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I know how it works, but nowadays you can get into group stronger team from 3rd than from 2nd pool if you are unlucky. And medium level team are from me almost all from 3rd to 6th pool. This time Russia was even at 7th pool. Sometimes can be interesting to play the strongest team just at the beginning if you go from 5th or 6th pool, but feel strong enough.

The easier group is more of a crap shot then anything created by exact order of natinal rankings. And order of games within the group is crucial too. So at the end it may be better to be at some worse place in the rankings.

I know how it works, but nowadays you can get into group stronger team from 3rd than from 2nd pool if you are unlucky. And medium level team are from me almost all from 3rd to 6th pool. This time Russia was even at 7th pool. Sometimes can be interesting to play the strongest team just at the beginning if you go from 5th or 6th pool, but feel strong enough.

But if you are able to raise in the 2nd pool,you are sure to avoid team like Germany,Nederland,Hrvatska,Lietuva and so on,then you can be unlucky in the whole group draw,but this happen in every kind of draw,and at least you avoid surely a good team.

Yes, pool 2 can make a difference, but discusion so far was about mid level teams which for mean doesn't mean 2nd pool. And I also don't think some teams you mantioned are stronger than for example Poland from Pool 3.

I had no idea that the NT rankings decided the groups :P that makes all the other games so much more interesting!

1.Schweiz(1) 5-0 580 429
2.Nederland(3) 5-0 611 506
3.Eesti(2) 4-1 587 489
4.Hellas(5) 3-2 513 472
5.Bosna i Hercegovina(6) 1-4 508 531
6.Rossiya(4) 1-4 503 559
7.Shqipëria(7) 1-4 462 578
8.Malta(8) 0-5 405 605

Hellas 81 Scweiz 96
This loss spelled the end for Hellas. Both teams put up some real good ratings, but Scweiz is just too strong and came away with the win. Scweiz now has an easier road to the 2nd round. This game was close the whole way through, but Hellas couldn't catch up at the end. POTG: Dominik Denzler had a game high 22 points, a game high 18 rebounds and an 18.0 rating.

Eesti 118 Nederland 122
In a double OT thriller Nederland put up an inside scoring rating of.... PRODIGIOUS(LOW)! That was not a typo. Im not too sure, but it is that the best inside scoring rating ever? I would not be surprised if it was. It is absolutely jaw-dropping. Both teams put up some unbelievable ratings, but Nederland got the win which ensures an easier path to the 2nd round, but Eesti is going to have to win out if they want to advance. POTG: Dominicus van Voorthuizen had a team high 23 points, a game high 15 rebounds and an 18.0 rating. Im still in shock about that Prodigious (low) rating, rattling.

Malta 83 Bosnia i Hercegovina 104
Malta had a lead at half! But Bosnia i Hercegovina woke up and took care of the 2nd half and the easy victory over Malta. POTG: Ivo Bistrovic had a game high 25 points, a game high 6 assists and a 16.5 rating.

Rossiya 101 Shqiperia 111
A game of bad tactics. Shqiperia went LI and Rossiya went 3-2. Rossiya went RnG and Shqiperia went 2-3. Shqiperia CT'd and Rossiya TIE'd. Anyways Shqiperia won with their CT and get their first win. Rossiya continues their disappointing performance. POTG: Bato Hyseni had a game high 25 points to go with 12 rebounds and a 14.0 rating.

My predictions:
Bosnia i Hercegovina(43) at Rossiya(61)
Bosnia i Hercegovina's GS will most likely make them go with an outside attack. Rossiya had a GS update which could probably allow them to go either way, but most likely go with an outside attack. Both teams are 1-4 and this game could help setup an easier group for next season. My pick: Bosnia i Hercegovina, they had a slightly better GS update and Rossiya has a bunch of injuries.

Shqiperia(59) at Malta(88)
Shqiperia has only two players at proficient and probably the worst GS update ive seen. An inside attack is probable. Malta had a better GS update and could go either way. Shqiperia crunched last week as well. My pick: Shqiperia wins their 2nd game of the tournament and Malta loses again.

Nederland(23) at Hellas(47)
How is Nederland supposed to follow up their last performance? Nederland had a bad GS update and if I were them i'd probably TIE this game and hope for the best, save enthusiasm for the game that'll probably decide if they advance or not. Hellas had a good GS update and could go either way. My pick: Hellas, there is no way Nederland can follow that up. Prodigious(low)...

