China Smokes Iran … In Basketball

No Shrimp, No barbie, No Victory for the Australians

After watching the first game drubbing, Chico and I were ready to get some food, get some beers and settle in for some higher quality action with the evening game.

“Uhh, I just went to check. They don’t sell beers, they don’t even sell water, and all I could find to eat was this,” said a defeated Chico as he held up a lukewarm hot dog on a stick.

We threw back the hot dogs, threw down the sticks, and made our way around a thousand guards on our way to some unoccupied second row seats.

The first order of business was to make fast friends with all of the security guards in our section so they would allow us re-entry later in the game and never ask for our tickets.

“Hey buddy,” I said in my most casual manner. “Are you from Nanjing?”
“No I am from Anhui Province. Do you live in Nanjing?”
“No we live in Suzhou. Your Chinese basketball team is really good.”
“Thank you, I think so too. Would you like a cigarette?”
“No thanks, Chico will take one though.”
Done.

Just as we set down the San Antonio Spurs’ “Human White Towel” Fabulous Fabrico Oberto emerged from an exit tunnel near our seats and a “whaaah” came over the crowd. Everyone within a three section radius rushed to the edge of our tunnel to try to get a look to see who was coming out next.

Just then, Carlos Delfino (former Toronto Raptors) came trotting out of the tunnel on the opposite side of the stadium and started shooting jumpers. The crowd was befuddled as they suddenly realized that players could be coming out of any tunnel at any time. The Nanjing Olympic Stadium had turned into The Royal Rumble, and I was half expecting The Undertaker to smash an urn on someone’s head.

One by one players entered the arena floor until finally Manu Ginobili came out to an eruption of applause and shouts of “Shui ge! Shui ge!” (“Handsome man! Handsome man!”) from men, women and security alike.

While the crowd clearly favored the Argentinean team due to their large number of NBA players and apparent good looks, it was the Australian team who took the early lead and rode a 47-35 halftime advantage. The Australians boast a large and imposing frontline that gave the smaller Argentinean team fits. Argentina’s forwards Luis Scola (Houston Rockets) and Fabricio Oberto could not keep up with David Andersen (Euro League), Mathew Nielsen (Euro League), and Chris Anstey (former Chicago Bulls). Amazingly, they had no trouble keeping up with NBA center, 2005 #1 overall pick and recent $60 million man Andrew Bogut (Milwaukee Bucks). He sat for large stretches of the game and ended the game with 4 points and 2 rebounds. (note: Apparently, after the game he blamed it on an ankle injury but he still looked pretty bad in the first half).

“Andrew Bogut has an amazing future in the NBA as a $60 million decoy,” commented Chico. “They should pay me $60 million not to be productive. I would be amazing at that.”

As the second half kicked in the reigning Olympic gold medalists from Argentina decided to wake up and play like it meant something. Luis Scola began hitting shots and using his quickness to get in and around the Australian front line. Manu Ginobili showed why he is one of the best players in the world by hitting tough shots, getting steals and creating easy shots for his teammates. The Aussies wouldn’t back down as time and again David Andersen, David Barlow and Patrick Mills (St. Mary’s University) hit big shots to keep them in the game, but in the end the Argentinean team was too strong and escaped with a narrow victory.

Overall, the Australians look much stronger than I would have imagined and should make a nice run in the Olympic tournament. I would not be surprised if they upset one of the more prominent squads in the qualifying round and I would give them a descent chance to get to the bronze medal game.

The Argentineans are a veteran team that has been together since 2002 and it shows. They all know how to play off of each other and they run a very polished offense. On defense they can be exposed by a strong frontline that forces the ball inside, just as the Australians did in this game. They have the talent, experience and confidence to capture the gold and don’t think they should be satisfied with anything less than silver.