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8/8 - Weekly Review

New Assistant Coach magiker put up a good review of where the repechage stands as of today!

But you have to join the offsite forum to read it...

(http://s3.zetaboards.com/BuzzerBeater_USA_NT/topic/750790...)

Last edited by Rambo at 8/8/2011 8:34:44 PM

8/8 - Weekly Review


But you have to join the offsite forum to read it...

]

Nice!!

8/22 Review

United States vs. Poland

The game went wire to wire with the United States holding a slim lead from 10:35 left in the 2nd quarter until 4:50 left in the game. Both teams faced off with Look Inside/Man to Man tactics but turnovers killed our chances to maintain the winning margin. Tempers flared throughout, fouling came at a high rate, punctuated by Leigh Felder and Bolesław Rubiś exchanging flagrant fouls on each other in the second quarter. Later Janusz Wawoczny would through in another flagrant foul on Mike Merrill for good measure.

When the clock settled at 0:00 Poland won by 5, 95-90 putting the American's in an early 0-1 hole in the first round play. Though it will provide little solace for the loss, the game ball goes to Brad Rodriguez (16433511) for his 25 points in 24 minutes. Rodriguez shot 62.5% from the field and had the highest +/- at 9 while also filling up the stat sheet.

Hong Kong vs. Israel
Automatic qualifier and Asian runner up Hong Kong pummeled an Israeli team in disarray coming off an ugly repechage qualifying round 130-90. (16605) It was the largest margin of victory of the day and puts Israel in an early point differential hole. Players seemingly didn't even know where to line up as shooting guards Wa Li Zhu (16933995) and Shi Jeong Hyun (16932898) went off for 69 combined points.

Israel faces off against the United States next while Hong Kong will take on the dangerous Spain.

Spain vs. Senegal
Spain showed no sympathy to the host nation of Senegal winning by 33, showing how overmatched the African runner-ups are (16606). In a likely TIE-TIE game, Senegal got the tactics right but couldn't find the fire power to stay close.

Senegal faces off against Poland next while Spain looks to capitalize on Israel's disorder.

Brasil vs. Italy
European champion Italy survived an exciting game against our familiar Americas opponent Brasil 108-106 (16619). With Brasil and the United States the only teams competing from the Americas, both showed they belong but both fell just short. A staggering 32-7 Assist-Turnover ratio was overcome by Italy's 50% shooting from the field.

China vs. France
Asian champion China, apparently playing at a diminished enthusiasm due to recent harsh communist policies restricting the volume of ice cream consumption, fell to a depleted France. France, coming out of the repechage qualifying round impressed nonetheless, winning 97-86 with a deliberate Low Post offense (16620).

Germany vs. Egypt
Both the Germans and the Egyptians rolled the dice tonight with tactics, one coming up huge and one faltering. Egypt's CT allowed the team to easily defeat a German team testing an Outside Isolation offense, 113-90 (16621). A confusing match-up for sure, but one that is likely not to matter assuming Egypt gets eliminated.

8/29 Review

United States vs. Israel
The increased challenge of the World Championship tournament continued to be made evident as the United States fell to Israel on Monday. Despite equal or great results in all 6 of the team ratings and equal effort, the US lost 107-99, trialing the entire game. The game was punctuated by rough play and poor passing, mirroring the results of game 1.

After two games the US has been whistled for 49 fouls compared to 28 against, resulting in a 64-35 free throw disparity. This was exacerbated by sloppy play passing the ball with the US committing 29 turnovers in 2 games.

The US now sits at 0-2, good for 5th place in the group. Israel sits at 1-1, good for 4th place in the group.

Spain vs. Hong Kong
In the other big game in the group, Spain took down Hong Kong 115-101 while deploying higher effort. The game pitted two teams likely to advance to the 2nd round and surely helped clarify the ultimate standings. Both teams went inside, while Hong Kong decided on a curious 3-2 zone. A gamble that may have prevented them from winning.

