Hoops

U19 World Championships

Not playing regular games at the AIS is a joke. How is it meant to prepare players for professional leagues?

What a shame!

Still top 4 at a WC is noting to sneeze at - their achievements should be applauded.

As will Simmons too...

And this is what DraftExpress' Jon Givony has tweeted:

Jonathan Givony @DraftExpressMy ballot for the #fibaU19 World Championship all-tournament team: Micic, Exum, Winslow, Gordon, Okafor. MVP: Exum pic.twitter.com/Ic3ZPiMhSZ

Jonathan Givony @DraftExpressSerbia just pounded Australia inside the paint all night long. Scored 44 points inside compared with 16 from Aussies. Smart gamelan #fibau19

Australia lost a thriller to Serbia 58-63.
Exum had 20 points, 4 reboubds, 4 assists and 2 steals.
Duncan had 12 points & 8 rebounds
von Hofe had 12 points & 4 rebounds
Pineau had a shooting night he would rather forget in going scoreless on 0/7 shooting.
We still were outrebounded, but this time we onky gave up 10 offensive boards, whilst gaving 7 of our own.

We look like we had our chances but could nit take them this time around.

We can still win Bronze which would be an amazing achievement. We now play Lithuania who were thrashed by USA.

Exum misses two from the line to tie, game over! FREE THROWS WIN GAMES!

Exum highlights from his tournament-high 33 point outburst in the win against Spain:

Of course we have a chance, and I would think it will be much closer this time around

Semi final against Serbia is tonight @ 2:30am AEST according to my calculations for anyone willing abd able to stay up!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv0AaC72P90&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Serbia beat Croatia and will be Australia's semi final opponent.

USA thrashed Canada and will take on Lithuania in the other semi.

7-footer Darcy Malone is an option but is still relatively raw, but is headed to LSU.

Djeric and Simmons would be greeat additions but they are not in the team, but go to show even though we are top 4, we have more up our sleeves.

Lithuania defeated China 89-59 in one of the other quarter finals completed.

Lithuania will take on the winner of USA vs Canada in the other semi final.

Top 4 at a WC - don't hate mate - we have a genuine chance at a medal...This was an upset win over a basketball superpower!

This is another pioint of view from an "American Expert": Jon Giovony from DraftExpress tweeted during the game:

Jonathan Givony @DraftExpress
Dante Exum putting on a show here in Prague--scoring, defending, distributing and everything else. Australia up 35-22 on Spain. #fibau19

Jonathan Givony @DraftExpress
Dante Exum is slated #9 on the DX 2014 mock draft, but that seems low based on what we're seeing here in Prague. What a talent. #fibau19

Jonathan Givony @DraftExpress
30 second half points from Dante Exum help put Australia in the semifinals in a major upset win over Spain. Amazing performance. #fibaU19

+1 on your comments Paul relating to the use of Exum in the last quarter. I too was thinking the same when Pineau missed the gimme and Dante went and got it!

A win is a win - and I'll take one against Spain any day!

Bolden got minutes in the first half but could not really get into the game. Fisher's 3rd quarter cameo was outstanding.

Cotter went with his 'guns' in Exum, Pineau, Duncan and Naar. It was actually hard to find fault in most of the guys in the first half - they were simply brilliant.

Australia held on to defeat Spain 87-76.
Exum was the star with 33 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals!
Naar had 15 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists.
Pineau had 13 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks.
Duncan had 12 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists.

Australia now head into the medal rounds, and play the winner of Croatia vs Serbia.

Well done Emu's!

I think up by 12 they saw an opportunity to give him a quick breather - he has played alomst the entire game

8pt game with 1:47 to go.

I feel we need at least one or two more to seal this game.

12 point game with 3min to go...

I only feel safe with the ball in Exum's hands right now...how big was his trey and then the fastbreak layup?! Exum now has 31 points...

Come on boys!

Down to a 10 point lead - some really bad turnovers by the Emus and the Spaniards have made the most of them...

A few of the Emu's look like they have tightened up.

Got to hold on for 5:30 more.

Come on boys - teamwork got us the lead! Whilst Exum is drawing fouls, our scoring has dired up...

Australia still leading Spain 66-48 at the end of the third quarter.

It was a scrappy quarter full of fouls, and at one stage the Emu's led by 24 points following a reverse layup by Exum with 4:40 to go.

Top 4...medal round if we win! Looking good so far...

Thanks Paul - watching the same stream.

The Emu's played a blinder of a 2nd quarter and now lead Spain 45-31 at half time.

The Emu's were on fire; with Exum and Fisher (8 straight points including 2/2 from downtown) sparking a run that saw the Emu's run out to a 14 point lead.

Exum leading the way with 13 points, Duncan with 10, Pineau 9 and Fisher with 8 points.

