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Americas U21 Continentals

Pool C:

Results:

Argentina 104 at Ecuador 55
Argentina really crushed Ecuador in this game, defensively Argentina were very strong and Ecuador was just not good enough offensively. Argentina looked strong, but not like some of the best teams, they should contend however. Ecuador has already clinched a spot in the next round so this loss does not effect them too much. POTG: Gerasim Varakyan with a game high 22 points, 11 rebounds and a 14.5 rating.

Chile 94 at Panama 69
Well Panama tried winning without using extra effort and it did not work, although they probably made the right decision. Chile had some pretty good ratings in this one and Panama actually had some good ones as well playing a motion offense. Chile was actually losing after the first quarter but after they took control. Chile had 21 more revouds then Panama had. POTG: Manuel Irarrazaval had a game high 19 points, a game high 17 rebounds and a 15.0 rating.

Rep. Dominicana 111 at Jamaica 123
Jamaica had a very effective offense going as they were able to score 30 points or more in every quarter. Their defense could use a little work, but hey they are an up and coming team. Rep. Dominicana lost again and their chances at advancing are now gone sadly. POTG: Laurent Gorman had a team high 25 points, a team high 14 rebounds and a game high 11.5 rating. Ian Bache also had 20 assists for Jamaica.

1.Chile U21(1) 5-0 527 312
2.Argentina U21(2) 5-0 539 352
3.Panama U21(3) 3-2 444 421
4.Ecuador U21(4) 3-2 397 438
5.Guatemala U21(6) 1-4 404 531
6.Jamaica U21(5) 1-5 582 707
7.Rep. Dominicana U21(7) 0-5 369 501

Picks:
Guatemala(87) at Rep. Dominicana(90)
Both teams have pretty bad GS, although I think Guatemala has worse GS and to be honest this game is only for ranking purposes. With that said, I think that Rep. Dominicana has a decent amount of enthusiasm and could be looking at a normal or CT for this game. My pick: Rep. Dominicana wins with extra effort.

Panama(50) at Ecuador(47)
Frankly this game although the rankings in the americas continentals and the world rankings suggest that this should be a close game I think that this is an easy choice. Panama is much stronger and has a much better GS situation. My pick: Panama wins easily.

Chile(17) at Argentina(10)
These two teams are fairly simliar in my mind. Both teams have already advanced and I do not think that 1st or 2nd is going to matter too much as the 2nd round groups are shaping up to be fairly similiar. I think GS wise Argentina is going to have to go with an outside offense and Chile has GS that allows them to go either way in my opinion. My pick: Chile wins this one with an inside offense in a TIE vs TIE game.

Americas U21 Continentals

Pool B:

Results:

United States 84 at Colombia 60
Well United States won this one fairly easily in what I thought would be a much closer game. Colobia surprised me by going with a motion offense. It did not work as they never put up at least 20 points in a quarter and went an abismal 21-88 from the field in this one. POTG: Jim Munoz had 14 points, a game high 16 rebounds and a 13.0 rating.

Brasil 87 at Paraguay 54
Paraguay used more effort and it really did not work. They went with their strength and played an inside offense, they got good ratings, but still got dominated and had an ineffective offense shooting 18-76 from the field. POTG: Nilo Bom Tempo had a team high 19 points, 7 rebounds, and a 12.0 rating.

Mexico 133 at Bolivia 88
Mexico had a very good game offensively and were extremely effective with their Look Inside offense and really beat down on Bolivia. They scored at least 22 points every quarter and held Bolivia to less than 2o every quarter until the fourth where Bolivia erupted for 32 however Mexico countered with a 43 point quarter. POTG: Santiago Aub had a team high 34 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and a 13.0 rating in this one as MExico was the only team to score more than 100 points in this pool.

1.United States U21(3) 5-0 582 400
2.Brasil U21(1) 5-0 546 365
3.Colombia U21(2) 3-2 491 412
4.México U21(4) 2-3 459 489
5.Paraguay U21(5) 2-3 456 498
6.Bolivia U21(7) 1-5 493 709
7.Puerto Rico U21(6) 0-5 439 593

Picks:

Puerto Rico(88) at Mexico(70)
I think Mexico is the stronger team here and they are the team that needs the win. If Mexico wins this game and Paraguay loses then theyll advance to the next round. If Mexico and Paraguay both win, it comes down to point differential, same if they both lose, so they do have some leeway as they have a better point differential currently. Puerto Rico has a pretty solid GS situation right now and look probably as good as they have been all tournament long. My pick: Mexico wins holding off Puerto Ricos extra effort.

