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Ok now Pool B, this group posed more of a challenge for me:
1.Schweiz
2.Eesti
3.Nederland
4.Rossiya
5.Hellas
6.Bosnia i Hercegovina
7.Shqiperia
8.Malta

1.Schweiz is one of the only two locks this group has in my mind. They have it all, dominant big men, dominant guards, young guys that can improve steadily as the season progresses, and have you seen this teams gameshape update this week? 10 strongs, 5 respectables(last week :P). A stellar update. I just don't see them dropping a game in this group.

2.Let the circus begin! Eesti has a very, very strong inside attack, three 350k+ guys down there. I'd love to see them against Italia in a LI vs LI game. Anyways they do have very good guards as well and thats what put them over the top as the number two team, but a couple of teams do pose some risks. Nederland and Rossiya being them. 3 is as low as I see this team dropping and 2 as high as I see them going.

3.Before I took my indepth look at these teams I thought Nederland would be number two for sure, now I think they might finish in the number four spot. Either way I put them third cause they do not have the inside attack or defense to compete with Eesti or the guards to keep up with the Eesti guards. Maybe Eesti is a lock at the two spot now that I think about it, but I could see Nederland pulling off an upset against Eesti and qualifying for the next round. I definetly could see them drop to four though.

4.I definetly did not expect this team to be this high, but when I look at it I could see them being number three or even number two! I'll admit their guards are not the greatest compared to the teams ahead of them, but it's obvious when you look at their roster that it will be an inside oriented team. Seven, I repeat, Seven Centers made the team and five of them are 200k+. This is a team that is poised for a few upsets or two.

5.I definetly thought that Hellas would be the three team that was poised to maybe upset nederland as they number two seed. I see now how inexperienced I am . Anyhow Hellas's roster is clearly not strong enough to qualify for the next round, but a number four or three finish is certainly in the cards.

6.Bosnia i Hercegovina is another team I thought would be higher. Rossiya ruiined everything.. . With a look at their roster though I could of definetly put them as the number 5 seed. I really, really am tempted to, but i'll keep them as the six team for now. Finishing third is not out of the question.

7. I thought this team would be number 6.How wrong I am. Shqiperia is my number 7 pick and I really see them only beatin Malta. They just don't have a strong enough team for me to put them any higher.

8.Malta. Their star PF's name sums this team up, Frank Terribile. Frankly they are terrible. I don't see them winning a game and are probably one of the worst teams in Europe.



Last edited by Bballin at 1/28/2011 9:53:15 PM

Pool C:
1.Deutschland
2.France
3.Slovenija
4.Ceska Rep.
5.Makedonija
6.Cyprus
7.Cymru
8.Andorra

1. Deutschland. At first glance I had France as my number 1 in this group and even number one for the whole tournament, but at a second look my mind has changed. Deutschland's PG is a little worse then Frances, but their backup pg is better. Deutschland has a better SG and a backup thats only a little worse. Beat France at the starting and backup SF positions. Have a better starting C and actually have players listed as PFs. Also they have better depth at the big man position. Its close, but I have to give the nod to Deutschland on this one.

2.France, my first pick to win it all. I obviously needed this second look cause they are definetly a little weaker. Enthusiasm management and GS could make all the difference though and I wouldn't be surprised to see them end up being number 1 after all the games are played. France vs Deutschland could be a huge game, but at that point they could be locked in at the top two spots and itll just turn into a tie vs tie game. Still want to see that game either way.

3.I dont think this is a very tough pick. Slovenija is just stronger and deeper then the other teams below them. Dont have any monster guards or big men, but I dont really see a huge weakness. Good lock at the 3 spot to me.

4.Ceska Rep. did not have their roster up till monday morningish so I couldnt get a look at their roster, but they ended up right about where I thought theyd be. Nothing special, no big monsters to look out for and with France and Deutschland in their group I dont see them cracking the top two. Maybe in other groups they might have, but I guess thats the luck of the draw.

