
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Olympic preview
Friday, August 13, 2004 - 06:14PM
NBL
The Olympic Games are about to commence in Athens yet just who is going to be the star for Puerto Rico's hoops team? And which NBA players will be participating in the quest for gold? If you don't already know the answer to these questions, then don't panic as we've done all the hard work for you with a special team-by-team preview of the 11 countries standing between the Boomers and Olympic glory. Staff writer Joe Hamlin has studied up on the best basketballers in the world to provide Australian hoops fans with the skinny on the men's Olympic Basketball competion.
ANGOLA
Players:Miguel Lutonda, Walter Costa, Carlos Almeida, Gerson Monteiro, Edmar Victoriano, Victor de Carvalho, Olimpio Cipriano, Victor Muzadi, Eduardo Mingas, Abdel Bouckar, Joaquim Gomes.
Head Coach: Mario Palma
FIBA World Ranking: 17th
The Stars
Miguel Lutonda: Led Angola in the 2003 FIBA African Championship with a team-high 13.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.
Victor de Carvalho: Leads Angola in three-point shooting at 45.5%.
The Skinny
After winning the African Championships for the seventh time in eight years in 2003, Angola is looking to improve on their highest-ever placing at an Olympics (10th in 1992). As a result of Angola’s dominance of the African zone, the national team has had plenty of international experience and this will be their fourth consecutive appearance in the Olympics. With height an issue for the African championships (Angola’s tallest player, Joaquim Gomes, is only six foot seven), Angola will depend on the hot hands of Victor de Carvalho and Carlos Almeida - shooting 45.5% and 32.4% respectively from behind the arc - to provide the offensive firepower.
The Tip
Angola will probably play a series of run-and-gun games and could give unwary first-round opponents a scare (what Australian hoops fan doesn’t remember Angola’s upset win over the Boomers at the 1986 World Championships). Unfortunately for the Africans, they will most likely come up short – quite literally.
ARGENTINA
Players: Alejandro Montecchia, Juan Ignacio Sanchez, Carlos Delfino, Emanuel Ginobili, Hugo Sconochini, Andres Nocioni, Walter Herrmann, Ruben Wolkowyski, Gabriel Fernandez, Luis Scola, Leonardo Gutierrez, Fabricio Oberto
Head Coach: Rubn Magnano
FIBA World Ranking: 4th
The Stars
Emanuel Ginobili: One of the superstars for the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, the mercurial guard has dazzling ball-handling and passing skills and can score from range or around the basket.
Juan Ignacio ‘Pepe’ Sanchez: Former Detroit Piston (NBA), who also played at Temple University.
Carlos Delfino: Guard who is bound for Detroit to play for the Pistons in the NBA.
Ruben Wolkowyski: Former Dallas Maverick, Boston Celtic, and Seattle Supersonic big man.
Luis Scola: Currently plays in the NBA for the San Antonio Spurs.
The Skinny
The Argentinean men are a well-rounded squad of athletes and sport a plethora of current and former NBA players. Emanuel Ginobili, who has just finished his second year with San Antonio, will lead the team. Last season Ginobili averaged 12.8 points and 4.5 boards per game for the Spurs and has proved he belongs in the world’s best league. Along with Carlos Delfino, Ruben Wolkowyski, Luis Scola and recent Chicago Bulls signing Andres Nocioni, the Argentineans should be very familiar with the play of tournament favourites the US. Argentina inflicted the first-ever defeat on a US team filled with NBA stars at the 2002 World Championship and in the 2003 Americas Championships barely lost a close game (94-86) against the more-fancied Americans before eventually finishing second. The South Americans have developed a distinctive physical-style of basketball that should translate well in Athens.
The Tip
Despite their recent successes, Argentina has never made it onto the dais in Olympic competition, with their best recent finish being fifth in 1996. Therefore a medal of any sort would be an important milestone for Argentina. Look for the South Americans to feature in the medals.
CHINA
Players: Yao Ming, Menk Bateer, Du Feng, Zhu Fangyu, Li Nan, Zhang Jinsong, Liu Wei, Mo Ke, Yi Jianlian, Chen Ke, Zhang Yunsong, Guo Shiqiang
Head Coach: Del Harris
FIBA World Ranking: 10th
The Stars
Yao Ming: Currently playing in the NBA for the Houston Rockets, Yao is the latest ‘big thing’ in the NBA – and we mean big. At 229 centimetres, Yao will be the tallest player in Athens and has the ability to dominate the paint on both ends of the floor.
Menk Bateer: Another big body who has had NBA experience with Denver, San Antonio, Toronto, and Orlando.
Yi Jianlian: An athletic 17-year-old seven-footer who already has international scouts drooling and has drawn comparisons to Germany’s Dirk Nowitzki.
The Skinny
China will once again field a ‘Great Wall’ with the enormous Yao Ming as its cornerstone. Add to that fellow seven-footers Menk Bateer and Yi Jianlian and size is definitely not a problem for the Asian champions (what are they feeding these guys?). In fact, for the first time in years it could well be guard play that is the weakness on this Chinese squad. With former NBA coach Del Harris running the team, this will likely be different to the drive-and-dish teams of the past. You can expect to see Yao and his fellow bigs get the ball inside a lot, which could cause problems for a lot of teams including the Americans.