Paraguay(72) at Colombia(39)
Colombia is the stronger team, however Paraguay is not necessarily weak. Paraguay had a much much better GS update this week. Colombia doesn't really need this game, however if they lose and Mexico wins it will coe down to Point Diffential, but they have a huge lead there so they are basically in. My pick: Paraguay wins with extra effort and it comes down to PD against Mexico.

Brasil(18) at United States(5)
Both teams had good GS updates, and both teams have yet to lose a game. This week it will most likely be a TIE vs TIE game as this game does not matter too much. So with a level playing field it comes down to talent and I believe that United States have better talent and GS with their guards while Brasil has better GS and talent with their bigs and in Buzzerbeater, the inside offense is the harder one to stop. My pick: Brasil goes inside and wins.

Americas U21 Continentals

Pool A:

Results:

Peru 69 at Uruguay 82
Uruguay had some very very good ratings in this game and it helped to beat the home team in this game as their look inside offense was incredible. Peru's defense looked good, but that is a result of their HCA. POTG:Yamandu Molder had 14 points, a team high 11 rebounds, and a 13.0 rating.

Canada 104 at Costa Rica 60
This game looked like it would be a defensive battle when the first quarter ended in a 15-8 Canada lead, but then Canada got it going and never looked back from their as they won this game handily by 44 points. Canada stayed perfect and are first place in the ppol as the last undefeated team. POTG: Isaac Massicotte had 12 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and a game high 14.5 rating.

Venezuela 113 at Bahamas 77
venezuela got a free win of the week as they were able to crush the woely Bahamas squad. Venezuela had some good ratings in this game and look pretty good to be honest. POTG: Ernesto Solar had a team high 21 points, 9 rebounds and a 12.0 rating.

1.Canada U21(1) 5-0 506 316
2.Peru U21(3) 4-1 496 319
3.Uruguay U21(2) 4-1 515 347
4.Venezuela U21(4) 2-3 491 437
5.Costa Rica U21(5) 2-3 442 497
6.Bahamas U21(7) 1-5 421 662
7.Barbados U21(6) 0-5 303 596

Picks:
Barbados(95) at Venezuela(64)
Venezuela needs a win to clinch a spot in the next round and they are lucky to get a free win of the week for the second week in a row. My pick: Venezuela wins and advances to the 2nd round.

Costa Rica(71) at Uruguay(23)
Uruguay is a much stronger team then Costa Rica, they do not need a win like Costa Rica does, but I think Costa Rica should realize that Venezuela is playing Barbados and so the chances that venezuela will lose and Costa rica will win plus improve their point differential enough to advance over venezuela are slim, paper slim. My pick: Uruguay wins against extra effort.

Canada(19) at Peru(28)
Canada and Peru look fairly similiar, however Canada looks like they have an edge at every position. Canada also seems to have an edge GS wise. The only thing Peru has going for them this week is the GS of their bigs and HCA. My pick: Canada wins this one, in a close affair.

World Cup:

Pool A:

Results:

Misr 110 at Australia 124
Misr put up a real good fight in an even effort match. However they came up short as Australia was able to pull this one out in a good game. Australia's offense was effective every quarter as they were able to dismiss Misr. POTG: Rudolph Radford had a team high 23 points, a team high 13 rebounds and a 17.0 rating.

Italia 108 at Chile 98
Well I was wrong and based on the ratings that Italia put up they really did not like me picking Chile. The ratings that Italia put up were phenomenal, jawdropping and they snuck out the 10 point victory over Chile and deservingly so as Chile was just weaker then Italia. POTG: Paolo Spolaore had a game high 23 points, a game high 14 rebounds, and a 16.5 rating.

Uruguay 111 at Philippines 83
Uruguay won this in a game that they just won every quarter in and that is all it took. Philippines were outmatched and Uruguay just took control. Uruguay is now in a good position to advance with their second win. POTG: Juan Bruschi had a game high 21 points, 8 rebounds and a game high 18.5 rating.

1.Italia(1) 4-0 502 462
2.Chile(2) 3-1 470 405
3.Uruguay(3) 2-2 463 442
4.Australia(5) 2-2 464 465
5.Misr(6) 1-3 417 474
6.Philippines(4) 0-4 398 466

Picks:
Chile(1) at Philippines(16)
Chile is still at good GS levels and are much much better then the Philippines. Philippines are outmatched in this game and the GS levels of the strength of their team, their bigs, are a problem. Philippines are already out and Chile is already in. My pick: Chile wins this one fairly easily.

Italia(4) at Misr(32)
Misr looks as strong as they will ever be, however that is still not good enough to beat Italia and their amazing GS and talent. Misr needs this game however and will most likely put it all out there for a chance at winning. My pick: Italia outlasts a crunch from Misr and finishes first and undefeated.

