2017 International Basketball Thread

[awhom111]

The first EuroBasket Semifinal was today as Slovenia took the lead early on Spain and never looked back, surging after halftime to win 92-72 to cause an impressive upset. Goran Dragic had 15 points and 6 rebounds and Anthony Randolph had 15 points. In the loss, Pau Gasol had 16 points and 6 rebounds, Ricky Rubio had 13 points, and Marc Gasol had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
http://www.fiba.basketball/eurobaske...ore_statistics

The other semifinal between Russia and Serbia will be on ESPN3 at 2:30pm ET on Friday.

The teams arrived in Tunis to start the AfroBasket quarterfinals. The first game was quite intense as Morocco edged Egypt 66-62 despite 22 points from Ibrahim Elgammal. The second game was wilder as Nigeria got the 106-91 win over Cameroon. In the win, ex-Arizona State player Ike Diogu had 28 points and 9 rebounds, ex-UNLV player Ike Nwamu had 25 points and 7 assists, former Louisiana-Lafayette player Bryant Mbamalu had 22 points, and ex-Chicago State player Jeleel Akindele had 13 points. Ben Mbala, a collegiate star in the Philippines, may have been the surprise of the tournament as he finished it with 32 points and 10 rebounds, Felix Thierry Bogmis had 25 points, Arnaud William Adala Moto, who just finished his Towson career, had 20 points and 7 rebounds, and ex-DII player Ngijol Songolo had 12 points. Hosts Tunisia used a strong second half to beat the Democratic Republic of Congo 81-60 as Makram Ben Romdhane had 22 points and 14 rebounds. The final game of the day was what could have a been a final matchup as Angola finally played up to its potential, but Senegal's strong second half got it the 66-57 win. Ex-South Carolina State player Louis Adams had 11 points, ex-Ohio player Maurice Ndour had 10 points, and naturalized ex-Wichita State player Clevin Hannah had 10 points.
http://www.fiba.basketball/afrobaske...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/afrobaske...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/afrobaske...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/afrobaske...ore_statistics

Both semifinals will be on ESPN3 on Friday as Morocco and Tunisia square off at 1:00pm ET and then Nigeria faces Senegal at 3:30pm ET.

[awhom111]

The other EuroBasket semifinal was played today. Serbia built a lead into halftime, helping them withstand Russia's charge in the second half to win 87-79. Serbia had their own inside-outside combination going as Boban Marjanovic had 18 points and 6 rebounds and Bogdan Bogdanovic had 24 points. Alexey Shved tried to carry his team again as he finished with 33 points and Timofey Mozgov added 11 points and 9 rebounds.
http://www.fiba.basketball/eurobaske...ore_statistics

The AfroBasket semifinals were played in Tunis. The hosts started well, but Morocco fought their way back before Tunisia expanded the lead in the fourth quarter to win 60-52. Mohamed Hadidane had 22 points and 6 rebounds to help his team get the win while naturalized ex-Illinois State player John Wilkins had 10 points. The second game was excellent even after a delay due to Youssoupha Ndoye shattering a backboard before Nigeria completed a 76-71 win. Bryant Mbamalu had 19 points and 7 rebounds, Ike Iroegbu had 18 points, Ike Diogu had 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Ike Nwamu had 10 points. For Senegal, Gorgui Dieng had 14 points and 9 rebounds, Maurice Ndour had 14 points, Clevin Hannah had 13 points and 7 rebounds, and Mouhammad Faye had 10 points.
http://www.fiba.basketball/afrobaske...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/afrobaske...ore_statistics

The last two games on Saturday will be on ESPN3 as the Bronze Medal game will be on 10:30am ET and the Gold Medal game will be on 1:00pm ET.

