# FIBA World Championship Final 16: China v.s. Greece



## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

Finally, I can catch a game on TV!!! Yao v.s Spanoulis!!

18-11 China after 1. Yao taking a lot of contact from the Greece C (Papanoplis or something like that), but is controlling the boards very well. His FT shooting is a thing of beauty, swishes everytime. My boy Yi came off the bench and nailed 2 baseline jumpers in a roll.

Greece is hooting terribly, but Spanoulis is holding his own. I love his hesitation moves, can't wait to see him this coming season.


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

Yao with a HUGE block running back on D!!! 

Spanoulis is keeping the Greeks in this, 7pts in the 2nd Q so far.

6pt China lead, this is exciting!!


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## chn353 (Mar 12, 2006)

y cant ny1 in china make a 3... yao would have a better chance of hitting a 3 than any1 else

and TO's r killing us..

pg: yao
sg: yao
sf: yao
pf: yao
c: yao

my proposed team


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## chn353 (Mar 12, 2006)

04:23 No.7 Spanoulis, Vasileios (GRE) hit the 3 point shot (*** No. 4)
04:40 No.8 Zhu, Fangyu (CHN) Turnover, bad pass
04:40 No.7 Spanoulis, Vasileios (GRE) stole the ball

im preety sure that was like 4 To's in 3 mins.. good work


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

Chinese guards are PATHETIC!!! TO after TO.... didn't anyone teach them the fundamentals? DON'T JUMP UP LOOKING TO PASS THE BALL!!!

Yao's gotta take over in the 2nd half if China wants to win this.


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

Greece went on a 30-13 run to end the half. Thanks mainly to Spanoulis.


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

Hakeem said:


> Greece went on a 30-13 run to end the half. Thanks mainly to Spanoulis.


Span's been great, I love the passion that he displays on the court. He backs down from nobody, and thats why I think he'll succeed in this league.


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## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

wtf? no calls? I can't believe the refs just couldn't see how the Greece players were "defending" Yao


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

Its over, Greece is playing like the dream team right now. Yao's enthusiasm is gone, I guess he's fulfilled his promise of taking China to the Final 16, and now can care less :sour:


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## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

Yao Mania said:


> Its over, Greece is playing like the dream team right now. Yao's enthusiasm is gone, I guess he's fulfilled his promise of taking China to the Final 16, and now can care less :sour:


I believe he still wants the win badly, the thing is he can't even get any touch of the ball.


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

I've lost count of how many times I've heard the word "turnover" in the past 2Qs.... if I was a retired NBA PG, say Mark Jackson, I'd offer my services to coach in China right now. Sad sad sad to watch....

If Chen Jianghua can improve his fundamentals, he can be a good player.

Spanoulis if a cold-blooded 3. I really hope Greece goes all the way because of him.


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

kisstherim said:


> I believe he still wants the win badly, the thing is he can't even get any touch of the ball.


well, he's not really showing it.... nor is anyone else on the team..

What a 2 hander by Baby Shaq!!!


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

Sophocles is still morbidly obese.


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

Schortsanitis is embarassing Yao right now... what a fun guy to watch though, hope he'll come to the NBA soon too

I've stopped watching, its just getting ugly. Buh Bye China, and good luck to V-Span and the Greeks.


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

Yao Mania said:


> Schortsanitis is embarassing Yao right now...


How? I've stopped watching too.


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

Hakeem said:


> How? I've stopped watching too.


1st he caught a pass in the lane and threw it down for 2, then he took it in the post, pump faked, and put it in with Yao on his back. Yao was taken out of the game soon after, he just wasn't into it at all.


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## Demiloy (Nov 4, 2005)

I couldn't watch...but I did.

China's only hope is if some young players start developing. Chen Jianghua is their main hope. He impressed today..."only" 2 turnovers, 8 points, perfect from the field, and three jumpers.


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

Spanoulis is slow. I really don't know how much of a slasher he'll be with the athletes in the NBA. Yao will still end up leading the WC's in PPG, but Greece zoned him pretty well in this one. Reminiscient of the 05-06 season.


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

I haven't seen much of Spanoulis, and I'm not keen to put him down this early, but from what I have seen and heard, he doesn't have any particularly strong points. Athleticism, shooting, defense, passing... he isn't special in any of those respects. Is there something I'm missing?


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## FirstRocket (Mar 10, 2005)

Video link= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xwky8NJslWk

Have anyone seen the video Yao got mugged by the Greeks in WC?


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

Hakeem said:


> I haven't seen much of Spanoulis, and I'm not keen to put him down this early, but from what I have seen and heard, he doesn't have any particularly strong points. Athleticism, shooting, defense, passing... he isn't special in any of those respects. Is there something I'm missing?


 He's like a less athletic Bob Sura. Not a great shooter, but a decent spot up shooter (better than Sura). Uses his big body to push around opponents and bully his way to the basket... an underrated finisher. So while he has no real strengths, he has the size and all-around ability to be a contributor.


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## Perseas (Aug 24, 2006)

Vassilis' nickname in these parts of the world is "Kill Bill" (Kill for killing his opponents with his trademark drives and Bill as the closest you can get for a translation of his name in English). Mybe it will travel with him in the NBA.


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

Mr. Predictable said:


> He's like a less athletic Bob Sura. Not a great shooter, but a decent spot up shooter (better than Sura). Uses his big body to push around opponents and bully his way to the basket... an underrated finisher. So while he has no real strengths, he has the size and all-around ability to be a contributor.


I think that's a fair comparison. While he looks like a guy that can easily get hot headed, I like his decision making for the most part. Its unfair to compare him to Ginobilli because there's so many things Manu does better (court awareness, speed, shooting, defense), but who knows, V-Span can still develop.

Kill Bill, I like that


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## Dean the Master (Feb 19, 2006)

"The Bull in China's Shop" from Chron.com


> If you're Yao Ming, you get over the loss to Greece real fast and get excited about getting to training camp with Vasilis Spanoulis.
> 
> If you're a Rockets fan, you hope the best for Bob Sura's comeback, but get a tingle thinking that Spanoulis is the Greek way to spell Sura.
> 
> ...


V-Span would be very fun to watch next year. I think he whould be the energizer off the bench. He is great.


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## debarge (Nov 13, 2005)

Hakeem said:


> I haven't seen much of Spanoulis, and I'm not keen to put him down this early, but from what I have seen and heard, he doesn't have any particularly strong points. Athleticism, shooting, defense, passing... he isn't special in any of those respects. Is there something I'm missing?


Well I can only say that I've watched him twice in the tourney, and he looked better than Rafer IMO. But don't get it twisted, its because of his style of play, and his instincts.The kid has really good bball instincts, a High ball IQ as the scouts say. No he wont' be breaking ankles, but he definitely seems to have the 'flavor' we've been missing. Something that could be said of Bob Sura when fully healthy, he wasn't fast or great at anything but not deficient either. 

IMO Spanolis will at some point be our starting PG esp if his long range shot continues to improve, its not bad now. Its just not lights out like Ginobli, who he has some of but more of a Beno Udrich. He's very very aggressive, and the league is aggressive now for guards, he'll get to the line alot. IMO he is a very good passer, just makes good plays. Again, only the two games I saw, but I see what the team sees, alot of potential with Yao/Mac/Battier.


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