| Italy was let down by penalty kicks in the match with Lithuania Based on the results of the first round of the playoffs at the World Championships among men's teams in the Land of the Rising Sun, the strongest eight were determined. The quarterfinal participants included six European teams and two representatives from the American continent. Spain, Lithuania, France, Greece, Turkey, Germany, Argentina and the USA continue to compete for awards.
Of the eight knockout matches in the tournament, two matches with dramatic endings stand out: Lithuania - Italy and Germany - Nigeria. The game between the Baltic states and the silver medalists of the Athens Olympics was an approximately equal fight throughout all four periods. All the fun started in the last minute of regular time. With the score 71:68, five seconds before the siren, Darius Songaila, familiar to us from his performances for CSKA, did not take the chance to finally remove all questions regarding the winner of the match - he twice missed free throws. The Italians launched a final attack, and the Balts, in order to prevent their opponents from shooting from behind the six-meter line, fouled Marco Belinelli.
The ideal situation in this situation for the Azzurra squad would be for Belinelli to hit on the first try, then miss, successfully fight for the rebound and make a two-point shot from close or mid-range, allowing the match to go into overtime. But the Italian player could not cope with his excitement, and the first ball did not hit the target. He had no choice but to throw it into the arch so that the game projectile would fly as far as possible. This plan worked, the ball was picked up by Gianluca Basile, who managed to end up behind the three-point line, where he was immediately attacked by Arvydas Macijauskas in violation of the rules. However, Basile was unable to fulfill the role of the savior of his team. Having received the right to three free throws, he immediately missed, and then was inaccurate twice more.
The percentage of free kicks taken by the players of both teams in the last minute of the match was simply monstrous. Taking into account Linas Kleiza's misfires and Belinelli's previous failure, only one goal was scored out of 11 attempts, even if some of the misses were tactical. “We ourselves are to blame for our defeat,” said Italy coach Carlo Recalcati. - I think that this match will be a good lesson for our players. “My charges probably have some problems with psychological preparation.”
In the Germany-Nigeria meeting, the Germans were in the lead for most of the playing time, with individual performances from Dirk Nowitzki (23 points) and the second medalist of the last Russian championship in Khimki, Moscow Region, Ademola Okulaja (19). In the fourth period, the Africans got close to the opponents and could have equalized the score already in the middle of the last minute. However, Tunji Awonjobi accurately shot only one of the two free throws - 77:78. The Germans lost the ball in the next attack, and Nigeria received 9 seconds to make the biggest sensation of the World Cup. Ime Udoka went into the gap under the shield and, being tightly surrounded by players from the German national team, made an awkward throw around the ring from a minimum distance - wide.
Argentina dealt with New Zealand without any problems - 79:62, the Americans won by exactly 40 points over Australia - 113:73. The main contribution to Turkey's victory over Slovenia (90:84) was made by attacking defender Serkan Erdogan, who scored 24 points. The Turks, the hosts of the next World Cup in 2010, became the only team of the four wild card holders to reach the second round of the playoffs. The national team of Serbia and Montenegro resigned its championship credentials, losing to Spain - 75:87. Basketball players from the Iberian Peninsula shot three times as many free throws - 36 versus 12 for the Serbs.
The French, who were superior to Angola in all game components, openly relaxed at the end of the match and allowed the Africans to reduce the gap to four points, but caught it in time - 68:62. Representatives of the Black Continent, with the exception of Senegal, left the most pleasant impression at the tournament. This was the best World Cup for African teams. Asia, which had the same three quotas, delegated only China to the playoffs. The team of Houston center Yao Ming was defeated yesterday in the game with the 2005 European champions, the Greeks - 64:95 . The composition of the quarterfinal pairs is as follows: Argentina - Türkiye, Spain - Lithuania, France - Greece, USA - Germany. Europe guaranteed at least two places in the semi-finals, which means that the quota for the Old World for the 2010 World Cup will be expanded.
There have already been coaching resignations among the three teams participating in the World Cup. New Zealand coach Tab Baldwin explained his voluntary resignation from his post: “It’s my time to leave my position, I’ve done everything I could with this team.” Let us remember that this American, who has lived in New Zealand for more than a decade and a half, led the islanders to fourth place at the previous World Championships. The head coach of the Puerto Rico national team, Julio Toro, resigned, and the head coach of the Venezuelans, Nestor Salazar, asked the leaders of the national federation to find a successor for him as quickly as possible. Vladimir ILYIN |
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