[awhom111]

It was the AfroBasket final today as the game started slowly for both teams, but hosts Tunisia fed off the energy in the crowd to take the lead and win 77-65. The Bryant and the Three Ikes show could not get it done on their own for Nigeria as Mbamalu had 17 points, Diogu had 20 points and 10 rebounds, Iroegbu had 17 points, and Nwamu had 10 points.
http://www.fiba.basketball/afrobaske...ore_statistics

Earlier in the day, Senegal beat Morocco 73-62 for the Bronze Medal as Mouhammad Faye had 22 points and 7 rebounds and Gorgui Dieng had 18 points and 10 rebounds.
http://www.fiba.basketball/afrobaske...ore_statistics

The EuroBasket games on Sunday will be on ESPN3 as Spain-Russia is the Bronze Medal game at 10:00am ET and the Slovenia-Serbia Gold Medal game is at 2:30pm ET.

[awhom111]

EuroBasket concluded with an intriguing matchup in the Final as Slovenia concluded an unexpected run with a 93-85 win over Serbia. Goran Dragic left it all out on the court with 35 points and 7 rebounds, Klemen Prepelic provided additional outside shooting with 21 points, and Anthony Randolph had 11 points. Bogdan Bogdanovic is ready to head to the NBA now after a 22 point effort while Milan Macvan added 18 points in the loss.
http://www.fiba.basketball/eurobaske...ore_statistics

The Bronze Medal game actually had the same score as Spain took the lead early and beat Russia. With not too many chances for the Gasols play together, Pau had 26 points and 10 rebounds and Marc had 25 points while Sergio Rodriguez had 16 points and 9 assists. In the loss, Alexey Shved had 18 points and Timofey Mozgov had 14 points and 10 rebounds as they both finished strong tournaments.
http://www.fiba.basketball/eurobaske...ore_statistics

[awhom111]

Chelsea Gray is busy with the WNBA Finals, so she obviously was not able to participate in the USA Basketball Training Camp. It will be an interesting battle in the near future for the point guard position with some established veterans not wanting to let go of their spots.

FIBA is starting the process of re-organizing various national team competitions as a part of their general reforms that should improve things across the board. Papau New Guinea hosted the first Melanesia Cup competition in Port Moresby. Fiji was thought to have the advantage due to having players based out of the country, but neither of their teams won. The men's competition was won by the hosts with New Caledonia second, Fiji third, and the Solomon Islands last. The hosts also won the women's competition, followed by Fiji, New Caledonia, and the Solomon Islands. These games are all part of the process for qualifying for future Asia-Oceania wide competitions.

[awhom111]

Olek Czyz and Alex Murphy have been named to the Poland and Finland preliminary rosters for the upcoming qualifiers. Both have been dealing with injuries early in their club seasons.

The United States has named JTIII as an assistant to Jeff Van Gundy with Mo McHone continuing his role. Their November 26th home qualifier against Mexico will be in Greensboro. Now that NBA rosters are largely set, I suppose the process will begin for figuring out how to name a roster for those games. The November 23rd game is still scheduled to be held in Puerto Rico, but it will be interesting to see if that gets moved at all.

[awhom111]

That November 23rd qualifier against Puerto Rico has been moved to UCF due to ongoing hurricane issues. The US Virgin Islands are also unable to host their qualifier. A lot of countries are announcing their preliminary 24 man rosters that they will choose final teams from, but the United States has not done so yet.

New Zealand took advantage of the combined Asia-Oceania qualification for the first time at the U16 Girl's Championship. A win in the quarterfinals allowed them to qualify for the U17 World Championship next year along with Australia, which edged Japan for the title, and China.

[awhom111]

There is still plenty of commotion about the upcoming midseason qualifiers. Europe adopted in-season qualifiers on the women's side two years ago and it has been nothing short of a rousing success (although there are different factors on each side). The first set of games for EuroBasket Women 2019 were played on Saturday. There are no Duke ties this time around, but here is my recap of all the day's games:
http://www.womensbasketball247.com/2...november-11th/

[awhom111]

EuroBasket Women 2019 Qualifiers continued before the return to club play. I recapped the action here:
http://www.womensbasketball247.com/2...november-15th/

As part of ESPN's deal with FIBA, it looks like ESPN3 will have a large number of the World Cup Qualifiers, another benefit of the greater centralization process so there will be plenty of Thanksgiving weekend basketball to watch. So far there are Americas, Europe, and Asia/Oceania games included and hopefully Africa will be shown too.

