Macedonia Is Wild Card of EuroBasket Quarterfinals
By
CHRISTOPHER BELAC
Christof Koepsel/Getty ImagesA fan of Macedonia looked dejected after his team lost to Russia, 61-63, at EuroBasket 2011 in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Most of the quarterfinalists at EuroBasket 2011 do not come as a surprise. Greece, Slovenia and Russia are no strangers to this stage of the competition. And Spain, France, Serbia and host Lithuania were touted as pretournament favorites. But Macedonia? It is bound to turn some heads when the quarterfinals begin Wednesday.
Macedonia is competing in its third EuroBasket and has never qualified for the FIBA world championships or the Olympics. After dropping its opening game to Montenegro, Macedonia has assumed the role of giant killer by rattling off six straight wins, including against Croatia, Greece and Slovenia. It would have been seven if not for a buzzer beater by Russia.
In a story that would make college basketball’s Butler Bulldogs proud, the naturalized Macedonian Bo McCalebb has averaged 20.6 points a game as the point guard. He has been the team’s leading scorer in every game, including a 27-point performance in a 72-58 victory over Greece.
While the Macedonians have outplayed some of Europe’s best during this run, their quarterfinal matchup against Lithuania will test their resilience.
Lithuania is deep and balanced. It has four players averaging in double figures, including the 2011 fifth overall draft pick, Jonas Valanciunas. A 19-year-old center, Valanciunas had his best game in Lithuania’s 100-90 victory over Serbia, scoring 18 points in 20 minutes. But the story for Lithuania has been the renaissance of its veteran point guards, Sarunas Jasikevicius and Rimantas Kaukenas. Left off the team for EuroBasket 2009 and last year’s world championships, Jasikevicius is shooting 53 percent on 3-point attempts, while Kaukenas is leading the team in scoring.
As expected, Lithuania has been among the elite. Its boisterous home-court advantage has made it even tougher to beat late in games. Although losses to Spain and France have shown the Lithuanians are human, they are certainly capable of anything at this point.
Before EuroBasket 2011 tipped off, the consensus was that all roads to the gold medal led through Spain. And after two rounds that statement could not be closer to the truth. Spain has coasted against its closest challengers; its only loss came in a first-round game to Turkey in which it had already advanced and Pau Gasol did not play.
The Gasol brothers have been dominant on the blocks, and Juan Carlos Navarro has again shown that he is one of Europe’s elite guards. The Spanish have gotten better as the tournament progresses. Their last game, against France, which could possibly be a preview of the final, ended in a 96-69 victory for Spain, although the French were without Tony Parker and Joakim Noah. As for the match before that, Spain thrashed Serbia, 84-59. Anything but a win for Spain in its quarterfinal match against Slovenia would be an upset.
France was undefeated until a 27-point loss to Spain. Although not as dominant as Spain, France has been as consistent. Parker has been outstanding as a go-to scorer while Nicolas Batum has proven to be a major threat. The French have the size to compete down low with Spain, and if they meet in the final, the French will have a good chance.
But getting through the quarterfinals will be no easy task for the French. They will face a young Greek team that has ushered in a new generation of players who have not missed a beat. Although Greece has often looked inconsistent, its consistency in late-game shooting has been as good as ever. Antonios Fotsis and Nikolaos Zisis have been every bit the big-time shooters that Greece has historically had. Greece’s big men have all benefited from an effective pick-and-roll game run by point guard Nick Calathes, something the French will need to defend well to stop the Greeks.
Russia remains EuroBasket’s only undefeated team. This may have more to do with its being in the weakest groups through each round. It will face a battle-tested Serbian team in the quarterfinals. Nenad Krstic has played well for the Serbs, although it remains to be seen whether close games against Turkey, Lithuania and France have prepared them for the knockout stage or worn them down.
And so, EuroBasket carries on into its final week. Although Dirk-less because of Germany’s elimination in the second round, the tournament is abundant with international basketball’s top talent. Any team left at this stage has certainly earned the right to be here.
http://offthedribble.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/13/macedonia-is-wild-card-of-eurobasket-quarterfinals/