BuzzerBeater Forums

Love me or hate me I am back again! After what I feel was a successful thread last season I have decided to give it another shot and hopefully I can make it all season long this time:P I am hoping my experiences from last season will help me this season and I will be taking enthusiasm and effort into more consideration then last year. So here we go again! :D

Second Chance Qualifiers:
Pool A:
1.Lietuva
2.Phillipines
3.Peru
4.Al Jazair

This is definetly a difficult pool for these teams and should be filled with a couple fun games. All games are being held in Poland as they get the dubious distinction of being the hosts of the world championships!

1.Lietuva, with arguably the best guard in the world in Aristotlis Degulys, an abundance of depth and some monster big men Lietuva looks like the clear cut favourites to qualify for the world championships.

2.Picking between Peru and Phillipines was rather difficult but, I finally chose Phillipines as it seems they are a bit stronger in the front court and the back court then Peru, but tactics and effort level could be the difference maker between these two.

3.Peru, a strong team just slightly weaker then Phillipines, they will be dependant on their outside game more than their inside game, by the looks of it at least.

4.And as usual the team from Africa will be finishing last. Al Jazair may have been a good team in Africa, but with the big boys I don't see them winning a single game, hopefully the African teams can continue building and becoming stronger though.

Picks:
Al Jazair(83) at Lietuva(16)
This game could get really ugly, the clear cut favourite against the definite worst team of the pool? Yikes, expect a TIE from Lietuva and if Al Jazair came here with a goal to qualify for the worlds... they're crazy. If however they would be satisfied with just at least one victory, a TIE here would be smart. My pick: Lietuva.

Phillipines(21) at Peru(20)
The game that decides who comes 2nd and who has a shot at taking down Lietuva. The winner of this game is going to be the only team that will have a chance of qualifying instead of Lietuva. I think if Phillipines wins this game then Lietuva will qualify almost guarantee as Phillipines will only have one TIE game(this one) but they might not even be able to TIE this game which will stilll make it difficult. If Peru wins this game with a TIE then a TIE in their next game could set them up for a shot at Lietuva. My pick: Phillipines wins this one, but depending on the tactics anyone could win and on the effort level.

Pool B:
1.France
2.Canada
3.Iran
4.South Africa

1.Behind the play of one of the best point guards in Buzzerbeater it looks like France should win this pool and qualify to the worlds. With Morel a great SF and some very good bigs this team could be very tough to take down.

2.OH CANADA! I know I might be a bit biased here, but I will try not to be :P Picking between Canada and Iran was fairly hard but, Canada has a huge edge in the guards department while Iran has an edge in the bigs department. I think behind Christopher Moran, Canada can handle Irans big men and beat them out.

3.Iran does not have very strong guards at all and that really hurts them and probably is the reason they couldn't qualify directly to the worlds. They have strong bigs though and if they get their bigs GS up and play the right tactics they could give Canada and even France a run for their money.

4.South Africa, is definetly the weakest team here and go figure it is the African team again. They are actually a pretty good team by African standards, but with top end competition they'll crumble.

Picks:
South Africa(59) at France(3)
This is easy to pick. France will TIE if South Africa wants a win they will TIE as well and everyone will move on with their lives. My pick: France easily.

Iran(19) at Canada(17)
This game will basically decide 2nd and decide who gets the shot at France. Canadas adavantage with their guards should be enough to deal with Iran, and hopefully their bigs will be able to stop Irans bigs. My pick: Canada wins and Iran crys.

Pool C:
1.Poland
2.Taiwan
3.Argentina
4.Tounes

1. I know that Poland has not released their roster yet, but they are traditionally a strong team plus they have HCA. Thats enough for me.

2.Taiwan has one of the best SG in the world and some very strong big men and depending on what Polands roster ends up looking like, could really have a shot at qualifying.

3.Argentina was tough to put third as they are typically one of the stronger teams. They are still a strong team, but I just think they got put in a pool where they won't have too much success. They arent unbelievably strong anywhere but they arent weak anyhwere either. I could see them pressuring Poland and Taiwan and if all goes well.

4.Tounes is the weakest team in this pool, they have one of the best point guards in buzzerbeater, but thats about it, they could pull out a win against argentina.

Picks:
Tounes(92) at Poland(14)
This should be an easy victory for Poland as they should be able to dominate this game. My pick: Poland

Taiwan(30) at Argentina(10)
Taiwan has some really good players and should be able to beat Argentina no matter what the tactics end up being(unless Taiwan goes stupid on the world). My pick: Taiwan.

Pool D:
1.Deutschland
2.Uruguay
3.Hong Kong
4.Nigeria

1.Deutschland has one of the strongest teams in Buzzerbeater and should be able to win this pool easily. A very deep team indeed. I think this team even has a chance at winning the world championships.

2.Uruguay is like the only team that can give Deutschland a legitimate run for their money, but I dont think they will.

3.Hong Kong has a pretty strong team, however in a pool with Deutschland and Uruguay they will not have a good shot at winning this pool at all.

4.Nigeria is the African team of the pool and they are the weakest team here certaintly, a win will be very unlikely for the Nigerians.