[awhom111]

Amile and the United States face Puerto Rico at 7:30pm ET on Thursday and can be seen on ESPN3. ESPN3 also has coverage of all the qualifiers, starting in Asia and ending across the Americas.

[awhom111]

Amile made his USA debut in a close qualifying game that ended with an 85-78 win over Puerto Rico. He had 3 points in 10 minutes. Puerto Rico's players also either had school experience on the mainland or spent their entire lives there as A.D. Vassallo had 16 points, Angel Rodriguez had 13 points and 8 assists, Ricky Sanchez had 11 points, and Gian Clavell, who was just made available after being cut from a two-way contract, had 11 points.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

In the other Group C game, Mexico had some poorly timed injuries that affected their ability to field a full strength roster, but pulled through and beat Cuba 72-66. They have plenty of players with American experience as Hector Hernandez had 23 points and 8 rebounds and Juan Anderson, who played for Wojo at Marquette, had 15 points and 11 rebounds.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

Group A, which has Panama and the South American teams, also started play. Esteban Batista had 21 points and 10 rebounds as Uruguay beat Panama. The visitors have a number of players with American ties as Jaime Lloreda had 13 points and Jamaal Levy had 11 points. Old man Luis Scola led Argentina past Paraguay 96-63 with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

The qualifiers started nearly a full day ago in East Asia's Group A, where New Zealand had thought that it had assembled its strongest possible squad only to be upset by visiting South Korea 86-80. The Webster brother led the hosts as Corey had 16 points and Tai had 14 points while Isaac Fotu had 10 points. For reasons that are not clear to anybody, China is still participating as hosts and they beat Hong Kong 96-44. They are using an experimental lineup that features some young players as NBA draft pick Wang Zhelin had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

West Asia's Group C also played on Thursday as Jordan beat Syria 109-72 in a game moved from Syria to Lebanon for security reasons. Naturalized player Dar Tucker had 15 points and ex-DII player Amin Abuhawwas had 11 points in the win. Lebanon won the second game of the doubleheader 107-72 over India. Lebanon has a couple players who played collegiately in the United States as Ahmad Ibrahim had 22 points and 10 rebounds, Bassel Bawji had 15 points, and Ali Haidar had 11 points and 6 rebounds.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

The increasing centralization of international play has also led to the opportunity to increase games for other teams. Europe has 9 teams in 3 groups playing for spots in the main qualifying for EuroBasket 2021. Group A started with naturalized player Richard Hendrix's 21 points and 14 rebounds helping Macedonia beat Slovakia 74-66. Kyle Kuric was able to play for a country where he heritage for the first time as he had 11 points in the loss. Armenia worked on qualification again with a strong roster as they beat Albania 80-63. Naturalized player Ryan Boatwright had 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 14 assists while some Americans with heritage in the country chipped in as Andrew Chrabascz had 18 points and Luke Fischer had 11 points and 16 rebounds. Cyprus fended off Portugal 69-67 as naturalized player Tyrell Biggs had 12 points.
http://www.fiba.basketball/eurobaske...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/eurobaske...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/eurobaske...ore_statistics

ESPN3 will have tons more qualifiers on Friday. It looks like the only possible Duke tie will be Eric Boateng if he is given a spot in the lineup for Great Britain. Europe will have all teams in action as that was FIBA's last offer to EuroLeague to give them the chance to move games for the schedule. Africa also starts as they have a slightly different format to reduce travel costs.