Schweiz(2) at Eesti(29)
Schweiz should probably go with an outside attack based on their GS update. Eesti is definetly going with an inside attack as their two top big men are at proficient GS. If Schweiz wins this game and Hellas wins like i predicted then that means if Schweiz beats Nederland in two weeks time that the team to advance with Schweiz will have two losses. Odd. My pick: I really want to take Eesti, but my gut is saying Schweiz, so Schweiz it is.

prodigious(low)...

I think that your team could try in the future to crack in the 2nd pool,I thought your team was one of the more interested in the evolution of NT rankings

To reach 2nd pool team have to go to next stage in EC or be close to it and go to at least semifinal of Consolation Tournament. I really don't care about it. Last time I overcalculated it as I hope for group with Schweiz and Nederland, but unfortunatelly Eesti went last week before the draw very close ahead of us and they got this group instead of us.

Pool C:
1.France(2) 5-0 620 457
2.Deutschland(1) 5-0 566 441
3.Makedonija(5) 4-1 556 516
4.Ceska Rep.(4) 3-2 576 507
5.Cyprus(6) 2-3 492 527
6.Slovenija(3) 1-4 485 537
7.Andorra(8) 0-5 472 626
8.Cymru(7) 0-5 471 627

Makedonija 94 France 112
Makedonija had a lead at half, but as expected their surprising 4 game win streak came to an end against a very strong French team. Makedonija still has a very legitimate shot at advancing to the 2nd round, but theyll need back to back wins to do it and still need to face Deutschland. France put up some good ratings in this game. POTG: Joffrey Deschamps had 17 points, a team high 17 rebounds, and an 18.0 rating.

Ceska Rep. 97 Deutschland 107
This game pretty much spelled the end to Ceska Rep. advancing to the 2nd round. Deutscland is a very strong team though and Ceska Rep. had a good run. Ceska Rep. put up some good ratings, but Deutschland put up some unbelievable ratings and they won the game handily. POTG: Roland Krassnitzer had a game high 25 points, a game high 14 rebounds and a 19.0 rating.

Cymru 94 Slovenija 111
Slovenija had a methodical game winning every quarter and having those small quarter leads build up to a large victory in the end. Cymru even put in more effort, but Slovenija still managed to win the game. POTG: Julijan Vogric had 16 points, 13 rebounds and a 17.0 rating.

Andorra 94 Cyprus 110
Andorra put up a weak game and Cyprus took advantage, although Cyprus did use more effort in this game. Either way Cyprus took an easy one here. POTG: Nikolas Gkavoyiannos had a game high 28 points, a game high 5 assists, 5 rebounds and a game high 17.0 rating.

Note: three of the four losers scored 94 points and the one who didn't scored 97 :P

My predictions:
Slovenija(56) at Andorra(69) xD
Slovenija's GS will probably make them go with an inside attack, although it is Andorra, they could probably do anything and win. My pick: Slovenija should win this game easily.

Cyprus(54) at Cymru(85)
Both teams could go either way based on GS, but based on talent Cyprus has a big advantage. My pick: Cyprus improves to 3-3.

Deutschland(15) at Makedonija(30)
Makedonija should definetly look to go with an outside tactics in this one. This is a huge game for them, if they win this one they all they need as one more win for that shot at advancing. Although Makedonija got Deutschland on the wrong week. Deutschland has a strong GS and talent level. They could beat Makedonija inside or outside. Its pick your poison right now. My pick: Deutschland puts an end to an impressive run by Makedonija.

France(3) at Ceska Rep.(28)
France had a very strong GS update and with a win here will basically secure a spot in the next round. Ceska Rep. also had a good GS update although equal GS with France is not enough. My pick: France wins and Ceska Rep.s already dashed hopes are worsened.

Pool D:
1.Lietuva(1) 5-0 598 468
2.Israel(4) 5-0 600 495
3.Magyarország(2) 4-1 613 480
4.Suomi(3) 3-2 622 557
5.România(5) 1-4 623 660
6.Azərbaycan(7) 1-4 500 650
7.Ireland(8) 1-4 440 615
8.Sverige(6) 0-5 496 567

Israel 105 Magyarorszag 95
Even though Israel played a 3-2 zone against Magyarorszag's Look Inside Israel won this one. Both teams put up some real good ratings, but Israel's were slightly better. This loss dampens Magyarorszag's chances,but they still got a shot. POTG: Amiad Ashkenazi had a game high 27 points, 9 rebounds and a 17.5 rating.

Suomi 114 Lietuva 127
Lietuva dropped 42 points in a high scoring 1st quarter and never looked back scoring 75 points in the 1st half. Suomi tried a 1-3-1 defense and their rebounding ratings took a real hit. Anyhow the better team won and Suomi's chance at advancing have been dashed. POTG: Danielius Malininas had a team high 24 points, a game high 17 rebounds and a 17.5 rating.