Australia(8) at Uruguay(7)
Australia and Uruguay are two evenly matched teams and this one is going to come down to effort and GS. I think the effort level should be equal as both teams have basically clinched a spot in the 2nd round, but GS wise I think that Australia has the better GS situation and that should be the difference. My pick: In a LI , M2M , TIEvs TIE game Australia comes out on top just barely.

World Cup:

Pool B:

Results:

Al Maghrib 91 at China 143
Al Maghrib crunched against China's TIE and still got dismantled. Al MAghrib guessed right going with a 1-3-1 defense against China's Run and Gun offense, but China was just to strong for their defense. Al MAghrib has now been eliminated from contention, basically. China needs one more win to get in and plays Canada next. POTG: Fu Kuande had a game high 27 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and a game high 20.0 rating.

Espana 111 at United States 95
Both teams played at the same effort level and both played a LI M2M lineup. Espana just had a better team in this game as United States was beaten by 16 points. Both teams took 93 shots, but Espana made 51 while United States made just 43. POTG: Pere Cisquell had a game high 20 points, a game high 14 rebounds, and an 18.5 rating.

Canada 77 at Poland 97
Canada got beat by Poland in a game where equal effort was used. Poland was able to beat Canada as they should have with their HCA and put up some great ratings once again. Canada used a base offense and actually had soe really really good ratings in this game. POTG:Jerzy Wisniewski had a game high 19 points, a team high 13 rebounds and a game high 20.5 rating.

1.Poland(1) 4-0 513 415
2.España(2) 3-1 454 417
3.United States(3) 2-2 444 440
4.China(4) 1-3 427 423
5.Canada(5) 1-3 414 457
6.Al Maghrib(6) 1-3 445 545

Picks:

Espana(6) at Al Maghrib(53)
Al Maghrib is much much weaker then Espana who is one of the strongest teams in the tournament right now. Al Maghrib is definetly the weakes team in the whole tournament and are looking at going 1-4 in this tournament. My pick: Espana easily beats Al Maghrib who uses all of their effort.

China(3) at Canada(11)
This game decides who will get the final slot in the 2nd round. The teams look similiar talent wise with both teams taking slight edges at every position. GS wise both teams had some good updates, but nothing spectactular. It looks like China will probably go with an outside offense based on GS and history while Canada could easily go either way. My pick: In an all out duel China sneaks out a close contest. But who knows, Canada did take out France ;)

United States(9) at Poland(5)
This game is rather pointless as both teams are basically locked in at the position they are in and both teams will be advancing. Poland however looks like a stronger team plus they have HCA. My pick: Equal effort, but Poland wins and finishes perfect.


Sorry it got fairly basic near the end, gotta study for finals! cheers

Americas U21 Continentals

Pool C:

Results:

Chile 88 at Argentina 79
In the battle of the two powerhouses of the pool, Chile used the rarely played Princeton offense and was able to beat Argentina on equal effort. The game was close the whole way through and Chile was losing heading in to the fourth where they crushed Argentina by 16 points and won the game. POTG: Manuel Irarrazaval had a game high 21 points, and a game high 16.0 rating.

Panama 82 at Ecuador 58
Panama built up a 27 point halftime lead and then cruised to the victory in convincing fashion. Ecuadors offense was abismal, however they had a decent defense which has helped them to win 3 games previous to this and advance. POTG: Said Avila had a team high 16 points, 7 rebounds, and an 11.5 rating.

Guatemala 116 at Rep. Dominicana 100
These teams used equal effort and Guatemala was able to take advantage and beat Rep. Dominicana fairly easily with their look inside offense. Rep. Dominicana finishes the group stage with zero wins. POTG: Daniel Marin had a team high 32 points,a game high 13 rebounds, 7 assists and a game high 11.5 rating.

Pool B:

Results:

Brasil 78 at United States 76
These two powerhouses met to decide who would be the number one team on this pool and Brasil was able to beat the United States with their strong inside offense. Brasil finished the first round undefeated and in first place. POTG: Danilo Martinello had a game high 19 points, a game high 19 rebounds, and a game high 17.0 rating.

Paraguay 82 at Colombia 94
Paraguay crunched Colombia in hopes of snatching fourth from Mexico, but Colombia was able to beat Paraguays crunch with their TIE. Colombia finished third and will advance to the 2nd round. The ratings in ths game were not that great, but it got Colombia off to next round. POTG: Carlos Kecan had a game high 25 points, 6 rebounds and a 12.5 rating.

