Semifinals: A Battlefield

I heard one of the commentators say, "It's everybody's game." I said, "No. It's Argentina's game." And yes! They won! Argentina enters the semifinals after an exhilarating 80-78 win against Greece.

Argentina finally enters the semifinals after defeating Greece - one of Europe's best basketball leagues, in the quarterfinals. The 80-78 win didn't come easy for the Argentines because they were trailing, sometimes by two points and sometimes by one. With the lead changes and scores so close as every minute goes, it was just so hard to determine who is better. And then, the Greeks showed their weak spot – the 3-point area. It was on that arc that the Argentines took advantage of the game and grabbed the lead off the hands of the Greeks. Among the best 3-pointers of the night were Manu Ginobili, with 24 pts, and Carlos Delfino, 23 pts. There’s just one thing that troubles me though with regards to Argentina. I know their good and I love them but they ought to tone down their turnovers, which were mostly caused by their reckless passes. I don’t know if it’s one of their strategies but for me it could cost them a game.

Overall, Argentina is balanced team. They have superb defense. They have great shooters in Luis Scola (TC), Ginobili, Delfino, Andres Nocioni, Pablo Prigioni, and a lot more. But they can’t have a lot of turnovers especially now that they’re in the semifinals and they’re about to face the still-undefeated team USA. And it’s kinda scary that I can’t feel the presence of Kobe Bryant anywhere. I bet KB24’s going to try and bring Argentina down once the game begins.

The Redeem Team [if ever I’ve mentioned Dream Team for the current basketball team of USA on any of my posts, my sincere apologies] of the USA looks so perfect but that’s all because no team has been able to reveal its weakness. Not even the tough Aussies. I just hope the Argentines make the semifinals for the US team harder. From what I can see, Argentina is the team that matches well with team USA. Just please...reduce the turnovers....

Tomorrow, the Beijing Olympic Gymnasium will be a battlefield.

Quarterfinal Matchups

This is it! I'm talking about the quarterfinals of the 2008 Beijing Olympics Men's Basketball. The final list of countries for the quarterfinals are set. First, let me present to you the four teams of each group.

Group A: Lithuania [4-1/A1], Argentina [4-1/A2], Croatia [3-2/A3], & Australia [3-2/A4]

Group B: USA [5-0/B1], Spain [4-1/B1], Greece [3-2/B1], China [2-3/B1]

Honestly, I'm impressed with team USA. Team USA is definitely the ultimate Dream Team of the country. Whoever it was that was behind the roster of team USA, I salute him! I really do. But I don't think the upcoming games is going to be easy for them. Well, I really hope Australia will give them trouble. Speaking of trouble, I'm a bit troubled with regards to Kobe Bryant. He is a member of team USA, right? Why can't I see his name on the stats, I just can't find his name. Where is he? I can't feel his presence.

Okay, now let's talk about Lithuania, Argentina, & Spain. I'm still can't believe how good the Lithuanians are, particularly Linas Kleiza. He's been on fire, lately. And the Argentines, as I admit to you my dear reader as my favorite, is more balanced than ever. Spain, who only lost to team USA, is very persistent which makes them very dangerous and even if I'm miles away from Beijing, I can see their hungry in winning the gold. I mean, every team is but Spain's aura is just too strong that I think they'll do everything just to win.

For Croatia, I think they haven't been very consistent both on their offense and defense. But there's not enough time to improve, though. Greece, on the other hand, was just lucky to have survived after being beaten by USA and Spain. But all in all, the Greeks have shown that they're good. The Australians have also proven that they have world-class players that just don't give up and that can be scary and tiring for their opponents.

And last but certainly not the least is China. To be honest, I never really thought China would survive the tough competition in Group B. But they did it, so, I'm giving them my full respect. I'm really expecting to hear loud cheers from the crowd once team China gets into the court. For the Lithuanians, who are planning on watching the game live at the courtside, I wish you all the luck to be heard.

These are the matchups for the quarterfinals:

• Argentina [A2] v Greece [B3]
• USA [B1] v Australia [A4]
• Spain [B2] v Croatia [A3]
• Lithuania [A1] v China [B4]

I Really Can't Miss This

Vamos Argentina!

Apart from the fact that they are the defending Olympic Gold Medalists, the Argentines prove to be one of the teams to beat in the 2008 Beijing Olympics Men's Basketball. After throttling the Croatians with their defense, the Argentines finished off Iran to 97-82. The top scorers of the night were Manu Ginobili, with 32 points, and Luis Scola, with 20 points and seven rebounds. Despite the efforts of Iran particularly Hamed Ehadadi, with 21 points and 16 rebounds, it wasn't enough to pull out a win against the Argentines. The Argentines are IN in the quarterfinals but still they have to continue winning. What Juan Pedro Gutierrez have to say is, "Every game is important. We play Russia on Monday and it is important to win that game and avoid finishing fourth. They are European champions and it will be a tough game."

So, what's the fuss about being fourth in Group A in the quarterfinals? Well, it has something to with team USA who is currently on top in Group B. If in case they win against Spain who remains undefeated in Group B, they'll be the ones to face the fourth placer of Group A. I think teams from Group B should also worry about Greece, who lost against USA and Spain. And if the current standings don't change in both groups, Argentina will be the likely foe of the Greeks and that's the match that I really can't miss. Vamos Argentina!

One World, One Dream

I haven't written any post here for quite sometime and that's because, hmmm... it's a long story. I might as well just forget about it. And yes, I've pretty much changed the layout of my blog, for a change. [wink]

What I'm writing about this time is the approaching 2008 Beijing Olympics, which my friends is about to happen this August 8, 2008 [8-8-8]. Yes, I'm excited. Who isn't anyway?! Of course, among the highlighted events that'll take place ing the Olympics and what I am and most of my fellow-NBA fans have been anticipating is basketball. Twelve teams will be battling it out for the Olympic Gold. So, who's in? On Group A: Argentina, Australia, Croatia, Iran, Lithuania, & Russia. On Group B: Angola, China*, Germany, Greece, Spain, & the U.S.A. Achieving the Olympic Gold is going to be hard this time especially for the defending Olympic Champions - the Argentinian team. And that's because of the more solid lineup of team U.S.A. and of course, you can't count out teams Spain, Russia, and Greece. There's also a women division for basketball, which includes Australia, Belarus, Brazil, Korea, Latvia and Russia on Group A. Group B includes China*, Czech Republic, Mali, New Zealand, Spain, and the U.S.A.

So, how does a team achieve the Olympic Gold? First, the 12 teams will have to trim down their number to eight, meaning the top four teams for each group will be the ones who are moving on to the knockout stage. During the knockout stage, the top four teams from both groups will face each other and the four winning teams will carry on to the semis. Then, the two teams who will survive the semis are going to battle it out on the Gold medal game. The team who wins will achieve the elusive Olympic Gold. So, which team's are you rooting for? Are you going for the Kobe-powered team U.S.A.?