Category: FIBA

FIBA World Cup News: Giannis in, Papagiannis and Papapetrou out for Serbia game

Brandon King

The Hellenic Basketball Federation announced their 12-man roster for their 2023 European World Cup Qualifier matchup against Serbia in Belgrade. One of those names listed that should be pleasing to Greek fans, and to a lesser extent Milwaukee Bucks fans, is Giannis Antetokounmpo. Back and knee soreness had limited Antetokounmpo to just two of Greece’s pre-competition friendly matchups, albeit he did show up big in those pair of games, averaging 27.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.5 steals per contest. However the squad will be without Panagiotis Kalaitzakis, Giannis…

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EuroBasket 2022 News: Andrew Albicy returns to French national team

Brandon King

Monday morning the French Federation of Basketball announced that point guard Andrew Albicy has been medically cleared to rejoin the senior national team. Albicy had been on the shelf for the past three weeks due to a thigh injury. His return to the team now swells the roster to 13 , meaning there will have to be at least one player trimmed to comply with FIBA rules, which allows for 12 players. There is also hope that center Moustapha Fall can rejoin the team; he was initially cut because of…

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FIBA World Cup News: Dennis Schröder not going to Sweden for Qualifiers

Brandon King

The German basketball federation announced that team captain Dennis Schröder is undergoing treatment in the nation and will not make the trip to Sweden for the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers. Schröder, 28, injured his ankle against the Czech Republic in the Hamburg Super Cup Tournament and missed the final against Serbia. It is still up in the air whether Schröder will be available for the second game of the Qualifiers, a home game against Slovenia and Luka Dončić. Schröder is the latest injury to the M.A.S.H. unit that has become…

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FIBA News: ”The Dragon” leads Slovenian comeback over Croatia

Brandon King

Slovenia completed its pre-competition exhibition run undefeated, with a 94-88 victory over Croatia in Cejje on Saturday. Luka Dončić was off his usual game, shooting just 2/9 from the floor for 10 points, but adding 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and a steal in his 21 minutes of action. However recent Chicago Bulls signing Goran Dragić picked up the slack with his second consecutive strong performance, having put in 16 in his last game, with 19 points, 14 of which came in the second half. Vlatko Cancar came up big in…

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FIBA News: Serbia spanks Germany, 83-56

Brandon King

Nikola Jokic’s dominance was on full display in Serbia’s 83-56 starching of Germany in Hamburg on Saturday. The back-to-back reigning NBA MVP scored 22 points on 10/11 FG and grabbed 5 boards in just 17 minutes as the Serbians took firet place in the 33rd Basketball-Supercup, relegating Germany to the runner-up spot. Vasilijie Micic, who himself is the MVP of the last two Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Fours and the 2021 season MVP contributed 14 points. Germany’sAndreas Obst led Germany with 12 points, Franz Vagner was held to just 5…

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FIBA News: Giannis to play in World Cup opener

Brandon King

Giannis Antetokounmpo is primed and ready to return as the games get serious for the Greek national team. He is expecyed to play in the Group I of the 2023 World Cup European qualifiers, where the team will pay a visit to Serbia and the back-to-back NBA MVP Nikola Jokić. Three days later the Greek team returns home to take on Belgium. Back soreness kept Antetokounmpo out of their last game against Turkey , thankfully the Hellenistic Basketball Federation announced Saturday that an MRI that Giannis underwent came back clean.…

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Kostas Antetokounmpo leads Greece to 89-80 victory over Turkey

Brandon King

The Greek national team was once again without Giannis Antetokounmpo , who was a last-minute scratch due to back issue, but it was another Antetokounmpo, brother Kostas who lead the team ,with 19 points and 13 rebounds, to 89-80 win over Turkey that netted them the 31st International Tournament Acropolis Aegean. Tyler Dorsey put in 16 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds and a steal. Thanasis Antetokounmpo chipped in with 8 points. Furkan Korkmaz’s 22 points and 10 rebound performance were not enough to put Turkey over the hump. Cedi Osman…

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FIBA News: Poland gets second exhibition win

Brandon King

Poland closed out its pre-competition exhibitions with a 87-76 win over Georgia. Michal Michalak led Poland, knocking down 6 from downtown en route to a team-high 22 points. Poland will compete in Group D of the 2022 Eurobasket in Prague, along with host nation the Czech Republic, Serbia, Israel, Finland and the Netherlands, all with the goal of securing a berth in the the elimination round in Berlin. Poland will jump into Group E play for Eurbasket 2025 Pre-Qualifiers with a home matchup against Croatia and a road game versus…

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Lithuania finishes friendly play undefeated with blowout of the Netherlands

Brandon King

Lithuania finished off the friendly match portion of their World Cup Qualifier and Eurobasket prep in emphatic fashion with a 94-68 thrashing of the Netherlands. Ignas Brazdeikis led the charge with 16 points, team captain Jonas Valančiūnas recorded 14 points, eight rebounds, 2 assists, and a block in 17 minutes of action. Domantas Sabonis of the Sacramento Kings scored 10 points, 5 boards, and four assists in 18 minutes of work. For the Netherlands Olaf Schaftenaar led all their scorers with 17 points; this loss took them to 0-5 on this…

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Eurobasket News: France cuts William Howard

Brandon King

Friday the French Federation of Basketball announced that William Howard was cut from the senior national team. The 28-year-olf forward was cut after the last friendly game against Belgium, which France won, 90-71. This trim the French team down to 12 players, which is the roster size allowed by FIBA rules. Though they are at the required size, the squad is not cemented as the team is waiting to see if Moustapha Fall and Andrew Albicy can recover from their injuries in time to play in the upcoming international competitions.…

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