The Tip
Dwarfing other centers in Olympic competition, Yao Ming will definitely not disappoint the People’s Republic of China in Athens. The guy is a legit international star. But we were once told that “tall ain’t all”, and if Yao or the rest of the Wall find themselves in foul trouble, the team might not be able to make up for their absence on the court. Expect to see China in the top five, which would still eclipse their best Olympic finish to date (eighth in 1996).
GREECE
Players: Dimitrios Diamantidis, Nikolaos Chatzivrettas, Theodoros Papaloukas, Dimitris Papaniklaou, Vasilis Spanoulis, Antonis Fotsis, Fragiskos Alvertis, Dimosthenis Ntikoudis, Nikos Zisis, Kostas Tsartsaris, Lazaros Papadopoulos, Michailis Kakiouzis.
Head Coach: Panagiotis Giannakis
FIBA World Ranking: 18th
The Stars
Dimosthenis Ntikoudis: 207cm forward led Greece with 11.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game during the 2003 European Championship.
The Skinny
Greece qualified for Athens by virtue of their host nation status and this will only be their second Olympic appearance. The only other time they have competed in the Games was in 1996 in Atlanta where they placed fifth after being knocked out of the medal hunt by Australia. Whilst their absence from previous Olympics might be perceived as a lack of consistency in the Greek national team program, it is reality a sign of the strength of FIBA’s European zone through which the Greeks must qualify. The squad is led by Dimosthenis Ntikoudis, who was the star of the Greek team that finished fifth at the 2003 European Championships. The Greeks’ star centre, Jake Tsakilidis, won’t be joining his teammates as he tries to earn himself a new NBA contract (he played for the Memphis Grizzlies last season). Perhaps the most important player on the Greek team however will be the sixth man – the Athenian crowd.
The Tip
Pride and determination will be the fuel for the fire of this year’s Greek team, who open the tournament against our own Boomers. The thrill of playing in their homeland should help Greece but the home court advantage can only get a team so far. They should still be a top eight team but most likely will fill the bottom end of that group.
ITALY
Players: Nikola Radulovic, Gianluca Basile, Giacomo Galanda, Matteo Soragna, Denis Marconato, Alessandro De Pol, Alex Righetti, Davide Lamma, Massimo Bulleri, Michele Mian, Roberto Chiacig, Alessandro Cittadini
Head Coach: Carlo Recalcati
FIBA World Ranking: 9th
The Stars
Gianluca Basile: A 192cm forward who averaged 10 ppg in the 2003 European Championship.
Giacomo Galanda: 201cm big man who averaged 11 ppg and 6.7 rpg in the Euro champs.
Massimo Bulleri: A 29-year-old 188cm guard who averaged 11.7 ppg and 2.4 apg in the same competition.
The Skinny
The trio of Gianluca Basile, Giacomo Galanda, and Massimo Bulleri each averaged over 10 points per game during the 2003 European Championship to lead the ‘Azzurri’ to a third-place finish and a berth in Athens. The team features no overseas NBA talent, however Italy has already handed an upset loss to the NBA-star-studded US team in the Olympic lead-up.
The Tip
Giving the US ‘Dream Team’ a bit of a nightmare with that 95-78 trouncing was just enough to gain the pride and confidence to be a serious contender in Olympic competition. They open the tournament against the New Zealand Tall Blacks and even without NBA stars, should have enough talent to secure a top-eight berth.
LITHUANIA
Players: Mindaugas Zukauskas, Arvydas Macijauskas, Saulius Stombergas, Ramunas Siskauskas, Darius Songaila, Donatas Slanina, Eurelijus Zukauskas, Ksystofas Lavrinovic, Sarunas Jasikevicius, Dainius Salenga, Robertas Javtokas
Head Coach: Antanas Sireika
FIBA World Ranking: 3rd
The Stars
Sarunas Jasikevicius: Exciting scoring guard who won the MVP trophy at the 2003 European Championship.
Darius Songaila: Currently plays in the NBA for the Sacramento Kings.
The Skinny
Lithuania has gone home with bronze in their past three appearances at the Olympics but almost toppled the US in Sydney, only losing by two points in the game of the tournament. They qualified by winning the European Championship, which marks them as a definite medal prospect. They will however enter Athens without the presence of Cleveland Cavaliers’ star centre Zydrunas Ilgauskas, as well as Virginijus Praskevicius and Giedrus Gustas, both of whom took part in Lithuania’s Eurobasket 2003 gold medal campaign. Their absence gives an added load to Lithania’s two remaining stars; NBA forward Darius Songaila and Euro star Sarunas Jasikevicius. It was also sorely felt in Lithuania’s Olympic lead-up matches, where their form was patchy. Whereas in previous tournament’s, the Lithuanians’ size has helped them advance it is probable they will rely more heavily on a perimeter game in Athens.
The Tip
Their status as European champs, let alone their previous Olympic medals, marks the Lithuanians as a contender. Just how long it takes them to adjust to the loss of key players will determine whether they can live up to that reputation. The quality of competition however could well see the Lithuanians go home from the Games empty handed for the first time in many years. |
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發表於 2004-8-16 04:19:50
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發表於 2004-8-16 04:33:08
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