With a likely win against Senegal coming up in 2 weeks, this game may have cemented Spain's spot in the 2nd round. Next up they face Israel in a game that will greatly shape the USA outlook. Hong Kong, conversely, takes on powerhouse Polska who looks to continue to roll. A loss by Hong Kong would put the pressure on them and greatly improve Poland's chances on making the second round.

Poland vs. Senegal
Poland refused to go easy on host nation Senegal, rolling up a 118-65 beat down. Senegal continues to TIE which makes you wonder when/if they will ultimately try to unleash a CT on an unsuspecting opponent.

Senegal takes on the USA next.

Brasil vs. France
Brasil defeated France 115-108 to give the Americas their first victory in the 2nd round. The game was a tightly contested inside battle that left both teams at 1-1.

Egypt vs Italy
Egypt, coming off a CT victory over Germany, could not withstand the tough Italian attack, losing 74-104. Egypt joins Brasil and France at 1-1 while Italy takes an early lead on the #1 spot.

China vs. Germany
China continues its disappointing run with a group of less than enthusiastic players. The harsh tactics of the coach have sapped the team of any reason to be excited to play resulting in TIE after TIE. China sits at 0-2, on the verge of elimination while Germany joins the fray at 1-1.

8/29 Review

United States vs. Israel
The increased challenge of the World Championship tournament continued to be made evident as the United States fell to Israel on Monday. Despite equal or great results in all 6 of the team ratings and equal effort, the US lost 107-99, trialing the entire game. The game was punctuated by rough play and poor passing, mirroring the results of game 1.

After two games the US has been whistled for 49 fouls compared to 28 against, resulting in a 64-35 free throw disparity. This was exacerbated by sloppy play passing the ball with the US committing 29 turnovers in 2 games.

The US now sits at 0-2, good for 5th place in the group. Israel sits at 1-1, good for 4th place in the group.

Spain vs. Hong Kong
In the other big game in the group, Spain took down Hong Kong 115-101 while deploying higher effort. The game pitted two teams likely to advance to the 2nd round and surely helped clarify the ultimate standings. Both teams went inside, while Hong Kong decided on a curious 3-2 zone. A gamble that may have prevented them from winning.

With a likely win against Senegal coming up in 2 weeks, this game may have cemented Spain's spot in the 2nd round. Next up they face Israel in a game that will greatly shape the USA outlook. Hong Kong, conversely, takes on powerhouse Polska who looks to continue to roll. A loss by Hong Kong would put the pressure on them and greatly improve Poland's chances on making the second round.

Poland vs. Senegal
Poland refused to go easy on host nation Senegal, rolling up a 118-65 beat down. Senegal continues to TIE which makes you wonder when/if they will ultimately try to unleash a CT on an unsuspecting opponent.

Senegal takes on the USA next.

Brasil vs. France
Brasil defeated France 115-108 to give the Americas their first victory in the 2nd round. The game was a tightly contested inside battle that left both teams at 1-1.

Egypt vs Italy
Egypt, coming off a CT victory over Germany, could not withstand the tough Italian attack, losing 74-104. Egypt joins Brasil and France at 1-1 while Italy takes an early lead on the #1 spot.

China vs. Germany
China continues its disappointing run with a group of less than enthusiastic players. The harsh tactics of the coach have sapped the team of any reason to be excited to play resulting in TIE after TIE. China sits at 0-2, on the verge of elimination while Germany joins the fray at 1-1.

9/5 - Labor Day Review

United States vs. Senegal
The United States finally cracked the win column, defeating host Senegal 118-75 (16610). The game went well from the start, everyone got some minutes and their were no injuries. USA star Jimmie Brown (16436514), decided to mail in the first half, but got some points in the second half. Game ball goes to 6th man Ben Grubbs (16434050), a super sub who put in 20 pts in 18 minutes, and help get the team off to an early lead including four 3-pointers in the first half.

The United States now moves into 4th place at 1-2 while Senegal stays in 6th place. Up next for the US is 2nd place Spain.

Israel vs. Spain
Israel continues its surprising run after upsetting the US last week, they go on to unseat a tough Spanish team 102-97 (16611). Despite rallying to take the lead near the end, Spain was unable to close out while Israel, led by Vladimir Bubnov's (16745013) 33 points, calmly hit their shots at the end.