[awhom111]

A very busy day of qualifiers started in East Asia Group B, where the Philippines beat Japan 77-71 despite 10 points and 15 rebounds for naturalized player Ira Brown. The Philippines were finally able to bring back their naturalized player Andray Blatche, who had 13 points and 12 rebounds while they also had players with American college experience as Matthew Wright had 12 points and Gabe Norwood had 10 points and 7 rebounds. Australia beat Taiwan 104-66 as a number of their players also have college experience with Daniel Kickert providing 15 points and Angus Brandt adding 10 points. Naturalized player Quincy Davis had 17 points in the loss.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

West Asia's Group D also started play and Kazakhstan beat Qatar 82-70 as former collegian Anatoliy Kolesnikov had 12 points. The big surprise came in Jordan, where Iraq's game was moved to for security reasons, as naturalized player DeMario Mayfield had 24 points adn 10 rebounds to shock Iran 74-66.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

African qualifiers will happen with three games over three day in one venue for each group to minimize travel costs. Angola hosted Group C, started with a thriller as Egypt prevailed 65-61 in overtime over the Democratic Republic of Congo as former collegian Omar Oraby had 11 points and 6 rebounds. Angola needed to come back to beat Morocco 62-56 as former Georgia high schooler Carlos Morais had 13 points.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

Cameroon hosted Group C. Tunisia won the first game 96-56 over Guinea. The hosts then beat Chad 65-60 as they were able to field Kenny Kadji and he had 13 points and 12 rebounds.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

All European qualifying groups started play today as FIBA gave EuroLeague one last out to move games, but it was not taken. No team was more affected than Spain with its sizable NBA contingent and five EuroLeague teams, but they did beat Montenegro 79-66 with 15 points from one of the biggest wastes of a draft pick ever in Fran Vazquez. Slovenia beat Belarus 87-74 as recent draft pick Vlatko Cancar had 20 points. Naturalized player Maalik Wayns had 14 points and former collegian Nikita Meschcharakou had 13 points and 9 rebounds.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

In Group B, Turkey beat Latvia 85-73, although recent draft pick Anzejs Pasecniks had 15 points. Ukraine beat Sweden 84-76 as former NBA player Slava Kravtsov had 17 points and draft pick Sergii Gladyr had 16 points while former collegian Chris Czerapowicz had 26 points in the loss.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

In Group C, Poland beat Hungary 70-60 with a strong fourth quarter although Rosco Allen, who played for Johnny Dawkins at Stanford, had 11 points and 6 rebounds in the loss. Lithuania took a while to pull away from Kosovo, but won 99-61. In the loss, naturalized player Scott Bamforth had 17 points and former collegian Lis Shoshi had 10 points.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

In Group D, the Netherlands sprung the first real surprise, beating Croatia 68-61 as former collegian Roeland Schaaftenaar had 10 points. Italy fended off Romania 75-70 with 16 points from former collegian Amadeo Della Valle had 16 points. In the loss, naturalized player Giordan Watson had 14 points and former collegian Vlad Moldoveanu had 10 points and 6 rebounds.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

In Group E, Bosnia and Herzegovina took advantage of Russia's absences to win 81-76. Belgium tried the same as former collegian Retin Obasohan had 16 points, but France, which got 12 points from draft pick Louis Labeyrie, had a strong second half to win 70-59.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

In Group F, the Czech Republic beat Iceland 89-69 with 15 points and 6 rebounds from naturalized player Blake Schilb. In the loss, a couple of former collegians were involved as Martin Hermannson had 29 points and Kris Acox had 12 points and 8 rebounds. Finland just escaped Bulgaria 82-80. One Murphy brother was involved as Erik had 10 points and 6 rebounds and Shawn Huff had 14 points while Jamar Wilson, who is naturalized by marriage, had 20 points and 7 assists. NBA draft pick Sasha Vezenkov had 16 points and 7 rebounds in the loss.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

In Group G, Germany beat Georgia 79-70, although naturalized player Mike Dixon had 23 points in the loss. Former NBA player Miroslav Raduljica flew from China to Serbia and had 15 points and 8 rebounds in their 85-64 win over Austria.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

