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Pool B:
Predictions:

1.Brasil
2.Colombia
3.United States
4.Mexico
5.Paraguay
6.Puerto Rico
7.Bolivia

1. Brasil is an extremely balanced team, with mayn good guardsa and many good big men and I think it is exactly that depth and talent that will help them win what is probably the stronger pool of the three this season.

2.I know it is rather stunning that I am picking two teams before perrenial powerhouse United States, but that is what i am doing. I think Colombia has a really really strong team and I see them even competing for the number 1 spot in this pool When you have a 70k point guard giving the ball to your 114k and 8ok big men, you are going to be hard to stop.

3.I was pretty sure with picking Brasil first in this pool, however picking between Colombia and United States was a little more difficult. I ended up going with Colombia solely on the fact that they have more top end talent. United States has much more depth however and that could allow them to finish 2nd, or possible even 1st in this pool, but for now I have them pegged in at third.

4.Mexico is easily stronger than the teams I have ranked 5th.6th and 7th, however while saying that they are also obviously weaker than the teams ranked ahead of them, 4th should be the only position they are able to attain.

5.Paraguay has a couple of good big men, but that is literally all they have and I think that they will not finish worse than 5th however finishing higher than 5th will be a tough task and I am not sure they can do it.

6.Puerto Rico has a pretty good SG and a few decent big men, however they arent strong anywhere else as they hava 2k pf with role player potential on the team as well. They could press Paraguay for 5th, but I doubt they will be able to actually finish 5th.

7.Bolivia has an absolutely horrible team, and if I were Psychic... winning a game would not be in the future.

Results:
Mexico 77 at United States 101
United States made quick work of Mexico and took this win with relative ease. United States had some pretty good ratings, while Mexico also had some decent ratings, however not good enough. POTG: Ben Jack had a game high 26 points, a game high 5 steals, 6 assists and a 13.0 rating.

Puerto Rico 91 at Brasil 118
Puerto Rico used more effort and Brasil was still able to handle them easily and come away with a commanding victory. Brasil had some good first week ratings and Puerto Rico, put up some not too great ratings, but they arent to great ;) . POTG: Armando Branquinho had 20 points, a team high 8 rebounds and a 12.5 rating.

Bolivia 75 at Colombia 142
Bolivia put up some absolutely horrid ratings while, Colombia put up probably the best ratings from all the teams in this pool at least. Colombia even managed to score 41 points in the 3rd quarter as they easily defeated Bolivia. POTG: David Castano had 23 points, a game high 6 assists and a 12.5 rating.

Pool A:
Predictions:

1.Canada
2.Uruguay
3.Peru
4.Venezuela
5.Costa Rica
6.Barbados
7.Bahamas

1. I am really trying not to be biased, but it honestly seems that Canada has the best team in this pool. they have good guards, and a couple good big men. Including a 20 year old at 48k already :O. It seems that the lack of the depth in the big man department vould be something that burries the Canadians, but hopefully that will not be the case.

2.Uruguay has some better depth at all positions and especially at the bigs department however Canada has the better big men. It may come down to GS and injuries on this one.

3.Peru has HCA, now if only they could put together a good team. The team isn't that bad, but even with HCA, I dont think they will be able to beat Canada and Uruguay and even Venezuela could be hard. However the HCA will carry them to the 2nd round, but thats as far as they get.

4.Venezuela looks alot like Uruguay, however they are slightly weaker and they are stronger then Peru, but not stronger than Peru + HCA. 4th place is not anything to be ashamed of however as they should be able to advance to the 2nd round.

5.Costa Rica is definetly the weakest 5th place team here. They have few players above 10k salary and have many young players. If they were not in a pool with Barbados and Bahamas they could very well be 6th or 7th.

6.Barbados is horrible, absolutely terrible, but they are a tiny bit better than Bahamas and in this group if you don't want to finish last thats all you need.

7.Bahamas is terribad. These bottom two teams I cannot really talk abut because there is not much to say. They are new countries, but are still bad.

Results:

Venezuela 77 at Peru 87
Both teams put up ratings that impressed me for the first week in this game, but Peru with their HCA were just enough better and came out with the win. Peru doubled Venezuela in assists which was a real help. POTG: Fulgenico Castro had 14 points, a game high 17 rebounds, 7 assists and a game high 13.0 rating.