Nigeria(54) at Deutschland(11)
Deutschland should be able to win this one extremely easily and a TIE is certain from the germans in this one. My pick: Deutschland.

Hong Kong(22) at Uruguay(13)
Uruguay is a tough team to beat and look like the team from the americas with the best chance at qualifying for the worlds. My pick: Uruguay.

nice analysis!
let's see if we can surprise you and also France ;)

We will see on Monday ;)

Nice write ups and correct seletion when you chose Canada :)

Nice write ups and correct seletion when you chose Canada :)

yeah, he did well!
Canada did better, although we could win as we were close till last 2mins. I think that was just because of your star "Issa"
Go0d luck in your rest way :)

Pool A:
Results

Phillipines 106 at Peru 105
Well phillipines won this game as I thought they would and they used less effort then Peru, so im assuming they TIEd giving them the best possible chance at taking down Lietuva. Both teams used the same tactics, but Phillipines was just better even with less effort. Peru almost completed the comback, but came up short, a good win for Phillipnes. POTG: Andrew Solima had a game high 15.5 rating, a game high 30 points, a game high 14 rebounds and 7 of those were offensive boards!

Al Jazair 79 at Lietuva 123
even with extra effort Al Jazair got destroyed in this one, but that was to be expected as Lietuva were the clear favourites. Both teams used Push the Ball and Man to Man tactics, but Al Jazair was just outmatched all over the court. Lietuva won every quarter including scoring 40 in the 4th quarter. POTG: Cesys Varnelis had a 15.5 rating, 14 points, 5 rebounds and a game high 5 assists.

1.Lietuva(1) 1-0 123 79
2.Philippines(2) 1-0 106 105
3.Peru(3) 0-1 105 106
4.Al Jazair(4) 0-1 79 123

Picks:
Phillipines(18) at Lietuva(13)
The winner of this game will most likely win the pool and qualify for the worlds, this is a huge game. Phillipines seems to have gotten the better GS update, but i think Lietuva's talent level is just too high for Phillipines to handle even with the better GS. My pick: Phillipines will crunch, but will come up short, both teams have equal enthusiasm so it looks like Lietuva will be in the world championships.

Al Jazair(83) at Peru(21)
Peru needs a win and a Phillipines loss to really have a chance at qualifying and even if Phillipines loses theyd have to get through Lietuva. Al Jazair is the weakest team here, but this is probably their best chance at a victory, expect a CT from them. My pick: Peru wins, but it does't matter, they won't qualify for the worlds.

Pool B:
Results:
Iran 81 at Canada 92
Both teams used the same effort level in a game that was critical in deciding who could qualify for the worlds. Canada played a Motion with a Man to Man and Iran guessed right playinga 3-2 zone while playing a Look Inside offense. Iran guessing right didn't matter as Canada was able to put up some pretty good offensive numbers on route to the 11 point victory over Iran. POTG: Jabir Issa had a 15.0 rating, a game high 29 points, 5 rebounds and a team high 4 assists in the crucial win.

South Africa 91 at France 128
France played a balance Push the ball while South Africa actually put up some solid ratings with their Look Inside, both teams played at the same level so I am assuking they TIEd. One stat that pops out is the rebounding numbers as France won that battle 60-39. POTG: Thomas Saint had a game high 16.5 rating, 16 points and a game high 11 assists.

1.France(1) 1-0 128 91
2.Canada(2) 1-0 92 81
3.Iran(3) 0-1 81 92
4.South Africa(4) 0-1 91 128

Iran(20) at France(3)
Iran would need to win this game to have an oppurtunity at qualifying to the worlds, however France had a very favourable GS update with rwo players hitting proficient GS, one of them being arguably one of Buzzerbeaters best point guards thomas Saint. That spells disaster. My pick: France ends Irans hopes once and for all.

South Africa(62) at Canada(16)
Canada has South Africa outmatched at every position and this one should be fairly easy. My pick: Canada wins and faces off with France with a spot in the worlds on the line.

Pool C:
Results:
Taiwan 92 at Argentina 108
This was sort of a weird game. Both teams used the same effort level, but looking at the individual ratings and the team ratings, it kind of seems like Taiwan should've won this game. Anyways Argentina's Motion was able to beat Taiwans Patient offense and they came away victorious. POTG: Fabio Marino had a 14.0 rating, 21 points, a game high 18 rebounds, and a game high 7 assists.

Tounes 60 at Poland 114
Poland had probably the best performance in this round of games, it may have helped that they played Tounes, and they also have HCA, but still... Tounes put more effort into this one, but it didnt matter as Poland handled them with ease. POTG: Sylwester Rakus had a game high 17.0 rating, a game high 19 points and 7 rebounds.


1.Poland(1) 1-0 114 60
2.Argentina(3) 1-0 108 92
3.Taiwan(2) 0-1 92 108
4.Tounes(4) 0-1 60 114

Taiwan(32) at Poland(12)
Poland already has the edge talent wise, but now Taiwan has multiple injuries as well, this does not look good for taiwan who need this victory to have any hopes at advancig. My pick: Poland ends Taiwans.

