The NBA and the FIBA World Cup: A Collision Course Waiting to Happen

I originally wanted to write about the Indiana Pacers. I wanted to write about the Pacers being good enough to win most of their games despite Danny Granger’s injury. This is because Paul George and David West are more than picking up their share of the load. They’re making up for Granger’s absence, and the surprisingly dull play of Roy Hibbert.

Yes, that’s THE Roy Hibbert who was an All-Star last year. In case you haven’t been paying attention to Indiana (read: you’re part of the majority), Hibbert has been a disappointment this season.

But more on that for another day. Something is bigger than both Roy Hibbert and the DISAPPOINTMENT Roy Hibbert has brought to the Pacers.

And that’s FIBAchanging something that, quite frankly, didn’t really need much changing anyway.

The NBA and FIBA are not going to sail over
smooth waters anytime soon.
(image from shoot-hoops.com)

In case you haven’t been paying attention to FIBA (read: again, you’re part of the majority), the governing body of international basketball has thrown a wrench into their own system, effectively changing the international basketball calendar after the 2014 World Championships in Spain, and, essentially the whole landscape of international basketball as we know it.

Finals of the London 2012 Olympic Basketball Tournament

Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant turn emotional as
Team USA wins the gold medal in the 2012 London Olympics.

USA over SPAIN, 107-100

The United States Men's Team made it two Olympic gold medals in a row as they beat Spain in the Finals of the London 2012 Olympic Basketball Tournament.

In a rematch of the 2008 Finals from the Beijing Games, Team USA pulled away from Spain in the fourth quarter thanks to big plays by star players Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Chris Paul.

Entering the final frame with an 83-82 lead, Paul scored five quick points to help the Americans go up, 90-84.

Marc Gasol cut it to 90-86 before Durant buried his fifth three-pointer of the game and Bryant hit a pair of free-throws before scoring inside off of an offensive rebound for a 97-87 advantage.

Semifinals of the London 2012 Olympic Basketball Tournament

Pau Gasol and the Spaniards are back in the Olympic Finals
for a second date with the Americans.

SPAIN over RUSSIA, 67-59

Spain trailed by 13 points in the first half against Russia, but came out fighting after the break and won to reach the Finals of the Olympics for the second time in a row.

Silver-medal winners in 2008 after losing one of the greatest title games in the history of the Games in Beijing, the Spaniards set up a rematch with the Americans.

David Blatt’s Russians stamped their authority on the game from the start, holding Spain to just four points in the opening five minutes and a total of only nine by the first quarter’s end.

Led by captain Sergei Monya, who made all three of his shots from beyond the arc, Russia went in front by 13 before taking a 31-20 lead at halftime.

Ignited by their defense, however, Spain roared back in the third quarter.

Quarterfinals of the London 2012 Olympic Basketball Tournament

Timofey Mozgov came up big as Russia beat
Lithuania to advance to the semifinals.

RUSSIA over LITHUANIA, 83-74

In the first Olympic Basketball game played at the North Greenwich Arena, the Russians built a double-digit lead in the third quarter and held off several rallies by the Lithuanians to prevail.

It is the first time that Lithuania have not reached the Semi-Finals at the Olympics since they gained independence in 1990.

Andrei Kirilenko finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead five Russia players in double digits.

Rimantas Kaukenas paced Lithuania with 19 and Darius Songaila added 15 in his last game for the national team.

"It was a hard-fought, sportive battle between two teams that know each other well, players that have played together and against each other for years and coaches that have gone head to head," said Russia coach David Blatt.

Day 4 of the London 2012 Olympic Basketball Tournament

LeBron James hit the marginal baskets as Team USA survived
a gritty stand by Lithuania.

Group A

The USA faced adversity for the first time in the Olympic Basketball Tournament for Men, while France and Argentina booked their places in the quarterfinals with wins against Tunisia and Nigeria respectively.

The Americans had their toughest challenge yet as Lithuania pushed them all the way. The defending champions came into the game hot off their record-breaking win over Nigeria on Thursday, but the Lithuanians proved a stern test, shooting well from everywhere and giving little space in the paint.

Lithuania squared the game in the third quarter with 3:06 on the clock thanks to a huge Paulius Jankunas dunk off a bad turnover from Carmelo Anthony.

The USA had shot exceptionally well against Nigeria, something they weren't able to replicate on Saturday, with their three-point percentage dropping from 63% to just 30%.

Basket-Bullets: Basketball Doesn’t Stop

The London Olympics will take up a lot of our time
as the NBA sinks into the offseason.
(image from sportslogos.net)

We are in the midst of the NBA offseason. Pretty soon, the NBA Draft will come along, free agents will be gobbled up by this team or that, and the preseason games and season previews will take up our time anew.

Until then, however, do not fret, because there’s still a lot of basketball left for us to consume.

Unlike the actual players, writers/bloggers like me have no real offseason. Now that the NBA is done, I’m looking forward to the following events in the basketball calendar:

• ·      The collegiate wars here in the Philippines. The 88^th season of the NCAA just kicked off, and the 75th edition of the UAAP will do so in a couple of weeks, too. A lot of build-up has transpired over the past few months, and a lot of sports page headlines have been dedicated to this particular segment of Philippine sports. Will the San Beda Red Lions grab another three-peat despite not having prized recruit Julius Armon? Will the Ateneo Blue Eagles nail that elusive five-peat that only one other UAAP team has ever done? Will Jeron Teng live up to the hype? Will Norman Black’s swan song in the amateurs be sweet or bitter? With new media partner TV5/AKTV aggressively marketing the NCAA against the UAAP (at least in terms of game scheduling), will the collegiate scene’s intensity heighten or wane? It’s going to be one helluva season!