Quarterfinals thoughts live from Athens

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!

Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2008: Day 3

Again, Kris Santiago, who is in Athens right now, gives us some live impressions, including Roko Ukic and Chris Kaman:

• Korea was close to upsetting Canada in the first game of the day. Samuel Dalembert decided not to play after an argument with Coach Rautins the day before, and Canada struggled mightily against the fresh Koreans, who controlled the second quarter although they had to play without giant Ha Seung Jin, sidelined due to a nagging knee injury (He could barely walk the other day, so no surprise here). Chun Jungkyu led the Koreans with 19 points, but the North Americans bounced back in the third and had their best in veteran Rowan Barrett, who was a steadily scorer for the Canadians ever since. With the support of Carl English, who netted 12 points but looked far from impressive, Canada managed to overcome Korea by two points (79-77) in the final seconds of the game to book their tickets to round two.

• In the second game of the day, Croatia had to rally from a 12-point deficit in the first quarter and kept on scoring until halftime without looking too flashy (Arroyo tried his best to repeat yesterday’s fancy performance but failed to make his teammates better, although he was constantly hitting his shots).

• Toronto’s Ukic made his first game in replacing Zoran Planinic, who was sidelined due to an infection, and Marko Banic was inserted with Damir Markota out of the tournament due to a knee injury sustained against Cameroon’s Boumtje-Boumtje.

• Both, Ukic and Banic were instrumental in Croatia’s 95-81 win, as Puerto Rico could not convert the important shots during the third quarter.

• Malaga’s Daniel Santiago was again a no-show for the Boriquas and J.J. Barea is far from his best days, while Marko Tomas had another strong outing for the Croatians (15 points) with Prkacin (Who was continually complaining about the calls) also in the mix with another 12.

• Puerto Rico would have lost by 20, but Coach Cintron brought in Rivera, Camacho and Mojica, who showed the willingness to outplay the starting five.

• Croatia now faces Canada, while Slovenia takes on Puerto Rico in the quarterfinals.

• Germany’s Chris Kaman started well into the game and scored on several occasions. New Zealand’s Pero Cameron converts his threes like always, and the Kiwis are leading by four so far. The gym is filling up with Greek supporters right now.

UPDATE 1:

• Germany crushed New Zealand in the second half thanks to Dirk Nowitzki, who executed well from mid- and long-range for 35 points, while Chris Kaman had a breakout game with 20 points for Germany in showing why he’s one of the better players currently playing in the NBA.

• Frankfurt’s Pascal Roller was very active but his shot wasn’t doing it for him (4 of 10 FG); I still see him in front of Steffen Hamann right now. Kirk Penney slowed down a little bit in the third quarter, but he  came right back in the beginning of the fourth and chipped in a total of 29 points. The Greek fans invaded the stands (Where Nowitzki’s personal coach Holger Geschwindner was sitting, too) to witness a 89-71 win for Germany in the end, and a possible opponent to Greece if they lose against Brazil today.

• The OAKA is finally looking packed, and I am looking forward to covering the game for you guys as well…

UPDATE 2:

• Big game right here at OAKA, the gym is PACKED, and it’s 18-17 in favor of Greece thanks to Spanoulis, who scored eight points in the first quarter while Splitter and Garcia are leading Brazil with seven and six points, respectively. Marcelinho Huertas is displaying great ball-handling skills while Tiago Splitter had a marvelous block against Tsartsaris and is staying cool under the boards to finish  his hook shots in style.

UPDATE 3:

• The best game so far at OAKA, Greece could not profit from three consecutive offensive rebounds,  but Papaloukas brought the crowd to their feet when he threw an alley-oop pass to Fotsis, who dunked it for a 22-19 lead. Sofokles enters the game and earns a standing ovation from the fans. Spanoulis sends Huertas to the ground after pulling down a rebound, but receives no call … Huertas comments with harsh words.

• Marcelinho Machado misses his third three and is not really letting the ball rotate in the air. Greece is now up by eleven points and starts to control the game, while Brazil turns the ball over a few times to give Greece the edge. By the way, Araujo entered the game: He’s supposed to be out with food poisoning … he should have eaten a gyros pita on the street instead of taking his meals in a cheap hotel…

UPDATE 4:

• No chance for Brazil. Greece made it look easy, thanks to the duo of Papaloukas and Fotsis, while they forced Brazil to turn the ball over a couple of times. Huertas has four fouls and can’t help that much on defense while Splitter is having a hard time in the post but steadily scores to keep the deficit at 16 points. The rest of Team Brazil is currently vacationing on the beaches of Athens.

• Fotsis made a spectacular play by tip-dunking a missed shot, while Diamantidis netted a three at the right moment to keep the South Americans within striking distance.

• 68-55 to start the fourth quarter. Zisis is excelling as well and hits a mid-range shot from the left side. Brazil is still not beaten, although I doubt that they can manage to reduce the 15-point difference.

• Greece kept their fast pace and destroyed Brazil in the fourth quarter to win the game, 89-69. Tsartsaris received another block from Splitter but had also a beautiful dunk thanks to a Diamantidis pass into the zone. Alex Garcia scored late on a tip-dunk and screamed out all of his frustration. Even with the second team on the court, Greece dominates against the disappointed Brazilians who now must take on Germany in the quarters.
• Fotsis leads Greece with 18, Spanoulis adds another 14, while Bouroussis and Zisis clinched 10 points for the winning side. Brazil had Tiago with 15 and Tavernari with 14, while JP Batista remained on the bench in the last quarter with 13 points to his credit.
• Greece is going to have a match against the Kiwis right after Germany-Brazil at around 2.30pm Berlin time.