In Group H, Israel beat Estonia 88-68 as Richard Howell, who is naturalized by marriage, had 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists and former collegian Jake Cohen had 10 points and 7 rebounds. Eric Boateng dressed, but did not play in the final game of the day as Great Britain gave Greece everything they could handle before losing 94-92 in overtime. There were plenty of British players with collegiate ties as Teddy Okereafor and Andrew Lawrence had 14 points and 6 assists each and Ovie Soko had 13 points and 9 rebounds.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

The day finished with two more groups in the Americas. South America's Group B started with Brazil beating Chile 86-73 with the old NBA hands still contributing as Alex Ribeiro Garcia had 14 points and Anderson Varejao had 11 points and 9 rebounds. Sammis Reyes of Tulane had 13 points in the loss. Venezuela eventually pulled away from Colombia 85-71. Players on both sides had collegiate experience as Nestor Colmenares had 23 points and 9 rebounds and Anthony Perez had 10 points and 7 rebounds in the win while Hansel Atencia had 22 points in the loss.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

Group D started with the Dominican Republic beating the US Virgin Islands 99-89. A number of players who have American college ties had good games in the win as Eloy Vargas had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Sadiel Rojas had 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 steals, Eulis Baez had 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists, and Ronald Ramon had 16 points. The visitors had trouble getting together a full roster, but players who had college careers on the mainland were key as Jamaal Samuel had 25 points and 7 rebounds, Walter Hodge had 20 points and 7 assists, Xavier Richards had 12 points, and LaRon Smith had 10 points and 6 rebounds. Canada beat the Bahamas 93-69 with some familiar names involved as Brady Heslip had 22 points and Xavier Rathan-Mayes had 11 points. Players who played here collegiately also factored in the loss as Jaraun Burrows had 15 points, Shaq Cleare had 12 points, and Abel Joseph had 10 points.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

There will be four more African qualifiers on ESPN3 on Saturday.

[awhom111]

Africa's Group C apparently requires overtime games to open the day as the Democratic Republic of Congo was on the wrong end again, this time 88-81 to Morocco. Angola then beat Egypt 68-64 after a slow start as Yanick Moreira had 14 points and 7 rebounds and Carlos Morais had 12 points among their players with American ties. Former collegian Omar Oraby had 16 points and 15 rebounds in the loss.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

Group A play started with Tunisia beating Chad 101-40. Cameroon closed the day with a 116-78 win over Guinea. Familiar names were involved as Kenny Kadji had 20 points and 8 rebounds and naturalized player D.J. Strawberry had 12 points.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

Amile and the United States will host Mexico at 5pm ET on Sunday and can be seen on ESPN3 along with qualifiers from all over the place.

[Billy Dat]

USA v Mexico streaming today at 5PM. A little appetizer to get you ready for Duke v Florida. Amile only got 10 minutes in Thursday's win against Puerto Rico so you may need to pay close attention if you want to see him play. These are real World Cup qualifying games.

(I see awhom111 had this covered above...not surprise there!)

[awhom111]

Amile moved into the starting lineup as the United States beat Mexico 91-55 as he finished with 6 points and 7 rebounds in 17 minutes. Players with ties to the United States also played well in the loss as Marco Ramos had 12 points and 7 rebounds and Paul Stoll had 11 points.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

The other Group C game saw Puerto Rico get 15 points from Ramon Clemente and 14 points from A.D. Vassallo in a 95-72 win over Cuba.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

In Group A, Argentina met the real old team, beating Panama 68-59 with 19 points from ex-NBA player Nicolas Laprovittola. A number of Panama's players have American roots as Tony Bishop had 15 points and 13 rebounds and Michael Hicks had 10 points. Uruguay got 13 points and 9 rebounds from their ex-NBA player Esteban Batista in a 67-49 win over Paraguay. Former collegian Bruno Zanotti had 19 points in the loss.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

