Well we are two days into the FIBA World Championship here in Turkey and it has been an amazing ride already. Many followers of international basketball suspected this was going to be the closest tournament in memory and it has already living up to billing.
The talk here from today is about Jan Jagla’s amazing and ultimately match winning heave for Germany, and the rimmed out match-winning attempts from Canada’s Jermaine Anderson and our own Adam Gibson.
I feel sorry for Adam, he had done a great job leading the defence on Carlos Delfino and keeping him to seven points, and was a real offensive spark when the Boomers almost set up a match winning break early in the game. He is only 23 though and will be better for it.
There is already some criticism of the Boomers for there performance so far, but I think that is a little naive in terms of international basketball.
Being 1-1 after facing Jordan and Argentina is not unexpected, While the offence is stuttering at times and the performance against Jordan was tentative and poor, the end result was a great victory from seven down late in the game against a team with the wind in their sails. Mission accomplished.
The only way you can look in these tournaments is forward to the next game, and a win against the evenly matched Germans later today will have the Boomers in a great position. It is important to remember that Spain, Slovenia, Croatia, Russia, Germany and Serbia also sit with a 1-1 record at this point.
Argentine coach Sergio Hernandez was certainly full of praise for this young Boomers team and said they have a big future.
Because we first saw Joe Ingles, Damian Martin, Brad Newley, Dave Barlow, Steven Markovic and Gibson on NBL courts some time ago it is easy to forget they are all 26 or under. So too are Pat Mills and Aleks Maric. So too is Andrew Bogut…
The biggest story here in Izmir where I am located is Kirk Penney. The Breakers star is now an international superstar thanks to his work ethic and the development his game has had in the NBL in recent years.
Kirk has arrived as the next Andrew Gaze. Some will howl me down for it, but they are not courtside in Izmir watching the renowned defences of Lithuania and Spain grab, hold, bump and scratch Kirk at every opportunity, with defenders bumping into each other in the mad rush to cover him.
Some of Europe’s best defenders have tried to slow him, yet Kirk and his perpetual motion has peeled off 37 points against Lithuania and 21 against Spain – he is leading the tournament in scoring at 29ppg at over 49% after facing two of the toughest opponents. Remarkable.
Another NBLer who is shining is Michael Aylen. While the refereeing here has been controversial to say the least, Michael has been a breath of fresh air.
In stark contrast to the Beijing Olympics, the refs have put their whistles away in Turkey. It has been really disappointing because it has taken some of the quality away. It is also a real cause for concern that the game is being called in such a ‘European way’.
This is a world championship but teams from one continent – and probably South America too – are heavily favoured by the way the game is being called. The Boomers had better get used to it quickly, because it will be a factor in the Germany game. The physicality Lithuania were allowed today literally stole victory from Canada’s grasp.
But back to Michael Aylen. In the opening night boilover where France locked up Spain, Juan-Carlos Navarro flopped like a rag doll on minimal contact from Alain Koffi (from memory) on the fast break trying to con an unsportsmanlike foul.
Aylen would have none of it and waved him on. When Navarro got in his face and remonstrated, Michael did a brilliant impersonation of Navarro’s bad acting to let him know why he didn’t get the call. It was good stuff.
More impressive though has been his communication with the players. Where most refs are just stonewalling players, Michael has been happy to hear guys out, give explanations, and have a chat and a laugh with the players. It has been appreciated by the players from Boris Diaw, to Jorge Garbajosa, to Fadi El Khatib.
There is plenty more to talk about here in Turkey in what is shaping as a superb FIBA World Championship, but I’ll save that for the next entry as, after starting work for the day at 8:00am Sunday morning, it is now 3:00am Monday and I am ready for a good night’s sleep!