5.This group wasn't really that difficult or important to pick after the top two(or maybe three), there just isnt any teams I see as a possible threat for the top two. Makedonija could make some noise and make it to third, but I only see them going as high as 4.

6.Cyprus is the best of the worst in this group. Cymru, Andorra and Cyprus could have some good close games. I think Cyprus would come out on top though. They just have more depth and a bit stronger of a roster, but enthusiasm and GS could change that fast.

7.Cymru, this bottom three is tough to pick, but Cymrus roster is just a bit stronger then Andorras atm. I dont really like them fusing all 18 spots at the beginning of the season though.

8.Andorra, not very deep, at all. Not very strong, at all. Not much to say, but that they might beat Cymru.

Pool D:
1.Lietuvia
2.Magyarorszag
3.Suomi
4.Israel
5.Romania
6.Sverige
7.Azerbaycan
8.Ireland

1. I expected Lietuvia to be top four or three and they ended up being number 1. Really underestimated them I guess. I think Lietuvia has a pretty legitimate chance at making it to the final 4 and like them to atleast make the repechage. They are just so deep and strong all over the court. A 400k SG? Might be the highest salary SG ive seen, but then again I haven't seen too many.

2.Magyarorszag who I thought was a lock for the top two may be in tough competing for that second spot, although I do believe they should pull ahead of Suomi and Israel. This team has depth at every spot, I think they might come up a little short for the repechage though.

3.Suomi leads the next three teams, but could easily finish 5th in my eyes. This Pool is fairly deep and there are a lot of possible threats throughout it. Suomi is a strong team though and should be able to finish third and wo knows maybe even beat out Magyarorszag for the number 2 spot.

4.Israel is focused on the inside definetly. Some good guards but none that I can see take control of a game. They have a dominant salary moster inside though. With some of his 250k+ supporting cast they have a lethal inside offense, but I dont think they have enough depth at the guard positions to really, truly compete with some of the top teams in the torunament and more specifically the top two in this Pool.

5.Romania is another inside team. only difference is that their inside attack isnt as strong as Israels and their guards are even worse, with GS and enthusiasm going their way they could pull out a top 4 or three finish.

6.Sverige is one of those in the middle teams. Too weak to really, truly compete with the teams ahead of them, but strong enough to easily handle the two teams below them. Think five is the absolute highest they finish.

7.Azerbaycan is not that bad of a team, maybe in another pool they could be fifth, but in this Pool I can't see them going higher then seven. They should only be able to beat Ireland, and fairly easily at that.

8.Ireland is definetly the weakest team in this pool. Probably one of the strongest bottom teams in the tournament, but thats the luck of the draw.

Pool E:
1.Espana
2.Srbija
3.Poland
4.England
5.Crna Gora
6.Sakartvelo
7.Osterreich
8.Hayastan

1.I think Espana is a lock for the next round of group games and could make a lot of noise. I like their guard and big men strength. They also have a 100k+ SF which I always like to see. I don't think anyone in this group will be able to beat this team, they are to strong for this Pool.

2.Srbija has some good guards and some good big men. I like their depth and their chances at making the top two. Poland,England and Crna Gora could be difficult, but I think this team should be able to handle them. I don't see them going any farther then the next round of group games.

3.Poland has a monster 400k big man. That is always good to see in a team, but when they don't have much depth anywhere else it is concerning and I see this team easily being top 4, but maybe even squeaking into the number two spot.

4.England looks like a potential dark horse. No huge threats anywhere on the roster, but very, very, deep and I like their chances at a top 4 finish, maybe even third.

5.Crna Gora has a good inside attack, but unfortunately when you do not have top guards to support their inside attack it can be difficult to win games and I think a top 5 finish is definetly in the cards for these guys.

6.Sakartvelo has a very good 230k PG and 190k SG, but beyond that they don't have much tha'll help them in this tournament. 5th is really the highest I see this team finishing, I think that 6th will be the worst they'll finish because they should be able to easily handle Osterreich and EVERYBODY will be able to deal with Hayastan.