The day started in East Asia's Group A, where Wang Zhelin had 16 points and 11 rebounds in China's 92-81 win over South Korea. New Zealand bounced back with a 133-74 win over Hong Kong. A number of players with American college ties had good games in the win as Jordan Ngatai had 18 points, Isaac Fotu had 14 points, Corey Webster had 12 points, and Finn Delany had 10 points.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

In West Asia's Group C, Syria beat India 74-57, although NBA draft pick Satnam Singh had 14 points and 8 rebounds. Jordan beat Lebanon 87-83 thanks to a huge advantage at the naturalized player position with 32 points from Dar Tucker. Players with American ties did well in the loss as Ali Haidar had 14 points and 7 rebounds and Bassel Bawji had 12 points and 8 rebounds.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

Over in Africa Group A, Chad beat Guinea 85-51. The final game of this window was a thriller as Tunisia escaped Cameroon 67-66 although former collegian Ngijol Songolo had 13 points.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

In Group C, Egypt beat Morocco 67-63. Angola then got 19 points from naturalized player Reggie Moore to beat the Democratic Republic of Congo 73-64.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

Some players who missed the first game due to the EuroLeague made their way to their national teams for the second games with half played on Sunday.

In Group A, Montenegro beat Belarus 91-67 as naturalized player Javonte Green had 13 points and 6 rebounds while Mikita Meshcharakou had 12 points. Spain beat Slovenia 92-84 in a rather entertaining game despite the absence of stars. Vlatko Cancar, who could one day find himself in the NBA, had 19 points while Fran Vazquez, who will not unless the Orlando Magic make another mistake, had 11 points.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

In Group B, Anzejs Pasecniks had 15 points and 6 rebounds as Latvia beat Sweden, which got 14 points from Chris Czerapowicz, 82-73. Turkey beat Ukraine 67-60, although draft pick Sergii Gladyr had 20 points and 7 rebounds and Slava Kravtsov had 10 points and 6 rebounds.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

In Group C, Lithuania beat Poland 75-55. Hungary got 15 points and 10 rebounds from Rosco Allen in an 84-76 win over plucky Kosovo. Naturalized player Scott Bamforth had 21 points and Lis Shoshi had 16 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

Nobody really knows what to make of Group D. Amadeo Valle had 25 points and NBA draft pick Alessandro Gentile had 12 points as Italy left Croatia in a lurch 80-64. Romania got 11 points and 6 assists from naturalized player Giordan Watson and stunned the Netherlands 75-68.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

EuroBasket 2021 preliminary qualifiers continued too. Macedonia beat Switzerland as naturalized player Richard Hendrix had 16 points and 9 rebounds and former collegian Stojan Gjuroski had 11 points. Denmark had a good start in Group B winning 78-71 in overtime over Armenia. Naturalized player Ryan Boatright had 28 points and 6 rebounds, getting the usual help from others with American roots as AJ Hess had 12 points and Luke Fischer had 11 points and 16 rebounds. Portugal beat Luxembourg 91-85.
http://www.fiba.basketball/eurobaske...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/eurobaske...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/eurobaske...ore_statistics

The remaining qualifiers for this window will be on ESPN3 on Monday.

[awhom111]

The final set of qualifiers for this window started in East Asia Group B, where Australia beat Japan 82-58. Of course they benefited from the St. Mary's connection as Daniel Kickert had 22 points and 7 rebounds and Matt Hodgson had 10 points and 9 rebounds with former collegian Cameron Gliddon adding 10 points. Naturalized player Ira Brown had 10 points and 8 rebounds in the loss. The Philippines beat Taiwan 90-83 as Matthew Wright had 11 points while naturalized player Quincy Davis had 20 points and 9 rebounds in the loss and brief college player Chou Yi-Hsiang had 17 points.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