Tounes(92) at Argentina(8)
Argentina had a fairly weak GS update and they should hope that changes by next weeek when they face off against Poland which will most likely be the game that decides who goes to the world championships. My Pick: Argentina wins handily.

Pool D:
Results:
Hong Kong 105 at Uruguay 110
Behind a 4th quarter comeback Uruguay was able to win this game in OT, in what was an absolutely critical game. Hong Kong had some very very impressive ratings, but it wasn't enough to stop Uruguay and their Princeton offense. POTG: Juan Chiade had a 13.5 rating, 19 points and a team high 11 rebounds.

Nigeria 75 Deutschland 91
Nigeria was able to keep up with Deutschalnd in this game which is a good sign for them, however they still lost. Both teams used the same effort level and i would say that a 16 PD is a bit disappointing for Deutschland. POTG: Philipp-Stephan Pahl had a 15.0 rating, a team high 17 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds.

1.Deutschland(1) 1-0 91 75
2.Uruguay(2) 1-0 110 105
3.Hong Kong(3) 0-1 105 110
4.Nigeria(4) 0-1 75 91

Picks:
Hong Kong(25) at Deutschland(11)
GS and talent edges go to Deutschalnd, I don't think there is much more to be said. My pick: Deutschland wins this game and ruins Hong Kongs chances.

Nigeria(51) at Uruguay(14)
Nigeria, may be one of the strongest teams from Africa here, but Uruguat is just too strong and had a good GS update. My pick: Uruguay wins and plays Deutschland in a win or go home situation.

Sorry if there are any stupid mistakes, im exhausted, thoughts?

Phillipines(18) at Lietuva(13)
The winner of this game will most likely win the pool and qualify for the worlds, this is a huge game. Phillipines seems to have gotten the better GS update, but i think Lietuva's talent level is just too high for Phillipines to handle even with the better GS. My pick: Phillipines will crunch, but will come up short, both teams have equal enthusiasm so it looks like Lietuva will be in the world championships.

the philipines play with a standard lineup, so i think Lithuania will have the ebtter gs at least at the starters ;)

Well this year, I want to do a little more of a focus on Canada, to be honest so I will also be doing the U21 Americas contientals! Hopefully, I can do good on these ;) I had to start after the first round of games, because most teams did not get their roster up till really close to the start of the first games.

First my predictions :
Pool C:

1.Chile
2.Argentina
3.Panama
4.Ecuador
5.Jamaica
6.Guatemala
7.Rep. Dominicana

1. Chile is the strongest NT in Buzzerbeater right now, that doesn't necessarily mean they are too strong at the U21 level however. One thing that stands out on their team is that they are fairly weak at the guard position, however they have a couple of beasts down low and that may just be enough in this pool.

2.Argentina is stronger at the guard position then Chile is. They are weaker down low, but I think the advantage they have with their guards isn't enough, Chile is still a very strong team at the U21 level. Argentina does have a couple of really good big men but nothing compared to Chile's tandem.

3.Panama is pretty average down low, although they have a couple of strong players, they seem to have a really good pont guard however. I mean having a 67k salary and having a best position of point guard is tough to do at age 21 Anyways Panama should advance to the next round fairly easily and 3rd seems extremely attainable while 2nd looks extremely unattainable.

4.Ecuador is heavily lacking in the high salary players, highest salary being around 30k , but you never know they could have good secondaries, but the alarming amount of 20 year old players is not a good sign, luckily they drew this pool and should be able to snatch 4th in this pool and move on to next round.

5.Jamaica is typically an extremely weak team. This year they have absolutely no guards beyond an 11k 20 year old MVp who could be a future NT player as well. Jamaica is lucky enough to have a couple of 30k big men and in this group that could be enough to grab 5th and with a little luck even 4th!

Results:
Rep. Dominicana 69 at Argentina 97
Argentina easily took care of business in this one and put up some impressive ratings for a U21 team in the first week. Rep. Dominicana however had ratings that my division III team could beat. Both teams used the same effort level so I have to assume that both teams TIE'd. POTG: Guillermo Alfredo Messi had 18 points, 9 reboundsa and a 12.0 rating in this one.

Guatemala 66 at Chile 99
Chile also did what they had to do in this one as they easily disposed of Guatemala and put up good ratings with their Motion offense. Guatemala also had ratings of a division III team in Canada at least which is a bit embarassing. POTG: Aristides Onez y Loyola had a team high 15 points, 5 rebounds and a 10.0 rating.

Jamaica 85 at Ecuador 89
Jamaica put more effort into this game and almost stole a win away from Ecuador Both teams had some pretty bad ratings, but not as bad as some of the teams previous. POTG: 20 year old Roy Dante had a game high 25 points, a game high 11.5 rating, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.


6. Guatemala is pretty even throughout their team. No clear strength. They aren't very strong, but I think theyll probably finish 6th, although they could easily finish 5th and with some luck 4th is not out of the question.

7.Rep. Dominicana who I believe to be the weakest U21 team out there. i mean when a player with a salary of 2110 makes the team, you know there is a problem right there. I honestly do not think they can win a game, against even Guatemala in this pool.


Last edited by Bballin at 5/4/2011 10:44:16 PM