7.Osterreich has no threats anywhere. They are not very deep, but they have a few pretty good players, not very threatening, but good. They could win a game for them, but honestly the only team I see beating is the one below them.

8.Hayastan is a very,very weak team. They will not win a game in this tournament. They have a 20 year old PF that the U21 team could use, not quite understanding the reasoning for him being on the NT, but not going argue with it. To be fair i've seen worse teams, but hayastan is pretty bad.



Last edited by Bballin at 1/28/2011 9:55:23 PM

Pool F:
1.Portugal
2.Slovensko
3.Ukraina
4.Island
5.Belgium
6.Moldova
7.Danmark
8.Scotland

1.Portugal is focused ALL on the inside with two 400k monsters down low. One of them is out for two weeks, but that shouldn't be a problem against scotland and Danmark. I expect this team to win the Pool, but would not be surprised if they finished 2nd or even 3rd!

2.Slovensko has one of the best point guards in the world, once again I have not seen many, but one of the best i've seen. Very balanced attack that allows to use different offenses and mix it up. I like this team to finish 2nd, but 1st and 3rd are not out of the question.

3.Ukraina has a more inside focused team, but I think their guards are solid enough that they can finish top three, seriously, any spot in the top three. Most likely third though.

4.Island is like Ukraina, except with even weaker guards and a weaker inside focus. I like them for fourth, but 5th or 6th could be a possibility. Highest I see them finishing is third, not advancing.

5.Belgium is a fairly balanced team with a bit more of an inside focus. I think they could pull off some upsets and I could even see these guys finishing third. As high as I am willing to go though.

6.Moldova is another darkhorse team to me. belgium, Island and Ukraina are going to have tough games against these guys, but I still have to put them below all those teams. I like Moldova though could see them make some noise.

7.Danmark has a pretty good team actually. They could beat Moldova or Belgium, but besides Scotland I don't think they will beat anyone. Just my thoughts. They do have a good inside attack though.

8.Scotland is definetly the weakest link in this Pool. One of the better number 8 teams in the Euorpean Tournament, but thats the luck of the draw.


My immediate picks for the final four would be Italia, France, Deutschland and Schweiz. I'd love to see a France vs Deutschland final, but Italia's HCA should carry them to the finals. My pick to win it all would be Deutschalnd now.

Thats my predictions right now.

Thoughts?


Sorry for the amount of posts, didnt realize how long this was :O

Brilliant! Freaking brilliant!

Thanks Bballin, that is a very nice summary. Cudos to you for putting the time and effort in to that. It is greatly appreciated.

Pool A:
1.Turkiye (2) 1-0 151 84
2.Italia (1) 1-0 112 83
3.Hrvatska (3) 1-0 130 114
4.Latvija (4) 1-0 105 93
5.Norge (6) 0-1 93 105
6.Belarus (7) 0-1 114 130
7.Bulgaria (5) 0-1 83 112
8.Luxembourg (8) 0-1 84 151
*my pretournament rankings in brackets
Bulgaria 83 Italia 112

True dominance by Italia in this one. Beating Bulgaria in every rating category and in every position of the point per 100 shots statistics. Leonardo Biondi would have to be my pick for player of the game with a game high rating of 18.5, a game high 23 points on 11-22 shooting to go with 4 assists and 3 rebounds. Very efficient game by Italia and they are off to a good start. Italia should’ve and did win this game.


Belarus 114 Hrvatska 130

A great first quarter is all Hrvatska needed to win this one. Hrvatska won the first quarter by 21 points. The 2nd and 3rd quarters were all tied up and then Belarus won the 4th quarter by 5 points. Luckily Hrvatskas Amazing first quarter lead was enough for the win. Kristijan Curka would have to be my pick for player of the game with an efficient 15.0 rating, to go with 18 points on 7-12 shooting, 4 assists and game high +23 helping Hrvatska to the big win over Belarus.


