World Basketball Blog Posts
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Written by mookie
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Tuesday, 31 August 2010 08:53 |
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To say that last night's victory by the Australian Boomers over Germany was unexpected is an understatement. Sure, there was always the chance of a win for the Boomers -- and all in attendance from both countries agreed that it would be a tight match -- but for Australia to pull off this dismantling of Germany was a sizeable surprise.
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Written by mookie
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Tuesday, 31 August 2010 08:17 |
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The following entry was originally posted on the Official FIBA "BBall" App available on Nokia mobile phones. Get the app for yourself via the Ovi Store.
Watching three games of FIBA basketball per day is no easy task (I hear your hearts going out to us!). The emotion involved in watching one thrilling basketball battle after another drains fans of vital energy. And where do they turn to replenish this? The fine restaurants of Turkey, of course.
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Written by mookie
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Sunday, 29 August 2010 13:53 |
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The World Championships are pumping along just nicely, with the second day of action now under way.
Day one in Kayseri saw a mixed bag of results. Firstly the Aussies gave their fans near heart-attacks with their last gasp win over lowly-ranked Jordan. Andrew Vlahov was in the stands to cheer the Boomers on. Defence was the main deficiency for the Aussies as they let the Jordanians waltz in for numerous uncontested baskets. The only Aussie performances of note came from David Andersen and Aleks Maric. In fact, Maric's performance was so dominant that I had German girls in my hotel asking what NBA team he played for. He was the cog inside that the boomers definitely needed with Andrew Bogut's absence. Meanwhile, Patty Mills didn't show enough on either end to justify my usual man-love for him.
Next up we saw Serbia tear African champions Angola to pieces. They were simply too big for Angola and came away as 50 point winners.
The marquee matchup of the day saw an always tough Argentina take on a youthful Germany. The crowd participation in this one was integral, as the Argies showed off their chants against the Deutsch drummers. The game was tight during the first half, with Germany leading marginally most of the way, until Argentina pulled away in the third. Germany took advantage of their opponents' seemingly napping in the fourth to pull thee game right back to level, behind some stellar play by guards Steffen Hamann and Demond Greene. However the experienced Argentinians managed to hold out for a tight victory.
Day two sees Australia attempt to withstand the might of Argentina, a potential nail-biter between Germany and Serbia and another potential tight one between Angola and Jordan.
Whilst updates to A Stern Warning usually have to wait til I return to my hotel at night, twitter updates @ASternWarning come thick and fast during the games, so make sure following... |
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Written by mookie
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Saturday, 28 August 2010 07:54 |
One thing you notice upon arriving in Turkey is that they really are excited about the FIBA World Championships. This suits me perfectly as I share that attitude entirely!
On the plane I was greeted by advertisements for the Nokia FIBA Bball App (go and download it from the Ovi Store if you have a new breed Nokia) and then upon landing there were numerous banners promoting the event itself. There was a clear buzz in the air as I walked out of the airport to see "FIBA Press" signs being thrust at arriving passengers and the road out of the airport featured Kobe Bryant's image on a street corner, towering over a man driving a donkey-drawn cart with fruit and vegetables. An awesome juxtaposition, which was further amplified in its beauty by the looming Cappadocia hills in the background.
Turkey is a country that is certainly not foreign to basketball. Football may take first place in the hearts of the Turkish people, but basketball features somewhere in there as well. Within ten minutes of driving out from Kayseri airport, I had spotted no less than seven outdoor basketball courts along the main road. This is impressive no matter where you come from.
Tonight we watch the first games of the tournament in Group B, with Australia taking on Jordan, Angola v Serbia and Germany attempting to contain Argentina. All three matches appear to have pre-determined outcomes, with Australia, Serbia and Argentina the favourites, however there are no true certainties in a tournament like this. For starters, Serbia is without centre, Nenad Krstic after his chair-throwing incident last week -- making them a much easier proposition for the always tough Angola. Secondly, Argentina has now lost Andres Nocioni, in addition to the already missing Manu Ginobili, thus throwing some of their plans out of wack.
But, that's why they play the games... bring it on.
Part of this article was also posted to the Nokia Official FIBA Bball App -- download it at the Ovi Store on your Nokia mobile.
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Written by mookie
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Thursday, 26 August 2010 12:30 |
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For those that missed the Team USA v Greece warmup game yesterday, you can check out the highlights below. Ultimately, it wasn't a close game, but Greece always had the excuse that they were missing three key players. Bring on the real games!
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Written by mookie
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Wednesday, 25 August 2010 16:05 |
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Finally it has almost arrived. The 2010 FIBA World Championships tip off in Turkey in just over two days and I will be there on the ground, trying to give you coverage of as many matches as possible.
If you have a Nokia new-generation phone, then make sure you download the BBALL app through the Ovi Store, as I will be part of a team updating the app content as the championships roll on. And hopefully there will be plenty of coverage right here at A Stern Warning as well.
Meanwhile, as I sit on a very long plane ride, check out a couple of videos from recent days.
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Written by mookie
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Friday, 13 August 2010 00:22 |
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After months of preparation and trials, the Australian Boomers 2010 World Championships team has been named. And it's mostly as expected. Let's take a look...
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Written by mookie
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Friday, 06 August 2010 01:42 |
After some uncertainty, word is in from Basketball Australia that Aleks Maric will indeed be available to represent Australia at the upcoming FIBA World Championships in Turkey. This is hugely important news for the Boomers, who lack meat inside with the unavailability of NBA big men Andrew Bogut and Nathan Jawai. Maric will team up nicely with David Andersen to provide a European-experienced interior combo.
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Written by mookie
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Tuesday, 03 August 2010 06:01 |
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Looks like I'll have to re-pack my bag. I was getting excited for my visit to the 2010 FIBA World Championships in Turkey and had my vuvuzela packed and everything.
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Written by mookie
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Tuesday, 03 August 2010 02:26 |
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The Australian Boomers still hold out a "slim chance" that Aleks Maric will shore up the team's thin interior for the FIBA World Championships in Turkey at the end of August. The lack of availability of Andrew Bogut and Nathan Jawai has meant that the Toronto Raptors' David Andersen remains the only legitimate internationally-experienced option inside for Boomers coach Brett Brown (with Matt Nielsen serving more of an inside-outside role).
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Page 1 of 7 |
As with pretty much every NBA initiative, Green Week is overwrought and over-styled.
Celebrating Portland Trail Blazers rookie, Jeff Pendergraph, on NBA Unsung Player Day.
Beautiful letterpress cards featuring the Portland Trail Blazers -- part of our bartsketball project.
Check out these GIANT FIBA promo videos.
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