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Venezuela...
Awards: /
Appearances: 1
The biggest achievement... They finished in 11th place back in 1992...
The most recent games... 2012 Olympics: / , 2014 World Cup: /
This is only the second time Venezuela has made an appearance at the Olympics—they also competed back in 1992 when we grabbed the silver medal, which honestly feels like a pretty good omen... Just by qualifying for Rio, they’ve achieved something massive, especially right after becoming champions for the first time in their history.
America... After dropping three straight games in the second round, they barely scraped their way into the semifinals—only to turn around and shut down Canada and Argentina thanks to Scol and Nocion to grab that top spot. The real stars of this tournament were definitely the centers... Windi Graterol
Those shooters... Heissler Guillent and John Cox.
Preseason games...
The loss against Lithuania was pretty rough—finished 53 to 84... though you have to give credit to John Cox, who put up a solid 12 points despite the scoreline.
A win against Belarus, 68-57—Dámaso Cubillán and Néstor Colmenares both dropped 10...
The loss against the Netherlands was a tough one—finishing 59-64—but Dámaso Cubillán really stepped up with 14 points... definitely a bright spot in a tricky game.
vs Basque
vs Spain
vs Spain
vs USA
China...
Awards: /
Appearances: 8
The biggest achievement... The eighth... 1996, 2004, 2008...
Latest competitions:... 2012 Olympics: 12, 2014 World Cup: /...
The Chinese team cruised to an Asian title without much trouble—which really solidifies their spot for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics... It feels like they've finally moved past that heartbreaking performance where they lost in the quarterfinals and missed out on the World Cup. That kind of slump had only happened to them once before, so this win is a huge relief...
It’s been way too long since we’ve seen any updates... Yao Ming... But then again, the Chinese players aren't exactly total unknowns... The main guy is definitely that center... Yi Jianlian So, who was playing in the NBA between 2007 and 2012 and averaged exactly 12 PPG one season? It’s funny how much Chinese centers seem to hold their own in the league lately—it really feels like they've always had that presence...
So, at the recent draft, Memphis signed... Wang Zhelina Houston... Houston Zhou QijaThey’re definitely going to have one of the strongest rosters at the tournament—seriously impressive talent there—but I just don't see them making it out of the group stage...
Preseason games are finally here...
The loss against Nigeria was tough—final score ended up 71-79—but we saw some bright spots out there... A. Guo finished with 19 points, which is a solid effort considering the circumstances...
Rough loss against France today—final score was 48-63. On the bright side, Yi Jianlian looked solid out there with 12 points... at least we got some production from him...
A tough one tonight—a win against Argentina, though it was a grind at 60-57. J. Yi really stepped up with 20 points... definitely keeping things interesting...
Tough loss against Nigeria—64 to 74... Yi finished strong with 20 points, though...
vs Mexico B
vs Germany B...
vs France B...
vs USA...
vs USA
versus Brazil...
Up against Australia and Lithuania... that’s going to be an interesting matchup... definitely some tough competition ahead...
vs Brazil...
Group B...
America
Medals: 1 0-1-0 (+ 5 1-3-1 SFRJ)
Appearances: 3 (+ 8 rebounds from the former America)...
The biggest achievement... Silver in 1992—and that gold back in 1980 from the old federation days...
The most recent competitions:... The stats from those big tournaments... looking back at the Olympics in 2012—well, nothing much there—then 4 during the EuroBasket 2013, followed by a 10 at the 2014 World Cup, and finally a 9 at the EuroBasket 2015... just some numbers to chew on...
The Chosen Ones... Aleksandar Petrović... By making it to Rio, they honestly pulled off the impossible. After what felt like an absolute eternity, they finally managed to take down Greece—only to turn around and freeze out a packed house of local fans during the qualifiers in Turin. If we just look back at how...
Honestly, after that EuroBasket wrapped up, everyone had pretty much written us off—making it to Brazil feels like a total miracle at this point. Right after we grabbed that win against Italy, the rumors started flying about who would actually make the roster for Rio... but the coach stepped up and promised the squad is staying exactly as it is.
What kind of handicap is that? Honestly, it shouldn't even be an issue—I mean, none of the names outside this list really add any extra value anyway... Our American centers who play in the NBA will just have to find their own way to make a mark down the road, especially since the core players have already made their stance clear against...
The naturalized players—along with some of the guys who were just part of the national roster yesterday—didn't exactly shine during the last home gathering. But honestly, Aco finally brought that chemistry back to the squad... so we can all look forward to seeing them play again soon, even though...
...facing a tough group and potentially even harder knockout opponents.
preseason games:
L vs Italy 60-67 Bogdan Bogdanovic (26)
W vs Tunisia 72-52 Bogdan Bogdanovic (25)
W vs Greece 66-61 Bogdan Bogdanovic (20)
W vs Italy 84-78 Bogdan Bogdanovic (26)
vs Argentina
vs France
vs Mexico
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SPAIN
medals: 3 0-3-0
appearances: 11
biggest success: silver in 1984, 2008, 2012
last tournaments: 2012 Olympics: 2, EuroBasket 2013: 3, 2014 World Cup: 5, EuroBasket 2015: 1
For over a decade now—with only a few slips up—the Spaniards have consistently stayed right at the top of the world stage... and their European championship title from last year definitely proves it. After a bit of an average showing in the group stages, they managed to take down some serious
heavyweights like Greece, France, and Lithuania—and they did it all without relying on Marc Gasol, Rudy, Calderon, or Navarro. Most of the top players are back on the roster, though Ibaka has stepped away... but honestly, they've got another great
import player in Nikola Mirotic. If those veterans were just a little younger, this deep USA roster might actually run into some trouble... which doesn't mean the Spaniards aren't secretly eyeing that gold after two straight silvers.
preseason games:
W vs Angola 85-61 N. Mirotic (19)
vs Lithuania
vs Lithuania
vs Venezuela
vs Venezuela
vs ?