Norge 93 Latvija 105

Latvija won the middle two quarters and it was enough to give them the win over Norge. Not an outside shooing game at all as these two teams combined to go 3-27 from the land beyond and it especially hurt Norge as they shot 2-22 from behind the arc. Would’ve been better off taking an inside shot. Aristids Ikstens is my pick for player of the game with a 16.0 rating, 20 points on 9-10 shooting and 17 rebounds, great performance.


Luxembourg 84 Turkiye 151

This game was over before tipoff. Luxembourg being a team that would struggle in Canadas Div II had ZERO chance against Turkiye in this one. What is even more disturbing is that Turkiye had the 67 point advantage at the end of the third quarter and Luxembourg was able to tie up the 4th quarter. If Turkiye had not been playing TIE against Luxembourgs normal, this would’ve been a scary final score. Yasar Cindoruk wins Player of the Game with an 18.0 rating, 21 points on 10-11 shooting to go with 13 rebounds and +58 plus/minus. Turkiyes 151 points was the most scored of any team in the tournament.

Every game turned out like it should have a pretty straight forward week for Pool A.


Last edited by Bballin at 1/28/2011 10:03:13 PM

Pool B
1.Hellas(5) 1-0 116 80
2.Nederland(3) 1-0 122 93
3.Eesti(2) 1-0 130 112
4.Schweiz(1) 1-0 119 101
5.Rossiya(4) 0-1 112 130
6.Bosnia i Hercegovina(6) 0-1 101 119
7.Shqiperia(7) 0-1 93 122
8.Malta(8) 0-1 80 116

Bosnia i Hercegovina 101 Scweiz 119

Bosnia i Hercegovina won the first quarter, then managed to keep it a tie by halftime and then it was all downhill from there and Scweiz marched on to a convincing 18 point victory in a game that they were supposed to win. Bosnia i Hercegovina’s motion offense muscled out a 42% fg and 10-31 3Fg. Schweiz’s look inside offense coupled with Bosnia i Hercegovina’s 2-3 zone allowed Schweiz to pull off 37 assits compared to 12 from Bosnia i Hercegovina. Ludovic Vilar wins Player of the Game with an 18.0 rating, to go with 20 points on 9-12 shooting, 12 rebounds and a very effective +15.


Shqiperia 93 Nederland 122

Nederland won every single quarter by a consistent amount and in the end it added up to a large win over Shqiperia while putting in less effort then Shqiperia. Nederlands 14-23 3FG really put them over the top and their motion offense was very effective in this game. Jesper Van Halst wins my Player of the Game. 14.0 may have been the second lowest on Nederlands he put up a team high 19 points on 7-13 shotting and was 3-4 from downtown, while also providing 6 assists and being a +13. Great performance.


Rossiya 112 Eesti 130

Rossiya never really had much control in this game although during the middle two quarters they did manage to outscore Eesti by 5. Eesti did put in more effort however. Either way an 18 point win for Eesti in a game where the only really noticeable stats would be the steals and blocks, 8-0 and 10-3 respectively for Eesti. Kustav Kruusamae is Player of the Game with 32 points on 14-18, 9 rebounds, 9 assists and a 13.5 rating.



Malta 80 Hellas 116

Hellas got the easy win this week! Absolutely dominating this game which is to be expected. Hellas just had a nice easy result and was able to cruise to victory in this one. Yiorgos Aggelikos wins this games Player of the Game with a game high 15.0 rating, 18 points on 6-8 shooting and 16 rebounds.

Nothing really noteworthy happened in this group, but that Eesti may have cost themselves some enthusiasm in their win, but maybe they needed it.

Pool C
1.Ceska Rep.(4) 1-0 145 99
2.France(2) 1-0 116 87
3.Makedonija(5) 1-0 115 94
4.Deutschland(1) 1-0 96 85
5.Cyprus(6) 0-1 85 96
6.Cymru(7) 0-1 94 115
7.Slovenija(3) 0-1 87 116
8.Andorra(8) 0-1 99 145

Slovenija 87 France 116

I think this game was huge in deciding the top three. I think this will almost make sure that France and Deutschland are the top two teams in the pool. If Slovenija cannot beat France I see no way they can beat Deutschland, maybe if they CT, but still not seeing them winning. Now its battle for first between France and Deutschland. France truly won the battle dominantly and looks strong. Stephane Boch gets Player of the Game in this one. A game high 17.5 rating, a game high 26 points and 9 rebounds. Very efficient game by Boch.


