Think of it as the World Cup of basketball. Two years after the Olympics, the top 24 teams in basketball compete for
an automatic qualification to the Olympics. Many countries around the world consider this tournament more important than the
Olympics. Like the World Cup the tournament begins with pool play. In this tournament there are four pools of six. Each team
will play all the teams within their pool in the preliminary round. The top four in each pool will advance to a single
elimination tournament of sixteen teams. The championship game will be played September 3 in Saitama, Japan.
The Favorites
Argentina (Group A, ranked third by FIBA) won the gold medal in 2004 and again is a favorite to win this basketball
tournament. Led by San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili and forward Luis Scola
(Tau Vitoria in Spain), the Argentinians are a feisty team that knows their way around the international game. They have
outstanding guard play with Ginobili, Carlos Delfino (Detroit Pistons), and
Andres Nocioni (Chicago Bulls), to go along with big men Scola and Fabricio Oberto (
San Antonio Spurs). Their lone weakness is that they are getting older and could
fall to younger teams. The World Championships is five games in six days marathon in the preliminary rounds.
France (Group A, ranked tenth by FIBA) is the up-and-coming favorite in the world. Led by Tony Parker (
San Antonio Spurs) and Boris Diaw
(Phoenix Suns), the French team has climbed the ranks of the European basketball
world and have begun winning European championships. Johan Petro (Seattle Sonics)
and Ronny Turiaf (Los Angeles Lakers) are also on the roster of small quick guards.
This French team has been together for a very long time- even pushing aside proven veterans for their development- and that
chemistry and familiarity could help them in the tough Group A as they advance through the tournament.
Italy (Group D, ranked sixth by FIBA) has no NBA players on their roster, but the Italian leagues are arguably the
second best league for basketball players behind the NBA. All the players on this team come from the Italian leagues, except
one who comes from the very powerful Spanish leagues. Most Americans remember that this silver medal winner from the 2004
Olympics embarrassed the Americans in exhibition play in Germany before the trip to Athens. Italy is again a dangerous team
that may be unknown to American viewers.
Spain (Group B, ranked fifth by FIBA) is another European power that will challenge for the title this year. Pau Gasol
(Memphis Grizzlies) is the ideal big man in international play. He is an athletic
big man that can take it to the hole and dish off to perimeter players. NBA hopefuls Rudy Fernandez (DKV Joventut Badalona in
Spain) and Sergio Rodriguez (Adecco Estudiantes Madrid in Spain)- who both pulled out of the 2006 NBA Draft- are flashy point
guards who can get the Spanish offense moving. Juan-Carlos Navarro (Winterthur Barcelona in Spain) is the player to watch on
this team who has not appeared on NBA radars.
The United States (Group D, ranked first by FIBA), despite their bronze medal finish in 2004, are the favorites to win
the gold. They have by far the deepest team- the only team with 12 NBA players on the roster- and a new outlook on
international play. They will try to use their depth to press their opponents the entire game and then blitz them with fast
break offense. Their weaknesses are that they haven't been a team for very long, are prone to playing one-on-one basketball,
and don't have a grasp of international rules. They may struggle to work as a unit, especially against zone defenses, as well
as take advantage of international rules.
The Dark Horses
Brazil (Group C, ranked fifteenth by FIBA) gave the United States their only scare of the exhibition schedule. They
probably put the world on notice with their energetic play and solid all around play. Leandro Barbosa (
Phoenix Suns) and Anderson Varejao (
Cleveland Cavaliers) are the jolts of energy that get this team moving. Tiago
Splitter (Tau Vitoria in Spain) has pulled out of the past two NBA Drafts and was ranked near the top of the draft board both
times. Brazil has many other players who can step out and shoot and provide energy off the bench.
China (Group D, ranked fourteenth by FIBA) has Yao Ming (Houston Rockets).
Yao is a tough player for anyone to guard. Watching the exhibition game against the U.S., you got the feeling that China's
guards needed a big man to set them up for three point shots. Don't expect China to be blown out by 40 points when Yao is in
the lineup. However, Yao is coming off of foot surgery from late in the NBA season and these games are his first play since
then.
Lithuania (Group C, ranked fourth by FIBA) will be missing top player Sarunas Jasikevicius for this tournament. In the
game against the U.S., his absence was noticeable. The Lithuanians have the best group of big men of any international team
outside the United States. Darius Songaila (Chicago Bulls) and Linas Kleiza (
Denver Nuggets) headline the roster for the typically strong Lithuanian team.
Without their best sharpshooter, their guards are weaker and this team should struggle to succeed at this tournament.
Puerto Rico (Group D, ranked eleventh by FIBA) was the surprise of the 2004 Olympics with their defeat of the United
States. They will look to do that again and improve their standing in the world. Led by quick guards
Carlos Arroyo
(Orlando Magic), Elias Ayuso (Zalgiris Kaunas in Lithuania), and Rick Apodaca (Polpak Swiecie in
Poland), the team likes to shoot threes and control the pace of play with their two-three zone. They are solid down low with
Manual Navarez (Leones de Ponce in Portugal) and Peter John Ramos
(Washington Wizards). Their weakness is their consistency with shooting and
turnovers.
Serbia & Montenegro (Group A, not ranked by FIBA) is perhaps the ultimate dark horse in this tournament. They are
historically a power in international competition, but have fallen off in recent years.
Darko Milicic (Orlando Magic) has begun
to lead the revitalization of the program as they defeated Dirk Nowitzki's Germany earlier in exhibition schedule. The team
also has Kosta Perovic (Partizan Belgrade in Serbia & Montenegro) who had a brief stint in the NBA. Their youth could work
against them, but they won the 2002 World Championships of Basketball and are not a team to sleep on.