Azerbaycan 132 Romania 127
Azerbaycan followed suit with Suomi and 1-3-1'd Romania and it worked this time. Surprisingly Azerbaycan were able to win and Romania drops to 1-4 in a disappointing tournament for them. POTG: Taymaz Abdullayev had 31 points, a team high 6 assists, 4 rebounds and a 12.0 rating

Ireland 121 Sverige 120
Sverige had a 17 point halftime lead, but Ireland came back to tie it up by the end of the game and OT was needed where stunningly Ireland pulled out a 1point victory. Ireland crunched and Sverige TIE'd which really is the reason why Ireland won this one and what I thought would be the beginning to a winning streak for Sverige turned into their 5th straight loss. POTG; Tommy O Riain had 22 points, 12 rebounds, a game high 7 assists and a 14.0 rating.

My predictions:
Sverige(66) at Azerbaycan(83)
Can Sverige get off the snide and get their first win of the tournament? In simplest terms, yes. My pick: Sverige gets their first win.

Romania(46) at Ireland(73)
Ireland had the much better GS update, but Romania's talent advantage is so huge that I still choose them. My pick: Romania.

Magyarorszag(5) at Suomi(34)
Suomia had a fairly strong GS update, but Magyarorszag had a stronger one, coupled with their talent advantage this would should be predictable. Suomi already doesn't have a good chance at advancing, but Magyarorszag does. If they win this one and the next. My pick: Magyarorszag comes through when it counts.

Lietuva(16) at Israel(35)
Both teams had good GS updates, but Lietuva's was amazing. They could beat Israel either way and already have the talent advantage. Both teams are undefeated and looking to virtually lock themselves into a spot in the next round. My pick; Lietuva.

Pool E:
1.España(1) 5-0 577 443
2.Poland(3) 4-1 522 433
3.Srbija(2) 4-1 585 506
4.Crna Gora(5) 3-2 562 535
5.Österreich(7) 1-4 486 534
6.Sakartvelo(6) 1-4 438 500
7.England(4) 1-4 504 589
8.Hayastan(8) 1-4 459 593

Crna Gora 107 Srbija 120
Srbija won this game and kept their hopes alive, while harming Crna Gora's hopes big time. Srbija won off of a 70 point 2nd half that saw them take control of the game. POTG: Nemanja Mlinarevic had 21 points, a game high 13 rebounds, and an 18.0 rating.

Poland 92 Espana 99
This game is really weird. Poland either had better ratings or the same ratings in each category and lost. Both teams went with an inside offense and M2M defense. Unless Poland had way less enthusiasm this doesn't make sense. Poland even pulled off a wondrous(medium) inside scoring rating. Anyway, Poland still has a really good chance of advancing if they win their next ttwo games and Espana is basically in already. POTG: Nuno Betanzos had a team high 22 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and a 17.0 rating.

Hayastan 111 England 98
All of that crunching and normaling caught up with England and bit them in the ass. They stunned England and now have lost four straight. Now they lost to Hayastan? What has happend? Both teams had some pretty bad ratings... POTG: Gabi Manoukyan had a game high 30 points and a 14.0 rating.

Sakartvelo 91 Osterreich 88
Both teams put up some decent ratings, Sakartvelo ran a RnG offense, but you know it isn;t effective when you go 3-33 from downtown and one player goes 1-17 :P. Anyways both these teams are part of the four 1-4 teams in this pool now. POTG: Nikoloz Gokadze had a team high 21 points, a team high 18 rebounds and a 15.5 rating.

My predictions:
England(62) at Sakartvelo(65)
England had a GS update that is going to make it hard to choose, they don't really have a clear choice as their GS is sort of random. Sakartvelo is in the same boat although their GS is better. My pick: England keeps on losing and Sakartvelo improves to 2-4.

Osterreich(58) at Hayastan(76)
If Osterreich can perform like they did last week, they'll win and I think they will. My pick: Osterreich also improves to 2-4.

Espana(11) at Crna Gora(31)
Crna Gora needs this win, but to do that they needed a grreat GS update coupled with Espana having a bad one. They didn't get it. My pick: Espana goes to 6-0 and eliminates Crna Gora from contention.

Srbija(6) at Poland(32)
Poland will go inside almost surely and Srbija could really go either way. The loser of this game is going to have very slim chances at advancing. They both had similiar GS updates and talent wise they are close. My pick: Srbija fully recovers from their loss to England earlier.