Cyprus 85 Deutschland 96

Deutschland had real businessman type game. Just a really effective 11 point win. Maybe a little smaller of a differential as they would’ve or should’ve gotten against Cyprus, but a good game nonetheless. Deutschland outrebounded Cyprus 57-37. That’s would be beyond dominance down low. Jurnjochen Deutsche with a game high 23 points and a game high 15 rebounds to go with a 16.5 rating earns Player of the Game honours in this one.


Andorra 99 Ceska Rep. 145

Andorra didn’t really stand a chance in this one and it showed. Ceska Rep. having a good game didn’t help either. They shot an amazing 60-96(62.5%) from the field. That’s phenomenal! They also outrebounded and out assisted Andorra. Vavrinec Uhrovic wins Player of the Game honours in this matchup. A gamehigh 26 points on 10-13 shooting, a gamehigh +27 plus/minus and a team high 26 points to go along with 5 assists.


Cymru 94 Makedonija 115

Makedonija showed that they have a dangerous inside attack and Cymru showed that they will not be making much noise this tournament. Honestly there is not much to say about this one. Makedonija, the stronger team, just beat Cymru, the weaker team. Kristijan Ognjankovski wins player of the game in this one. Easy pick to. Game high 37 points, game high 16.5 rating, game high 17 rebounds and his 37 points outscored all of Cymrus bigmen, all 4, combined.

This week France showed that there would not be an upset. Everything else also went as planned and this group looks pretty straight forward, for now.

Pool D
1.Israel(4) 1-0 149 98
2.Suomi(3) 1-0 138 100
3.Magyarorszag(2) 1-0 149 127
4.Lietuva(1) 1-0 120 108
5.Sverige(6) 0-1 108 120
6.Romania(5) 0-1 127 149
7.Ireland(8) 0-1 100 138
8.Azerbaycan(7) 0-1 98 149

Romania 127 Magyarorszag 149

Romania put less effort into this game. If they would’ve put in an equal amount of effort I think this could’ve been a different game. Romania outrebounded and outassisted Magyarorszag, but 8 FT attempts compared to 26 is tough to overcome. Robert Bocz had a very solid game. A game high 17.5 rating to go along with 23 points while holding the other SG to 8 points. Honourable mention: My rule is the Player of the Game is on the winning team, but in this game Ciprian Tudor was basically Romanias offense pouring in 42 points, amazing game.


Sverige 108 Lietuva 120

The third quarter was the difference in this game. After tying the first quarter, Sverige won the 2nd and 4th quarters by a combined 6 points but lost the third quarter by 18 points. That cost them the game. Sverige surprised me a bit though. They may be stronger than I anticipated. Danielius Malininas gets my Player of the Game with 14 points, a 15.5 rating and a game high 17 rebounds. Solid.


Ireland 100 Suomi 138

I didn’t expect Ireland to haveeven the smallest chance at winning, but what they did made those chances even worse. They dressed 5 players and used more effort than Suomi. Can’t take too much from this so Player of the Game is hard to pick, but I’ll give it to Anti Siiri for his game high 33 points, game high 16 rebounds and a 14.5 rating.


Azerbaycan 98 Israel 149

Azerbaycan also had little to no chance in this game. Biggest win in this Pool by Israel they absolutely ran the show in this one. Amiad Ashkenzi has to get the Player of the Game in this one. Team high 23 points on 11-12 shooting, game high 18.5 rating, and game high 14 rebounds. Definitely player of the game worthy.

Well this week I found out that Sverige and Romania are stronger than I anticipated, but shouldn’t change the standings too much.

Insane game and even insaner-er write ups. GJ.