Puerto Rico 110 at Mexico 128
Puerto Rico used more effort then Mexico, but came up short in their quest to steal a win. Mexico had some less then impressive ratings and if they keep thos ratings up they won't be much of a factor come the 2nd round.

Pool C:

Results:

Canada 64 at Peru 43
This game was ..... exciting? One of the lowest scoring games ive seen at the NT or U21 NT level. Two people were able to score in double digits and only once did either of these teams score at least 20 points in a single quarter and that was Canada in the third quarter. Canada finished first with an undefeated record. POTG: Dwain Hadley had a game high 22 points, 4 rebounds and a 13.5 rating.

Costa Rica 78 at Uruguay 113
Costa Rica crunched against Uruguays TIE and were still crushed. Costa Rica had some pretty bad ratings and with this loss will not be advancing to the second round. Uruguay scored 32 points in each of the first two quarters and had built up a huge lead by the second half. POTG: Diego Garcia had a game high 27 points, 7 rebounds, a game high 6 assists and a game high 14.5 rating.

Barbados 61 at Venezuela 126
Barbados used more effort which makes this result a little bit more embarassing, Venezuela were the benefactors of the free winof the week and really took advantage. Venezuela will now be advancing to the next round. POTG: Erasmo Miranda had a team high 24 points, a game high 12 rebounds and a game high 14.5 rating.

World Cup:

Pool A:

Results:

Italia 111 at Misr 92
Misr crunched against Italia who TIEd in hopes of snatching a win away, but they came up short. Italia used the rarely played offense Princeton an put up some great ratings. Misr had sme decent ratings, but just not enough to beat Italia. Francesco Pedroni had 23 points, a game high 6 assists, and a 16.5 rating.

Australia 113 at Uruguay 104
Well these teams played the same effort and Australia barely came out on top, after going up by nine by halftime, the second half was deadlocked the whole way through and Australia got the winning. Australia had 29 more rebounds hen Uruguay had and that really helped them out.POTG: Rudolph Radford had a game high 30 points, a game high 23 rebounds and a 17.5 rating.

Chile 107 at Philippines 86
This game really did not effect the standings at all and Philippines put more effort in and it definetly did not pay off. Chile went with a motion and easily dispatched Philippines. POTG: Ulf Gornitz had a team high 21 points, a game high 12 rebounds, and a team high 19.0 rating.

Pool B:

Results:

Espana 144 at Al Maghrib 90
Espana destroyed Al Maghrib with an absolutely lethal offense that resulted i 30 or more points in each quarter. Al Maghrib put up the ratings of a strong U21 team and that is not enough in the World cup. POTG: Lluis Montolio had 18 points, a game high 9 rebounds and a 17.5 rating.

China 121 at Canada 111
Canada used more effort in hopes of repeating the upset they pulled against France, but this time China was up to the task and Canada went down. It was a competitive game with both teams playing an outside offense the game was fairly exciting especially after China dropped 40 in the first quarter. POTG: Fu Yongting had 28 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds and an 18.5 rating.

United States 106 at Poland 115
On even effort United States was able to do what most teams couldn't do against Polan and their HCA an that was keep it in the single digits. POTG: Maciej Tlustochowicz had 20 points, 5 rebounds and a 19.0 rating.

World Cup:

Final Pool:

Predictions:

1.Poland
2.Italia
3.Chile
4.Espana
5.United States
6.Australia
7.China
8.Uruguay

1.Poland has the ever so crucial 3-0 start and also have HCA combined with a very strong roster. That is not a very good combination for the other teams.

2.Italia, if not for Poland having HCA Italia would definetly be the favourite in my mind. They look like one of maybe two or three teams thatll be able to beat Poland. Italias roster is deep and strong.

3.Chile, the defending world champions are not going to go down without a fight. They still have a stong roster, however it seems that Italia has improved enough to overtake Chile. Chile will make it to the semifinals and from there, we shall see.

4.Espana or United States, that was the big question for me. Although I do believe that Espana hs the stronger roster, plus they have the advantage by starting 2-1 rather than 1-2. Espana also beat United States in their first matchup.

5.United States, this was tough to pick although i believe i have made the right choice. United States have very strong talent on the outside, but their inside players are not stong enough to beat some of the best teams in Buzzerbeater and that will be their downfall.

6. Australia should come up just short, but they are definetly a team to watch out for in the future as they have soome good young talent on their team and should become more of a contender in a couple seasons time.

7.China, I feel China that if China had maybe started this pool with a recordof 2-1 or even 1-2 that theyd be in the top 3 possibly. However you gotta win the games in the previous round. They have a strong team, but it seems that some GS issues have gotten the best of them.

