# Olympic Games 2008 Beijing



## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

What is everyones predictions for who will come out on top?!:biggrin:

Qualified Teams:

China (host nation)
Spain
Angola
Iran 
USA 
Argentina
Russia
Lithuania
Australia

Teams with a chance playing in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament:

Europe: 4 - *Greece*, Germany, Croatia, *Slovenia* 
Americas: 3 - *Puerto Rico*, Brazil, Canada 
Africa: 2 - Cameroon, Cape Verde 
Asia: 2 - Lebanon, Korea 
Oceania: 1 - New Zealand 

Through this tournament, the final three qualifying berths for the 2008 Olympics men’s basketball competition will be determined. I have bolded my selections. I think this is how it all works, it's pretty confusing :biggrin:


My overall prediction for the team who will take home the glory... dum dum dum 

- drum roll please -


.
.
.
.

*USA*


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

*Re: Olympic Game 2008 Beijing*

Found some interesting articles concerning the Russian and China squads..

In an interview Nikita Morgunov said that Russia's main opponent in the 2008 Olympics will be the US.



> 'Americans haven't won a title for a while now and now they've set up a team which is the strongest since the Dream Team era'
> 
> 'The favourites for me are the USA but we sholdn't forget holders Argentina and World Champs Spain, we may have beaten them in th Final but the next game will be a totally different one'
> 
> 'Australia also could upset many teams'


And 



> *Olympic basketball hopes in jeopardy: Yao
> China Daily
> Updated: 2007-09-27 10:18*
> 
> ...


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## HB (May 1, 2004)

*Re: Olympic Game 2008 Beijing*

Good stuff PP. With the way the USA team is built, I really dont see why they shouldnt steam roll the competition.

I think the 3 teams that will make it through the qualifying tournament will be Brazil, Greece and Puerto Rico. If the Canadians ever add Nash and Magloire to their roster, they could be pretty good. Dalembert played brilliantly for them in their last outing.


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

I'm thinking Brazil, Greece and Slovenia myself.


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## luther (Nov 2, 2007)

Assuming Russia retains coach David Blatt (and dual-citizen JR Holden at guard), they're no pushovers, either. They've really got a good team built up over there.

That said, if the U.S. keeps the players it's expected to keep, they've got to be the favorite. And Argentina and Spain are right in there.

Those four are my top four.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

luther said:


> Assuming Russia retains coach David Blatt (and dual-citizen JR Holden at guard), they're no pushovers, either. They've really got a good team built up over there.
> 
> That said, if the U.S. keeps the players it's expected to keep, they've got to be the favorite. And Argentina and Spain are right in there.
> 
> Those four are my top four.


Mine also.

I believe China, even with Yao, will be the worst team in this tournament. Hope they prove me wrong, but there just doesn't seem to be a fluidity to that team at all not enough dimensions to compete on the big stage. 

The tournament itself is going to be great, four powerhouse teams (not to mention a few other perrenial contenders) is going to make it very, very interesting indeed. 

Wish my United Kingdom were making it out to Beijing :sad:


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## luther (Nov 2, 2007)

Porn_Player said:


> I believe China, even with Yao, will be the worst team in this tournament. ...
> Wish my United Kingdom were making it out to Beijing :sad:


I''m sure Iran will be worse than China.

As for the U.K., just 4.5 years and you'll get your wish in London. And the team might even feature Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Pops Mensa Bonsu, etc. Could be better than expected.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

luther said:


> I''m sure Iran will be worse than China.
> 
> As for the U.K., just 4.5 years and you'll get your wish in London. And the team might even feature Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Pops Mensa Bonsu, etc. Could be better than expected.


Arrrr I didn't even notice Iran. My lord how did they make it? :biggrin:

And thanks, I am not so sure about Ben Gordon playing for us but it can't be bad having Deng as a recruiting agent :clap2: 

We have a pretty decent young core coming through so like you said hopefully we can put a mark on the tournament.


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## luther (Nov 2, 2007)

Porn_Player said:


> Arrrr I didn't even notice Iran. My lord how did they make it? :biggrin:


Each region has to be represented in the games, and Asia is pretty weak. So ... Iran! May as well be them as Yemen. 

As for Ben Gordon, he isn't officially going to play or anything. But he has reportedly been thinking about it since Deng committed, as Gordon's mother is a UK citizen, I believe. Regardless of whether he plays, I do believe that the UK has some decent young talent to surprise some people by that time. They aren't going to turn into a power overnight, but hopefully the excitement of hosting and having some NBA talent might boost the sport's popularity there and build a better ongoing program.


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