Israel moves to 3rd place while Spain stays in 2nd place.

Poland vs. Hong Kong
Poland put up massive team ratings as they, again, roll up their opponent, this time an overmatched Hong Kong team, 92-72 (16612). Even a 2-3 zone by Hong Kong couldn't stop Poland's inside attack as they again go with 3 Centers. Poland was led by superstar Janusz Wawoczny (17004412) who had 23 points.

Poland remains in 1st place, clinching a spot in the 2nd round. Hong Kong, drops to 5th due to point differential.

Egypt vs. Brasil
Brasil weathered a desperate CT attempt by Egypt to emerge with a 100-86 victory (16625). This moves the Brazilians into 2nd place!

Germany vs. France
Germany used a 3-2 zone to derail the French outside attack, winning 86-72 (16626), pushing the Germans into 3rd place.

Italy vs. China
China continues its disappointing run while Italy rolls to a 3-0 record after a 129-102 win. (16627)

9/12 Weekly Review

United States vs. Spain
The United States came away with their first big win of the season, taking down Spain 105-88 (16613). While not technically a "must win game," the win will go along way in the standings. Solid ball movement and control of the boards helped as the US, for the first time, had less turnovers and fouls then their opponent. Game ball goes to Terrance Hammond (16442250) who, after putting down the Canadian Bacon for a week, was able to get in good enough shape to slap up a 21/7 off 8/9 shooting and leading all scorers.

Next up for the United States is a very tough Hong Kong team. Again, the game is not technically a "must-win" but to be safe, the US controls their own destiny. Win and we're in.

Other results
No real surprises this week but the results left a traffic jam in the standings in Pool A, with 4 teams tied at 2-2. Hong Kong took down Senegal 88-71 (16614) on a CT-TIE to move to 2-2. Poland moved to 4-0 after a 100-89 win over Israel (16615). In Pool A, Italy moved to 4-0 with a 100-98 buzzerbeater win over France (16630) while Brasil fell to a tough German team 69-90 (16628). Finally, China got their first win of the season over Egypt at 120-100 (16629)

9/26 Weekly Review

Obviously I missed a week of reviews. Last week we defeated Hong Kong in a great effort to clinch the second round. Despite an enthusiasm disadvantage, the US prevailed 89-76 (16616), clinched 2nd place in the group and advanced to the second round: (http://www.buzzerbeater.com/world/standings.aspx?teamid=1...).

4 teams from each group advance to the second round. Only wins against advancing teams count which is why we started at 1-2. In the second round you face the four opponents from the other group who you have not faced yet. The top 4 teams move on to the semi-finals. Typically, finishing in the top 4 requires at least 4 wins so we have a lot of work ahead of us!

United States vs. Germany
Our first matchup was against the 3-0 Germans, arguably the toughest competition we will face in the 2nd round judging from their 3-0 ranking.

After starting off slow, the Americans rallied from 16 down to overcome a 39+ minute German lead and won 100-91 (16644). Words do not give the victory justice as the game looked lost at halftime. Terrance Hammond (16442250) kicked it into high gear in the second half scoring 18 of his game high 22 points and grabbing 5 offensive boards. However, the game ball goes to starting Point Guard Laverne Goddard (16437910) who produced a statisticians wet dream going for 18 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals, 3 blocks, 5-9 from the field and 8-8 from the free throw line. His assists, steals and blocks were critical to overcoming the first half deficit.

The win moves the USA to 3rd place at 2-2 with a +9 Point Differential and moves Germany down to 2nd place at 3-1 with a +31 Point Differential.

Next up the US takes on France.

France vs. Hong Kong
France, coming off an easy match against Egypt, handily took care of the overmatched Hong Kongers 96-75 (16643). Hong Kong continued to mix it up, going Look Inside this game but to no avail. Arnaud Monté (16667839) looked unstoppable, putting up 25/26 while the helpless Tsang Tze Peng (16935143) and To Woei Jye (16934394) stood by and watched.

