FIBA World Cup: USA vs Spain 29:33

Aaron Gray said:I took a little dive into the stats for their goalkeepers during those high-stakes games—specifically against Denmark, Germany, and Sweden.

The standout performance was definitely against Denmark.
Šterbik managed to pull off 21 saves, which works out to about 45%.

Against Germany, they were at 13/35, or roughly 35%.

When they faced Sweden, Perez had to step up because Šterbik was sidelined with an injury.
That ended up being 15/37, or 41%.

My takeaway here is pretty simple—if we want to stay competitive in these matches, we really need our goalkeepers hitting that 30-35% mark.

In that case, we might just have to lock the guys from the cement plant in the locker room.

Even though Stevanović had an incredible performance against the Pole, we have to face the reality that he’s 33 years old and currently sitting on the bench in Washington, D.C. I wouldn't go so far as to say we've suddenly discovered a world-class goalkeeper, though, of course, anything can happen—he might just have another moment of pure brilliance tomorrow and be absolutely unstoppable.

Harold Long21 said:So just lock the guy from the cement plant in the locker room...

Let Crnoja weld him shut in there.

But seriously—deep down in my rotten soul, I’m actually hoping Babić puts Stevanović back in goal.

At this point, honestly, any win works for us. We don't need to go out there and stress ourselves over a massive +11 blowout.
Tomorrow's outlook:

Thomas Harris97 said:Even though Stevanović played his heart out against the Pole, you can't ignore the reality that he's already 33 and sitting on the bench in Washington, D.C. I wouldn't go so far as to say we've suddenly discovered a superstar keeper, though I suppose he could always have one of those wild, brilliant moments tomorrow and be absolutely unstoppable...

Then there's Ivić, who really needs to be pushed more consistently moving forward, and honestly, we desperately need to scout and find another young talent to step up...

Thomas Harris97 said:It’s true, we were right there in Canada to potentially sweep all three major titles—the World Cup, the Olympics, and the European Championship gold—but things fell apart when the Canadians essentially went out of their way to undermine Metličić, which ultimately led to John breaking his arm and being sidelined even for the bronze medal match. It wasn't until the French team came along later that anyone actually managed to pull off that legendary triple crown.

I can't imagine why Pajovic would ever intentionally try to sabotage him, especially since they played together at the same club and shared such a genuine friendship...
While it's certainly fair to say their style of play was much more aggressive back then, that's really where the difference lies.

Let's take this off-topic for a second...

Honestly, their goalkeepers aren't going to be able to stop a thing tomorrow.☕

jadeseal7 said:Everyone is getting way off topic here....

I’m honestly more worried that our guys won't be able to make any saves tomorrow... ☕

To be honest, my bigger fear is that our own keepers won't be able to stop anything either, because it's incredibly hard to play two high-stakes games back-to-back with that kind of intensity, and Alilović just doesn't seem to have the consistency to pull off even one solid performance lately...

Sam Murphy said:Honestly, my bigger worry is that our defense won't step up at all—it's hard to pull off two solid defensive games in a row when Alilović is struggling to find his rhythm even in just one.

At the end of the day, if the defense holds its shape, everything becomes much easier for the keeper—though, personally, I’d much rather see someone else out there than Alilović right now.

I'm crossing my fingers for an off day from their goalie, though—mind you, if they get caught in too many fast breaks and breakaway opportunities, there won't be much left for anyone to defend anyway. We just need to stay sharp on our own level.

Mind you, their keeper pulled off 21 saves, and they still managed to lose the game.

Thomas Harris97 said:Exactly. It was supposed to be the Euro in Canada where they could have completed the triple crown—World Cup, Olympics, and World Cup gold—but the Canadians deliberately went after Metličić and ended up breaking John's arm (which kept him out of even the bronze medal match). It wasn't until the Frenchmen did it later that the set was finally complete.

I just live for these conspiracy theories. 🤣😵

I truly believe we have an incredible amount of momentum building up that isn't going to fizzle out tomorrow—in other words, 👍Spain is going down!

Ugh, I seriously can't wait!

Stay strong, everyone!

In handball, age is actually an asset for a goalie... you just get better as you go.

Think about guys like Omeyer, Šterbik, Stanić, Lavrov, Bašić, Hvidt, or Hombrados...

Every single one of them had—or still has—plenty to say on the court well after they hit 30.

At the end of the day, a keeper is only as good as the defense standing right in front of him.

So, I guess we’re looking at a golden era for the cement plant next year.🤣

The Spaniards? They're alright, I guess. Their goalkeepers are solid, and that little guy from Rivera is playing out of his mind. This is gonna be wild.

jadeseal7 said:If our defense steps up, the keeper's life gets easier. Personally, I don't want to see Alilović on the court today.

Hoping their goalie has an off day... though if they give up too many fast breaks and easy shots, there won't be much left for him to save. We just need to play at our level.

Their keeper had 21 saves, yet they still lost the game.

Yeah, but the Danish goalkeeper had 17 saves (41%) too.

Roger Allen3 said:Anyone else remember that absolute heartbreaker against Spain? We were up by one, defending that final possession like our lives depended on it, only to get scored on with seconds left... and then watching Balić sink it from center court. Pure agony. 😍

Daniel Cooper40 said:Is that the moment when everyone was crowding around the scorer's table and Červar started yelling that the Spaniards were trying to steal our win? 😁

Check out this link: [link] 🖐️

Patrick Newman5 said:We’ll get through this part, and then I’m rooting for the Norwegians in the finals because we can beat them any day of the week!

Yeah, sure, but here’s the thing—the Norwegians aren't even going to see a final. It's a massive stretch to think they take down the Germans, and honestly? Even if it stays close, the refs will probably just bend over backward for Germany anyway.

Let’s be real here—handball is huge in Germany. Bundesliga games and Champions League matches are sold out instantly. But in Norway? Nothing touches cross-country skiing. Seriously, even their world-class skiers and jumpers get sidelined by the skiing craze. After that big win against the Frenchmen, I hopped onto their sports portal and what was the lead story? Some random, insignificant victory in a skiing race! Handball was tucked away in some tiny little corner of the site. 🙄
Sure, the women have been sitting on the throne for years, but let's face it—women's handball doesn't get half the eyeballs that the men's game gets, and the sponsors aren't circling it nearly as much.
So, yeah, everyone knows where the real money is going to be made in a potential final—it’s all about whoever walks away with the title and the massive profit that comes with it.

Besides, this article pretty much spells it all out for you.

Thomas Harris97 said:Yeah, we were right there in Canada trying to sweep all three titles—World Championship, Olympic gold, and the European Championship—but the Canadians intentionally undermined Metličić and ended up breaking John's arm. Because of that, he couldn't even play in the bronze medal match. It wasn't until the French finally pulled off that triple crown later on.

The European Championship happened before the Olympics, so at that point, we weren't even looking to link them all together yet. 🙂

Anyone know where I can find a decent live stream for the game online? Thanks 😉

Noah Sanchez39 said:Does anyone happen to know where I can catch a reliable live stream of the game online? Thanks! 😉

ehftv.com