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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

I didn't think you would use a 2-3, great win though! :D

World Cup:

Final Pool:

Results:

United States 106 at Italia 95
Well I was off! United States pulled this game out on equal effort, by using their 2-3 zone. The game was low scoring and defensive until the 4th quarter when these two teams starting firing on all cylinders where the United States eventually winning 43-34 anyways. The difference in this game: Free throws. Literally. Both teams had 40 fg made, 2 of those were 3 pointers, but the United States had 11 more FTs made. POTG: Ricky Logsdon had a game high 23 points, and a game high 20.5 rating.

Poland 104 at Uruguay 89
Uruguay conceded this one and took the loss against the lethal Polish team.Uruguay actually put up some impressive numbers, but Poland is just too strong for them. POTG: Jerzy Wisniewski had 16 points, a game high 13 rebounds and a game high 21.5 rating.

Espana 133 at Chile 134
Espana held a 21 point lead heading into the fourth quarter, when one of the most inspirational, unprecedeted comebacks in Buzzerbeater history was made by Chile who outscored Espana by 21 in the 4th and brough it into OT, only too eventually win in 2OT. The OT inflated ratings, make Chiles inside offense look unstoppable as they had an unbelievable stupendous(high) Inside scoring rating. POTG: David Tapia had a game high 40 points, a game high 19 rebounds and was able to maintain a game high 20.0 rating while playing 51 minutes!

China 112 at Australia 102

China beats Australia who uses more effort

I seemed to be spot on with this prediction as China ended up beating Australia even though Australia used more effort. These teams put up some ratings that would suggest that they are the weakes teams still alive, but maybe it was just a bad week ;). POTG: Fu Kuande had a team high 21 points, 3 assists and a19.0 rating.

1 Poland 4-0 453 400
2 Chile 3-1 481 451
3 Italia 3-1 469 460
4 España 2-2 461 438
5 United States 2-2 427 430
6 Australia 1-3 446 474
7 China 1-3 396 434
8 Uruguay 0-4 428 474

Picks:

United States(7) at Uruguay(8)
This is a battle of two different types of teams. United States have much weaker big men, but Uruguay has much weaker guards. Both teams have good GS where their strengths are. The United States have better GS at their weker parts,then Uruguay does. My Pick: Obviously United States does not care about having weaker big men as they showed in their last game,United States wins this one and Uruguay uses more effort.

China(3) at Chile(1)
China has a very strong outside attack and it seems that they have good gameshape this week as well. Chile has a very strong everything and has good GS everywhere. My pick: Chile wins this one on equal effort.

Poland(2) at Australia(9)
Australia, is what I believe to be the weakest team still in it and they are going against the strongest team still alive, that spells disaster. My pick: Poland wins this one on equal effort.

Espana(4) at Italia(5)
Italia is too strong of a team even for Espana, I think that Espana did not get the GS update they needed to pull off the win, but they should be able to advance either way. My pic: Italia wins on equal effort.

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

2-3 zone is broken, haven't you heard?

Well Im sorry but as you all know I was not able to get a week of writeups done, im just going to overlook those missed writeups and continue from now, with last mondays results and tomorrows predictions.

World Cup:

Final Pool:

Results:

Espana 107 at Italia 114
This was a matchup of two very strong teams, that are contenders and on equal effort Itaia was able to pull this one out. This loss was tough for Espana and with two games remaining are a game behind the United States for the final spot in the semifinals currently. POTG: Gabriele Turbato had 22 points, 11 rebounds and an 18.5 rating.

United States 127 at Uruguay 125
The United States survived a scare here and pulled out a crucial victory over Uruguay. With OT the ratings posted were amazing, but The United States lethal outside attack was too much Uruguays 3-2 zone. POTG: Ricky Logsdon had a game high 36 points, 4 assists and a 19.0 rating.

China 84 at Chile 103
Both teams played LI M2M in this game, but Chile was just better as evident by the ratings and pulled out a nice 19 point vicory over the strong China team. Chile currently only have one loss and re shoeis to advance to the semis. POTG: David Tapia had a team high 27 points, a game high 14 rebounds and a 19.5 ratng.

Poland 128 at Australia 82
Polands HCA and strong roster absolutely crushed Australia and the ratings put up were once again unbelievable. Poland won every single quarter which added up to a 46 point victory. POTG: Jerzy Wisniewski had a game high 29 points, a gamee high 14 rebounds and a game high 22.0 rating.

1.Poland(1) 5-0 581 482
2.Chile(3) 4-1 584 535
3.Italia(2) 4-1 583 567
4.United States(5) 3-2 554 555
5.España(4) 2-3 568 552
6.China(7) 1-4 480 537
7.Australia(6) 1-4 528 602
8.Uruguay(8) 0-5 553 601

Predictons:

Espana(4) at Uruguay(8)
GS wise these two teams are pretty much equal. Talent wise they are equal down low, but on the outside Espana has the definite advantage and that is what could help them, Espana needs to win their final two games to give themselves the best shot at advancing. My pick: Espana on equal effort.

United States(7) at Australia(9)
Australia needs to win their final two games and Espana and the United States have to lose their final two for Australia to advance... with the United States having great GS for their guards this week im afraid that will not happen. My pick: United States wins with less effort.

China(6) at Italia(3)
China needs two victories in a row, combined with two losses from Espana and the United States will allow China to possible qualify, well those chances are slim, but they start with a game against Italia. China has as good as GS as they can ask for for their guards, while Italia has a couple of their best guards at proficient GS. China's bigs aren't in ideal GS, but are no too bad, while Italia is in the same boat. My pick: Brace yourself, China wins on extra effort, I gotta hunch with this one ;)

Poland(2) at Chile(1)
The battle of all battles. Number1 vs Number 2 the eternal matchup. Chile has better GS and a comparable roster. Poland has HCA. My pick: Chile does not need this game and lose on a TIE, but I think if they used extra effort, theyd win.