8.Uruguay, while Uruguay may have a solid roster I do not think that they are strong enough to hande the "big boys" and should get beaten in all of their games.

Picks:

China(3) at Australia(7)
Chinas early GS issues seem to have evaporated! This one actually looks fairly simple. China has better GS and better players. My pick: China beats Australia who uses more effort.

Poland(6) at Uruguay(8)
What an unfortuate first game for Uruguay. If Uruguay wanted to advance a loss was not acceptable. This first loss should be inevitable. My pick: Poland beats Uruguay like theyve beaten everyone PTB M2M.

United States(9) at Italia(5)
United States strenghth is their guards, this week it seems Italia has the guards thatll be able to withstand the United States beasts of guards. Italia should be able to beat up on the United States weaker big men. My pick: Italia wins this one with relative ease.

Espana(4) at Chile(1)
Espana is just a level below Chiles talent and worse GS wise. I think Espana will concede this one. My pick: Chile on equal effort.

Americas U21 Continentals

Second Round:

Pool E:

Predictions:

1.Brasil
2.Argentina
3.Uruguay
4.Peru
5.Panama
6.Mexico

1.Brasil looks to have one of the stronger rosters this season. They have depth an strength all over the court and that should carry them to the semifinals.

2.Argentina, perrennial powerhouses who seem to be declining a bit. Argentina should advance to the semifnals because they still have the beasts down low, but any further than that is unlikely.

3.Uruguay, the up and comers who look to replace Argentina soon, they are good, but not good enough yet. They should make the repechage and could advanceto the worlds through their.

4.Peru, HCA doesn't seem to be enough for this team. They just do not have the strengh in their roster to take advantage of this HCA.

5.Panama is a solid team for th continental level, but not a contender, maybe with some luck they sneak into third and into the repechage, I doubt it though.

6. Mexico is a deep team altough, they don't have any beasts or true strengths. That should hurt them and win will be hard to come by.

Picks:

Mexico(72) at Uruguay(23)
Mexico had a good GS updte, sadly it comes up against a team that can beat them otherwise. Uruguay ha superior strength of team and good GS. My pick: Uruguay wins on equal effort.

Panama(46) at Peru(30)
Panama seems to have less depth but more talent. Peru does have HCA though. Gameshape wise I give the edge to Panama. My pick: Panama wins on extra effort.

Argentina(10) at Brasil(18)
Argentina has the behemoth down low, although he is at mediocre GS, the rest of Argentina's team also has fairly weak GS as well. Brasil has much more depth, better guards ad the big men to handle Argentinas big men, pus they have great GS. My pick: Brasil wins on equal effort.

Pool D:

Predictions:

1.United States
2.Chile
3.Canada
4.Colombia
5.Venezuela
6.Ecuador

1.The United States have what I believe is the second strongest roster this seaason, behind only Brasil. They have the depth and the talent. Hopefully they keep their GS up.

2.Chile is strong on the NT, not as dominant on the U21 level as they look like the team, that could be upset. Chile has a beast down low, although they are lacking in the guard department. Which could hurt them.

3.Canada has depth, but no absolute superstars. They have some strong guards and depth, but lack in their big men department. If they manage their GS and pick their spots, second place is defietly in the cards.

4.Colombia is like Canada except opposite. They have some absolute superstars, but are lacking depth wise. This is more dangerous both ways, they could either pull off the upsets, or just fizzle. We'll see.

5.Venezuela, they are a sold team, they nearly beat Canada and have som good all around talent, now picking their spots and maintaining good GS is key and they could very well finish third and advance to the repechage.

6.Ecuador is most definetly the weakest team in this pool. They have very little talent and depth. A win will be difficult for his team.

Picks:

Ecuador(55) at Venezuela(57)
Ecuador is the weaker team for sure, I honesty just cannot see them winning a game. My pick: Venezuelas superios GS and talent wins thi game with relativ ease.

Colombia(36) at Canada(19)
Colombia has the best big man and the best guard. Although they have very little depth which is Canada's strength. Neither team has great GS, but I think Canada has a slight advantage there. My pick: Canada wins on equal effort.

Chile(16) at United States(5)
Chile has weak GS this week and a waker team then the United States. I think both teams will advance but this game should be fairly simple. My pick: United States wins on equal effort.

I really enjoy reading you writeups. Great work!

Go Panama for the U21s!

United States(9) at Italia(5)
United States strenghth is their guards, this week it seems Italia has the guards thatll be able to withstand the United States beasts of guards. Italia should be able to beat up on the United States weaker big men. My pick: Italia wins this one with relative ease.

Who needs bigs when you've got 2-3 zone