Big Screen u17 Expectations

The u17 FIBA World Championships are heading into the last two days of competition with two semifinal games between defending champions USA vs, Hungary and host Czech Republic vs, Spain.   These teams and level of competition are nowhere near what was on display two years earlier that I witnessed in Amsterdam.  If there is a big issue it is the lack of talent.

Most of the big countries are here like France, Australia, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Canada and China. Missing is perennial power Russia. This year host Czech Republic and nearby Hungary are in the Euro rotation of teams that usually features Lithuania, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Greece, and Romania.  After speaking with International talent expert Dan Bowmaker from Blue Star Europe, (bluestareurope.com/@bluestarEurope), her confirmed the shift of talent and levels.  There are a lot of USA college-level players peppered across Europe but few National teams have been able to load up in the cycle like 2012.  Surprisingly one of the exceptions is host Czech Republic with a number of college-ready talents.

The quarterfinals on Thursday in Pilsen showed that being a perennial power didn’t help. The USA did the usual decisively beating Canada 86-45 while Hungary surprised Japan 61-51. I expected more from the other two games as Spain thumped the French 73-54. This was stunning since this same team lost to the USA in pool play after claiming a huge pre-event victory and statement for the FFBB in Paris.  Equally stunning was the Czech Republic dispatching Australia 61-50 on a huge 3rd quarter effort.

The beauty of this year’s u17 FIBA World Championships is the ability to watch every game from the luxury of your 60-inch flat screen at home and make eyeball decisions and evaluations on players, teams and coaching.  Now the casual USA fan gets to see basketball on a global scale and measure the abilities of our players, coaches and system to what the world chases us with. The USA Women should never lose, regardless of level, roster or coach. The world has not caught up, but it is getting closer and we have a real gap unlike the men.

We are 48hrs away from another gold medal performance by the USA behemoth. The finish of the u17 FIBA Worlds in Pilsen, probably against the host Czech team, will be an interesting battle but it won’t be big as the Czech semi with Spain.  The USA is expected to win the gold hours before the NCAA D1 observation starts on Sunday.  What a beautiful day. 

We’ve asked good friend coach Beck Flanagan to provide some information and his observations on the U17 FIBA World Championships being held in the Czech Republic cities of Pilsen and Klatovy.  Beck was there last year in Lithuania as we met and watched the FIBA u19s.  It’s always great to get another perspective and below is Beck’s take on the yesterday’s quarterfinals in Pilsen.

Semi Final Preview #1

The first of the quarter-final matches are over. Hungary struggled against Japan’s full-court and half-court pressure, finding themselves trapped all over the court resulting in 20 turnovers. Despite the early setbacks, Hungary dominated the last quarter with multiple 3-point shots at key moments. Hungary beat Japan 61-51 and is the first team to advance to the semi-finals. Looking forward, Hungary will have to take better care of the ball in the semi-finals if they hope to advance to the gold-medal game.

Throughout the tournament Hungary has played with great chemistry. Debora Dubei led the team in the semi-finals with 16 points. When asked about Hungary’s upcoming game against USA, Dubei said it will “be a hard game but I think we can do it and we can beat them.” As for the excitement of being the first team to make the semi-finals, she shared that she “wants a medal for Hungary and for our team and I hope we can do it.”

As a team, Hungary has a lot of balance and good players at every position. 5’11 shooting guard Debora Dubei leads the team in scoring with 17 ppg. They have two solid point guards in Agnes Studer and Nina Aho who run the team and can score. In the post, Virag Kiss is a force to be reckoned with. At 6’4 she has great size and also moves well. In the tournament she’s averaging 12.5 ppg & 8 rpg, and the word is she’s already a professional player. The other two key players on the team are forwards Dorottya Nagy and Eniko Kutto who both play very hard and contribute both offensively and defensively, especially on the boards.

Semi Final Preview #2

Team USA celebrated the fourth of July with a resounding win over Canada, in the second of the quarter-final games. Canada had the lead at 5-3 a few minutes in, but from there USA took control of the game. USA countered with a 13-point scoring run and continued to dominate, with a 41-14 lead at halftime. USA used a 29-16 rebound advantage and forced 12 turnovers to help build their lead.

The second half showed more of the same. USA forced a total of 21 turnovers and held Canada to 28 percent shooting. In the end, Team USA had 48 rebounds compared to Canada’s 29. Joyner Holmes commanded the game, especially with her inside presence. Holmes scored 24 points, shooting 60 percent on 9/15 from the field and 6/6 from the freethrow line. Arike Ogunbowale also shined with an impressive 16 point contribution. Team USA finished strong and won by more than 40 points, 86-45. As for the next game against Hungary, Holmes said that their opponents “have good guards and are very strong.” Holmes also commented that team USA is working hard everyday and that if they keep their composure they will go far.

As a team, USA is stacked with great talent and a lot of height. What is most noticeable is the team’s seemingly endless bench; no matter which players are in, USA works well together. The team specializes in passing and rebounding, paired with high-percentage shooting from all over the court and dominating team defense. Look for them to be the heavy favorites going into tomorrow’s semi-final match up.

Semi Final Preview #3

The third quarter-final match was the closest and most exciting, thus far. At halftime, Czech Republic and Australia were tied with 25 points each. In the third quarter Czech Republic started to pull away from their opponents and their momentum continued until the end. Thanks in part to the loud and supportive crowd, Czech Republic beat Australia 61-50.

Together the Czech team shot 31 percent from the field and 36 percent from the 3-point line. In earlier tournament games, Julia Reisingerova dominated the scoreboard, but today Tereza Sipova and Petra Holesinska stole the show. Sipova contributed 20 points and 9 rebounds. Holesinka scored five 3-pointers, which has become her signature in the tournament.

They will face the winner of Spain vs France.

Semi Final Preview #4

The last quarter-final match showcased Spain and France. Both teams started slowly and seemed to struggle with shot execution. The first half went back and forth, and Spain led at halftime 34-28. Spain solidified their lead in the second half, with 51 percent shooting from the field and 33 percent behind the arch.

Spain is a balanced team with a range of contributing players. Most noticeably, Angela Salvadores stood out both offensively and defensively. She had the highest number of points and rebounds, totalling 18 and 13 respectively. Salvadores has proven to be  a focused team leader throughout the tournament. Iris Junio and Maria Conde also had impressive performances. Junio shot 67 percent and scored 13 points for Spain, while Conde added 11 more.

Spain will see Czech Republic in the semi-finals. Salvadores is looking forward to the matchup and said, “we want to play against all the crowd and Czech players. If we defend well, we will win.”