Emu's tightened up on the defensive boards, but have still given up 11 offensive rebounds - its just that Spain have not captilised. Defensively the Emu's have been extremely good so far and managed to create some fast break scoring opportunities.

Nobody for Spain has been able to stay in front of Exum - he has now had 4 direct opponents up to the half time break, and has drawn fouls almost at ease. Spain's leading scorer in this game (Pauli) is in foul trouble with 4.

Late in the 2nd when Spain looked set to challenge and reduce the margin, the Emu's have so far found an answer each time.

Looking forward to what is hopefully a great finish by the Emu's.

Great start by the Emu's, leading Spain 19-15. Exum leading the way with 10 points. Australia getting smashed on the offensive boards (7 given up in 1st quarter) but have not yet been made to pay.

FIBA Live Stats for some reason not working for me...

Emus vs Spain starts in 20min

Tonight's game against Spain commences at 11:30pm AEST.

Yep - but nothing yet on the BA website that highlights the great win let alone the quarter final match up against Spain...(sigh)

Australia defeated Russia 78-61 to qualify for the quarter finals.
Playing on his dodgy ankle, Exum led the way with a game-high 20 points and 6 assists in playing 36 minutes!
Pineau had 16 points and 6 rebounds, whilst Naar had 15 points and 2 assists and Duncan had 13 points in the win.

USA survived a scare in overcoming Serbia 71-62.

Australia now takes on Spain in the quarter finals.

Word from Jon Givony from DraftExpress is that Exum went down with what appeared to be a very serious ankle injury against the USA...not a great sign ahead if a must win game against Russia whom we beat pre-tournament.
Nothing about this in BA's wrap from the game: http://basketball.net.au/index.php?id=302&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=2973&tx_ttnews[backPid]=1&cHash=184311b773

This is what Givony tweeted about Exum moments before he went down injured:

Jonathan Givony @DraftExpressDante Exum drawing a foul every time he puts the ball on the floor. Even vs elite NCAA defenders he can create his own shot at will #fibaU19

Australia lost to USA 51-94.
Von Hofe 17p
Rowley 8p
Pineau 8p & 8r
Exum 7p (11min)

Russia defeated Brazil and Serbia thrashed China. Both Australia and Russia with 2-3 records, and hence we now have to beat Russia to progress to quarter finals.

BA are amateurs...

The way I see it, if we finish 4th and we will struggle to beat the first placed team in the other group. To make the medal round, we have to win our quarter final. Hence I would rather a semi final against USA.

Basketball Australia website is saying its a 1/4 final against USA. How i see it thats incorrect. If we manage to beat russia(which is possible)Also lost to china and serbia then we would finish 4th and meet the 1st place on the other side of the pool. I would prefer that then finish 3rd and have a potential semi final with usa if we made it!

But we still have to beat USA or Russia to advance...

Bad loss IMO.

This could be good...
Tanking so we avoid USA in the semis!

just like the ceczh girls did in world champs!

For anyone interested and wanting to stay up late to watch live stats or find a live feed online to view, the game against China tonight starts at 11:30pm AEST.

We beat Brazil 73-45!
Duncan 18p & 6a
Naar 16p, 4r & 4a
Exum 12p, 5r & 5a (foul trouble)
Great win!

We lead Brazil 35-16 at half time. Exum is leading the way with 1op, 5r & 4a. Naar has 11p, Duncan 9p & 4r, and Pineau with just 2p but 8r.

Aussies in action against Brazil right now. We have started off in the best possible fashion, commencing with a 17-0 run before Brazil scored their first basket!

Australia lost to Serbia 57-78.
Pineau 21p & 5r
Exum 14p
Duncan 8p & 6r

Pineau is headed to Saint Mary's College.

Australia defeated Senegal 90-46

Von Hofe 16p & 4r
Pineau 12p & 2s
Rowley 11p & 5r
Exum 9p, 6r & 6a (16min)
Oswald 8p & 11r

11 guys played (Krslovic DNP) and shared the load, with nobody getting less than 13 minutes (Pinder) on court.

great win this morning by the boys... Everyone got a decent run..
http://prague2013.fiba.com/pages/eng/fe/13/fu19m/p/eid/9616/gid/1/grid/C/rid/9617/sid/9616/game.html

here is a great article on Dante for those interested, looks like he is in hot demand

http://247sports.com/Article/Australian-Dante-Exum-building-worldwide-hoops-rep-134400

Here is a link to the official U19 WC tournament page:

2013 FIBA U19 World Championships for Men - Prague

Exum and Pineau have been the stars in the warm up games of the Emus.

Shame Djeric is not there (gunshot wound!) and he will be a real loss to the team.

We have a real chance at the medal rounds...