Barbados 48 at Canada 111
Canada came out huge in this one and crushed the lowly Barbados sqaud. Barbados could not even muster up 50 points in the game and Canada held them to 3 points in the 4th quarter. Canada had some good ratings, but that is not saying too much against Barbados. POTG: tough to pick, but I will go with David Castro who had 14 points, a game high 22 rebounds and a 10.5 rating.

Bahamas 56 at Uruguay 121
Uruguay follwed in the steps of the Canadians and crushed the Bahamas. Bahamas even used more effort in this one, but it obviously did not help. Uruguay was able to put up some real great ratings, but it was against Bahamas. POTG: Daniel Isabela had a game high 26 points, 12 rebounds and a 12.0 rating.

Pool A:
Results:

Al Jazair 97 at Peru 126
Al Jazair's extra effort wasnt enough to take down Peru. Oddly enough Peru had a better FG% then Al Jazair even though Al Jazair went Look Inside and Peru played a Run and Gun. Al Jazair also won the rebounding battle and took 14 more free throws, Peru still won and will need some luck to advance to the worlds, but they are still alive. POTG: Luis Tupac Yupanqui had a game high 31 points, a game high 16.0 rating and a game high 7 assists in this one.

Phillipines 108 at Lietuva 104
Phillipines used extra effort and it worked! They put up some really good ratings with their Look Inside offense and were able to upset the favourites Lietuva. Phillipines only won 1 out of the 4 quarters, but it was enough to win the game. This win puts Phillipines in a good position and Lietuva in a tough position. POTG: Wilmer Musa had a game high 34 points, 10 rebounds, and a 17.0 rating.

1.Philippines(2) 2-0 214 209
2.Lietuva(1) 1-1 227 187
3.Peru(3) 1-1 231 203
4.Al Jazair(4) 0-2 176 249

Picks:
Phillipines(17) at Al Jazair(85)
A win for Phillipines and they will be the team from Pool A heading to the worlds. This should be an easy victory when you compare the two. The weakest team against one of the stronger teams? Easy pickings although Al Jazair could CT just to try and get a win. My pick: Phillipines advances to the world championships.

Lietuva(14) at Peru(18)
Peru had a much better GS update then Lietuva did and it seems like they should both have the same enthusiasm, Lietuva has the more talented players though. This is a tough one to pick. Both teams need a win and a Phillipines loss to advance to the worlds. My pick: Lietuva comes through, but Phillipines wins their game and Lietuva does not advance to the worlds.

Pool B:
Results:

South Africa 88 at Canada 110
Both teams played at the same effort level, but Canada still won handily. Canada actually had an edge at every team statistic in this game. South Africa actually put up some good ratings, however Canada's motion was too good, even for South Africa's 3-2 zone. POTG: Teo Saint-Arnaud had a team high 18 points, a game high 14 rebounds and a 16.0 rating in the win.

Iran 83 at France 99
Irans extra effort attempt failed in this one. France is just a better team as indicated by the ratings in this one. Frances win puts them right where they want to be. Iran actually had the lead heading into the fourth, however France came together and took control of the fourth quarter and inevitably the game. POTG: Cedric Brassart had a game high 26 points, a team high 13 rebounds and a 17.5 rating.

1.France(1) 2-0 227 174
2.Canada(2) 2-0 202 169
3.Iran(3) 0-2 164 191
4.South Africa(4) 0-2 179 238

France(3) at Canada(13)
Both teams had good GS updates in this win or go home game. This game will decide which team will be heading to the worlds. This is a massive game. France has the better talent, Canada has the better GS update. It seems as if both teams have the same enthusiasm. This should be a close one. My pick: France wins this one and knocks out Canada.

Iran(20) at South Africa(61)
No real GS advantages and no real point in playing this game. Iran is definetly stronger and should win this one. Although it doesn't matter. My pick: Iran wins and finishes with a 1-2 record in third.

Pool C:
Results:

Tounes 81 at Argentina 130
Argentina killed Tounes in this one. Although they used more effort, I have no idea why they would use anything but a TIE against Tounes in this one, but they did and that could be exactly what hurts them for advancing. POTG: Tom Werribee had a game high 22 points, 8 rebounds and a 15.5 rating.

Taiwan 89 at Poland 124
Taiwan put more effort into this game and still got wrecked. Poland had some absolutely great ratings and it seems they will be advancing with their HCA. POTG: Sylwester Rakus had a team high 28 points, a game high 17 rebounds and a game high 20.5 rating.

