Prepared by Zoran Radovic (FIBA development director) in Geneva, 27”’ April 2010
Meetings held on various occasions:
The USSA team recently came back from Serbia where they didn’t fare really well, finishing last. We can be quick to point the blame on the coaches or players but I think that before we do that we should look at the planning that went into getting the team selected and ready to participate in this tournament. We don’t seem to learn from our mistakes and year in and year out we sent teams to international tournaments hoping that they will pull off miracles and win a game or two or even qualify in the case of qualifiers.
The young men and the coaches that went to represent South Africa at the World Student Games went there with the best intentions but with the wrong tools or not enough of them. It’s like going to play a basketball game and when you get there you realize that you didn’t bring any balls and the hoops are not available but there are two teams and all the officials are there. My point is that I feel that this team was set up to fail from the time they were selected at the USSA tournament at the University of Pretoria earlier in the year. The team didn’t have enough depth at the post position and if that says that we don’t have depth at our tertiary institutions then all I can say is that the game at senior level is as doomed as it is at junior level. As far as the coaches are concerned, I can guarantee that there is no coach that goes into a big tournament like this with the intention to lose or not do well, so before we criticize the coaches we should ask ourselves if they were given the right material to work with from the start… That my take on the World Student Games where South Africa came 25th out of 25 teams… Better planning from USSA next time might help the teams achieve better. Continue reading »
Day 9 in Belgrade. Serbia clinch the title - Jul 11, 2009 (by Eurobasket News)
Final
Serbia – Russia 73:51
Serbia triumphed at the World University Games in Belgrade. In 2007 Serbia stopped one step away from the title but the home tournament brought the long-awaited success. Nemanja Protic (182-G-86) scored 19 points to pace the hosts past Russia.
Serbia set the flying tempo in the opening period. Russia struggled to match the rhythm as Serbia cleared off to an 11-point distance at the first break. Russia gradually adjusted and started to make their presence felt. They outgunned Serbia 20:17 in the second period to stay hopeful at halftime. But the second half became a nightmare for a Sergey Belov team. Low accuracy plagued Russia as they struggled to keep close with the home team. Serbia notched a 14-point advantage at three-quarter time. The home team remained aggressive defensively in the final quarter allowing their opponents to account for only 10 points.
Marko Simonovic (202-F-86, agency: Beo Basket) connected for 12 points for Serbia. Milan Macvan and Nemanja Bjelica added 8 points each in the victory. Aleksey Kotishevskiy (190-F-85) responded with 13 points for Russia. Eugeny Voronov had 12 points in the losing case.
Serbia: Nemanja Protic 19, Marko Simonovic 12, Milan Macvan 8, Nemanja Bjelica 8
Russia: Aleksey Kotishevskiy 13, Eugeny Voronov 12
Bronze medals game
USA – Israel 91:80
The USA celebrated the victory in the bronze medals game at the World University Games in Serbia. A Bo Ryan team held off pesky Israel to occupy the third position.
The first quarter was a close affair with neither team able to take a serious lead. The North American team enjoyed a slender 24:22 advantage at the first break. The US team paid more attention to defense in the second quarter to hold Israel to 14 points. The margin grew at 7 points with twenty minutes gone in the game. Israel increased the tempo in the third quarter. They accounted for 28 points in the frame and got within 6 at three-quarter time. But the USA stayed cold-blooded in the dying moments keeping Israel at safe distance till the final buzzer.
Lazar Hayward (198-F-86) scored 14 points and pulled down 9 boards for the USA. Da’Sean Butler added 13 points, while Talor Battle delivered 12 points in the victory. Elishay Kadir (203-F-87, agency: Avi Zilberman) replied with 28 points and 9 boards for Israel. Gal Mekel had 16 points in defeat.
The United States had a 43:37 advantage on the glass and suffered only 10 turnovers down the stretch. Both teams accounted for 46% of field goals.
USA: Lazar Hayward 14, Da’Sean Butler 13, Talor Battle 12
Israel: Elishay Kadir 28, Gal Mekel 16 Continue reading »
Japan – South Africa 107:61
Japan posted the first win at the World University Games in Belgrade. They dismantled South Africa in Group O today. The African team remained winless as they suffered the third straight defeat at the tournament. Kosuke Kanamaru knocked down 19 points to lead Japan. Takatoshi Furukawa had 18 points in the winning effort. Amogelang Keogatile (193-G-88) replied with 15 points and 12 boards for South Africa.
Japan scored eagerly in the opening stanza as they accounted for 30 points. It helped the Asian team to pile up an 8-point lead into the second stanza. South Africa could not pick up the slack as Japan started to get away in the second quarter. Japan outgunned their opponents by 19 points in the second stanza to grab a 27-point halftime lead. Japan never slowed down in the second half. They wrote in 32 more points in the third stanza to enter the final period with an insurmountable advantage. South Africa had no answers for the onslaught and had to surrender at the end.
Yuki Mitsuhara delivered 13 points for the winners. Celemusa Khumalo notched 12 points in the loss.
Japan: Kosuke Kanamaru 19, Takatoshi Furukawa 18, Yuki Mitsuhara 13
South Africa: Amogelang Keogatile 15+12 boards, Celemusa Khumalo 12
Game against South Korea, South Africa lost 105 – 72. I am not sure that they will be playing another game.
Full team taking part in the competition is provided below. So far the team played their opening pool games against Germany and Latvia and lost both unfortunately. Their next hurdle is against Japan, who they will be playing tonight; let’s hope the feedback is better.
Article by Victor Shakineza with information from Denwin Jones
1. JONES CUP: TAIWAN
The information for the Holding Camp:
Camp Start Date: 10 July 2009
Camp Finishes Date: 16 July 2009
Venue: Potchefstroom University
As you might remember from mybasketball.co.za, the SA team went to a four nations tournament involving Portugal, Angola and DRC held in Angola. They didn’t win any games there but they gained some valuable experience. The U16 Boys and Girls national teams went to Zimbabwe where they took part in the Zone 6 games, they did very well against some of our neighbours, I am still waiting for feedback from the powers that be regarding that. The Men’s senior team will be holding a camp starting next week and there are a few surprises in the players called up to attend. I will get you an official list as soon as possible. And coach Flosh is back from Europe and we hope to get feedback from him on his trip so that we can share it with our readers. By the way SA might actually get a Wildcard to the African Championship in Libya in August so they need to get ready for any eventuality…
Currently our USSA (university) men’s team is in Serbia where they will be taking part in the World Student games hosted by FISU in Belgrade and I believe that they had a friendly game against Greece on Tuesday 30 June, I will get the scores for you and try and keep you updated as far as the tournament goes.. Continue reading »
The 25th Summer Universiade Belgrade 2009 are to be held between July 1st and July 12th 2009 in Belgrade, Serbia. As one of the participants, South Africa has been placed in Group G along with Germany and Latvia. Good luck to the team.
Here is the rest of the groups:
Here is the schedule