In West Asia's Group D, Iran bounced back with a 65-39 win over Qatar. Kazakhstan moved into the lead with an 82-76 overtime win over Iraq as Anatoliy Kolesnikov had 21 points and 9 rebounds. DeMario Mayfield had another 19 points and 6 rebounds in the loss
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

In Europe's Group E, Russia beat increasingly unlucky Belgium 76-69 as former NBA player Sergey Karasev had 14 points and 6 rebounds. France beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 84-65 as Louis Labeyrie had 13 points and 7 rebounds and elder statesman Boris Diaw had 10 points and 6 assists.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

Group F had more unexpected results as the Czech Republic won in Finland 64-56 with 17 points and 6 rebounds from naturalized player Blake Schilb. Shawn Huff led the hosts with 13 points. The bigger shock was in Iceland, where Bulgaria escaped with a 77-74 win with 10 points and 7 rebounds from Aleksandar Vezenkov. Plenty of Iceland's players have American college experience as Martin Hermannsson had 21 points and 6 assists and Jakob Sigurdarson had 18 points.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

It took a while for Serbia to pull away and win 105-87 in Group G in part because naturalized player Mike Dixon had 36 points and 9 assists for Georgia. Ex-NBA player Miroslav Raduljica had another excellent game with 28 points and 8 rebounds and NBA draft pick Milan Macvan had 18 points and 6 assists. Germany beat Austria 90-49.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

In Group H, Greece brought in some big EuroLeague guns like Nick Calathes, who had 11 points and 8 assists, making it much easier for them to beat Israel 82-61. The same guys helped Israel again as Richard Howell had 13 points and 9 rebounds and Jake Cohen had 10 points and 6 rebounds. Eric Boateng played 1 minute in Great Britain's 73-70 loss to Estonia. Ovie Soko had 17 points and 6 rebounds.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

South America Group B started with Brazil beating Venezuela 72-60 as Anderson Varejao has demonstrated that he still has a pulse with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Message board legend Gregory Echinique had 10 points in the loss amongst other former college players as Nestor Colmenares had 10 points and 9 rebounds and Anthony Perez had 10 points. Chile was able to get a surprise 74-69 win at Colombia to improve their chances of advancing. A couple of former collegians had good games in the win as Sebastian Suarez had 20 points and Gerardo Isla had 13 points while Hansel Atencia had 17 points in the loss.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

The Dominican Republic beat Canada 88-76 in Group D as Sadiel Rojas had 10 points and 7 rebounds. Without their NBA players, Canada has relied on the Scrubb brothers, who played there for college as former NCAA player Dyshawn Pierre had 15 points. The US Virgin Islands won 93-85 in the Bahamas even without much depth. Jamaal Samuel had 26 points and 6 rebounds, Walter Hodge had 18 points and 7 assists, Georgio Milligan had 18 points, and Xavier Richards had 12 points and 8 rebounds. The hosts also were unable to secure some players as Jaraun Burrows and Shaq Cleare had 18 points and 8 rebounds each.
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketbal...ore_statistics

[awhom111]

USA Basketball revealed their national team pool for the Women's National Team through the Olympics:
https://www.usab.com/news-events/new...announced.aspx

Chelsea Gray is not on the list because she was not able to attend the last training camp due to the WNBA Finals. It sounds like they could decide to add her later.

Recently, FIBA conducted a draw for qualifying games played next year that begin the process of picking teams for the 2021 AmeriCup.
http://www.fiba.basketball/news/resu...ualifiers-draw

While it is good to see some smaller countries involved, it does appear that Jamaica is not fielding a team. This is a real disappointment given both the size of the country compared to some smaller countries that compete regularly and also because of the talent that a fully committed Jamaica squad could utilize. It would be interesting if all of the Canadian players with Jamaican heritage had opted to represent Jamaica. Interestingly, Dylan Ennis opted for Jamaica while Tyler opted for Canada and Dylan would be useful for Canada in cases where they do not have their NBA players.