1.Poland(1) 2-0 238 149
2.Argentina(3) 2-0 238 173
3.Taiwan(2) 0-2 181 232
4.Tounes(4) 0-2 141 244

Picks:
Poland(11) at Argentina(6)
Argentina is pretty close talent and GS wise this week, however that extra effort they used last week against Tounes is enough for me to make my decision, plus Poland has HCA, thats a huge advantage. My pick: Poland wins and advances to the world championships.

Taiwan(31) at Tounes(92)
This game will not effect anything besides ranking inthe world, I think that Taiwan is much, much stronger than TOunes, plus Tounes is missing their best player due to injury. My pick: Taiwan ends on a high note.

Pool D:
Results:

Nigeria 101 at Uruguay 108
Nigeria used extra effort and almost pulled off the victory in this game, but Uruguay kept going strong and got the win in a tough game. THe game was tied heading into the fourth, but Uruguay stepped it up and took the game. Uruguay put up some good ratings and Nigeria's ratings were not bad at all. POTG: Juan Bruschi had 22 points, 14 rebounds and a 16.0 rating.

Hong Kong 98 at Deutschland 109
Deutschland was able to beat Hong Kong even though they TIEd and Hong Kong CTd. Deutschland had really good ratings in this one and Hong Kong also. POTG: Roland Krassnitzer had a game high 26 points, a game high 17 rebounds and a 17.5 rating.

1.Deutschland(1) 2-0 200 173
2.Uruguay(2) 2-0 218 206
3.Hong Kong(3) 0-2 203 219
4.Nigeria(4) 0-2 176 199

Picks:

Deutschland(9) at Uruguay(15)
Deutschland has a really strong team and also had a very favourable GS update, while Uruguay is a strong team, but they are definetly weaker than Deutschland and definetly have a worse GS update. This game decides who advances to the worlds. My pick: Deutschland advanced to the world championships.

Hong Kong(24) at Nigeria(48)
Hong Kong is a bit stronger than Nigeria, but Nigeria has a bit better of a GS update, this game decides nothing, except rankings and I think Nigeria could win if they really push for it. My pick: Hong Kong finishes with one win.

U21 continentals later today

Pool C:

Picks:

Chile(17) at Rep. Dominicana(79)
Chile is the strongest team in this group, Rep. Dominicana is one of the weakest. Chile had a faourable GS update, Rep. Domincana had a decent one. My pick: Chile wins this one easily.

Ecuador(47) at Guatemala(89)
Ecuador has better depth, Guatemala is stronger down low. The GS updates seem similiar. My pick: Guatemala realizes their advantage down low and uses extra effort to sneak out a win.

Panama(58) at Jamaica(97)
Panama is definetly much stronger than Jamaica, although Jamaica does have a couple threats down low. I think Panama has a good starting lineup and I think that will be enough for them to get by most teams, although have little to no depth. My pick: Panama

Pool B:

Picks:
Colombia(39) at Puerto Rico(91)
Colombia is way, way stronger overall and have a better GS update. Puerto Rico has some decent players, but if they are injured they aren't much help are they? My pick: Colombia wins with ease.

Brasil(18) at Mexico(73)
Brasil has two 80k big men at strong GS, Mexico is a very balanced, young team and in a couple of seasons they'll be very strong, unfortunately it is not a couple of seasons from now. My pick: Brasil wins this game, not with ease though.

Paraguay(67) at Bolivia(96)
Paraguay has a few good big men with good GS, and they few decent guards they have, have good GS as well. Bolivia is really an extremely weak team and should get dominated most games. My pick: Paraguay dominates.

Pool A:

Picks:
Uruguay(23) at Barbados(92)
Uruguay is one of the top teams in this pool and Barbados is one of the weakest teams in the world. My pick: Uruguay wins this scrimmage- err game.

Canada(19) at Venezuela(68)
Canada is very balanced and somewhat deep, while Venezuela is also balanced, but they are weaker at every position. Canada also has a much better GS situation. My pick: Canada handily.

Costa Rica(69) at Bahamas(94)
While Costa Rica isn't the strongest team, Bahamas is not even close. Costa Rica should have a stroll in their first game. My pick: Costa Rica.


Fairly basic, but wasn't sure what to say :P

Good game France! We managed to slay a giant in this thriller. Our tactical edge along with a bit more effort proved to be the difference maker. Canada also got some tremendous performances from their top end players.

Canada it is time to celebrate! :)

No kidding, LI and M2M is all the crazy but we found a way to still get an edge. Not bad for a bunch of hockey players, eh!