July 18, 2008
Kris Santiago is the lucky guy to follow the whole week of games at the Olympic qualifying tournament in Athens. His thoughts for today follow. (For those how want to follow the live score and a live chat of today’s games – click here.)
Croatia v. Canada:
- Croatia had little trouble clinching their semifinal spot, as Canada never really found their rhythm.
- 27% field goal shooting speaks for itself; Rowan Barrett was again solid with 13, while Famutimi led Canada with 14 points.
- Marko Popovic was the man of the game, as he really displayed leadership on the court and was able to convert from three to score 17 points for the Adriatic nation.
- I have to mention Sandro Nicevic, who stood out for his ability to convert all of his mid-range shots in scoring 11 points.
Puerto Rico v. Slovenia:
- Carlos Arroyo’s Puerto Ricans ended Slovenia’s hopes of qualifying for Beijing.
- The NBA player was really impressive in netting 17 points, while Larry Ayuso had another strong game by scoring 12. Sani Becirovic could not control Arroyo in a very physical matchup between the two.
- Becirovic had 12 points though, while Uros Slokar was probably the best Slovenian in this tournament, and added this time with 16 points and seven boards. Nesterovic somehow disappeared this time on the offensive end (10 points, 11rebounds) but had little trouble guarding Daniel Santiago and P.J. Ramos.
Germany v. Brazil:
- Germany and Brazil are not really getting it done right now, as the game is not really exciting to watch. Nowitzki is getting his shots off and Tiago Splitter is also struggling to find a way to score against Germany’s tall backcourt. The second quarter has started and nothing new so far, not a lot of scoring, many foul calls and little action on the floor … the cheerleaders are probably the only reason to watch the game right now for the fans in OAKA.
- Germany make a 31-7 run in the second quarter and is dashing Brazil’s offensive efforts just like that.
- How is this going to end for the South Americans? Splitter and Garcia can’t convert their foul shots while Nowitzki woke up and is now at 13 points. Frankfurt’s Pascal Roller chipped in another 12 for the Germans.
- Marcelinho Machado has nine points so far, but is not able to score from beyond the arc (Brazil scored one of eight shots from the three-point line.) and is currently facing elimination. Score is 45-26 at halftime…
- Germany controlled the game until a few minutes ago, but started to turnover the ball a couple of times and Brazil is desperatly trying to get back into this game, but at the end of the third quarter, it’s 62-39 Germany.
- Top scorers are Nowitzki with 15, Roller with 12, and Wysocki with 10 points. Marcelinho Machado has 11 points and Huertas another nine.
- Germany started to lose their rhythm and turned the ball over a couple of times which was exactly in the game plan for Brazil. Brazil rallied to get back into the game, playing tough on defense and executing well in the post thanks to a superb Tiago Splitter, who dished in 16 points. But it was Nowitzki, in foul trouble, who led the Germans with 20 and Roller scored another important three to send Germany to the semifinals and Brazil home. Demond Greene also had some fine moments in the final minutes of the game and finished with 14 for the troubled Germans that had 17 turnovers compared to the eight of Brazil.
- Brazil could not hit the three today, going just 3-of-19 from the arc, which left them with no inside-outside game and Splitter as the only scoring option.
Kris will be updating this post throughout the day – keep following!
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This post was published on July 18, 2008