The win moves France to 6th place while Hong Kong retreats to 7th place. Both teams likely need to win out to advance.

Brasil vs. Poland
Brasil, the other American team and one of only 3 non-European teams in the 2nd round, fell to the dominant Poles 108-86 (16645). The Poles continued their undefeated run led by Janusz Wawoczny (17004412) who put up 22 points to lead all scorers.

Poland now sits solely in 1st place, and almost certainly a lock to make the semi-finals at 4-0. Brasil, on the other hand, drops to a bleak 8th place and, while technically still alive, cannot feel good about their prospects.

Italy vs Israel
In the final game of the day, the battle of the eastern Mediterranean, Israel took down the Italian's 97-80 (16646). Israel rode an egregious free throw disparity to victory while also controlling the boards. The starters at PF & C cancelled each other out but Israel's role players were able to give just enough extra juice to take home the win.

Israel, however, still sits one spot behind the Italians at 5th and 4th respectively.

Europe continues to showcase its dominance this season, holding 5 of the top 6 spots currently.

10/3 Weekly Review

United States vs. France
After a huge upset win, the US took on France. France, playing with their backs against the wall at 1-3, fell by two points 73-71 (16648) after Mike Merrilll (16433183) smartly took the one foul to give as time expired to hold off France's comeback. For the second straight game, USA overcame injuries to a starter, this time SF Jarvis Carlson (16443435) to defeat a tough European team. Pascal Brevet (16669269) did his best to keep France in the game, scoring 21 points to lead all scorers. Meanwhile, Wilson Battle (16439603) did his best to get out of the coach's doghouse putting up 7 points, 5 boards, 1 assist and 2 steals while filling in for the injured Carlson.

The game ball, however, goes to Center Terrance Hammond (16442250) for putting up a double double with 20 points and 12 boards while battling French stand-out Arnaud Monté (16667839) down low. Hammond also put in the game winning basket with 2 seconds left off a nice pass from Mike Merrill.

Up next the USA takes on a familiar competitor in Brasil while France gets Israel.

Brasil vs. Hong Kong
Hong Kong rolled over Brasil, coming away with a 25 point win 121-96 (16647) but at the expense of more effort. The win keeps Hong Kong alive for the semifinals but likely eliminates the Brazilians. Both teams went outside, an oddity for this tournament. Hong Kong was able to control the boards while shooting and impressive 46% from 3.

Brasil takes on the United States next in what is likely a meaningless game while Hong Kong looks to stay alive against the #1 ranked Italians.

Italy vs. Poland
Upset alert! The Italians came away with a decisive win over an undefeated Polish team, winning 94-80 (16649). Italy utilized a successful outside attack led by the baby faced Matteo Infantino (16638745). Infantino put in 26 points of 10-16 shooting including 5-8 from 3. Infantino abused Poland's 3 center inside attack which left Poland exposed from downtown.

Poland looks to rebound from their first loss with a game against the German blitzkrieg attack. Italy, meanwhile, will look to continue to climb the standings against a desperate Hong Kong team.

Germany vs. Israel
In what appears to be yet another upset, Germany drops its second game in a row, this time to Israel 98-92 (16650). The Germans have to be wondering what is going on after entering the second round with a perfect carryover record. Israel, utilizing a Poland-esque 3 center attack, dominated the boards to help come away with the win 54-35. Israel was led by Uri David (16743626) who put up 21 points and 13 rebounds, including 6 offensive rebounds, as well as 3 assists.

Israel will face off against France next while Germany takes on the aforementioned Poland.

Standings
Interestingly enough, the games had almost no effect on the standings with only France and Hong Kong swapping spots. Poland remains in the lead at 4-1 but there is now a 4 way tie for 2nd place with Germany, United States, Italy and Israel respectively (in order). Meanwhile, Hong Kong sits in 6th place at 2-3 but with a very impressive positive point differential. One win for them would vault them towards the top of the list. France and Brasil round out the group at 1-3 each.
(http://www.buzzerbeater.com/world/standings.aspx?teamid=1...)