TOP 50 Basketball Stories of the Day
SPAIN
Aito: I don't want to coach only for two months a year Aito Garcia Reneses has quit as Spain's basketball coach after leading the national team to a silver medal at the Beijing Olympic Games. Garcia Reneses made use of a clause in his contract which allows him to vacate the position after the games, the Spanish basketball federation announced Tuesday. "I don't want to coach only for two months a year. At present, I prefer to be active throughout the season,'' said Garcia Reneses, who is expected to take over at Spanish club Unicaja. The 61-year-old coach, who had been in charge for less than three months, made his last appearance on Sunday when the world champions lost 107-118 to the United States in a thrilling Olympic basketball final. Garcia Reneses, who has nine league trophies and one European Cup on his resume, was the replacement for Jose Vicente "Pepu'' Hernandez. Hernandez led Spain to its first world championship in 2006 and the final of the European championship last year, but was fired after an acrimonious dispute with the federation.
FIBA
World Rankings – USA falls to #2
After winning eight straight games in mostly spectacular fashion to clinch Olympic gold, the United States dropped one spot to No. 2. The world's top hoops squad according to the rankings is Argentina, a team the U.S. overwhelmed 101-81 on Friday in the semifinals. The FIBA World Rankings take into account tournaments from the past eight years, awarding points based on order of finish and giving more weight to major events like the Olympics or the FIBA World Championship, with lesser emphasis on continental events like the FIBA Americas Championship or EuroBasket. The completion of the Olympic tournament on Sunday meant the results from the Sydney Olympics fell out of the eight-year range. So the U.S. added a gold medal to its tally and lost its gold medal finish from 2000. The Argentines added Sunday's bronze medal -- but their non-participation in the 2000 Olympics was no longer counted against them.
EUROPEAN U-16 CHAMPIONSHIP
Lithuania dominates Czech’s in Championship game The Termosteps U16 European Championship Men has a king and an undisputed one after Lithuania crushed the Czech Republic 75-33 in a one-sided final game. This is the first ever gold medal for Lithuania in the U16 tournament. After a great performance throughout the entire tournament the Czechs finish second with a historical silver medal, although would probably try to forget about their last performance. After the medals ceremony both sides were celebrating. When Vytenis Cizauskas lifted the U16 European Championship cup his team-mates and coaching staff screamed out all their happiness. The Czechs waited for the ceremony to finish to throw their coach Peter Balint in the air as usually only the winning team do. For the Czechs to finish second is still a great and unbelievable achievement. This is of course the most one-sided finals in the history of the U16 championship. The biggest margin in the finals until today was 18 and set twice - Yugoaslavia's 99-81 win over Spain in 1985 and Greece's 76-58 win over Spain eight years later. Vytenis Cizauskas was the top scorer of the finals with 22 points in addition to two assists and five steals. Deividas Pukis followed with 13 points and Jonas Valanciunas posted another double-double this time with ten points and 15 rebounds with two shot blocks. Jan Svejda topped the Czech Republic scoreheet with ten points but only two out of 11 attempts from the field. Milan Ryska added seven points and five rebounds.
Jonas Valanciunas - MVP Lithuania's big guy Jonas Valanciunas was also crowned as the MVP of the Termosteps U16 European Championship Men. Valanciunas dominated every game in the competition and proved he's one of the most promising prospect in his generation. His team didn't drop a game from day one till the last, including the astonishing the 75-33 finals win, and he was the main reason for that. The gold medalist finished the tournament with 14.3 ppg, 11.1 rpg and 2.3 bpg behind five double-doubles. He's the second best reboudner and the best shot blocker in the competition. Together with him in the All-Tournament team are Leo Westermann (France), Dmitry Kulagin (Russia), Milan Ryska (Czech Republic) and Enes Kanter (Turkey).Westermann averaged for France 12.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.1 apg and 1.8 spg and was one of the main forces in France's ride to the semi-finals. A smart athletic and tall guard who's presence on the court is felt at any second. His 2.1 apg made him the best passer in this championship. Russia's Dmitry Kulagin finished as the second best scorer in the games with 20.8 ppg in addition to 4.3 rpg. In all eight games he scored at least 17 points, and showed great diversity on offense and played with big maturity.Kanter of Turkey posted a double-double is all eight games including a 20-20 double-double in the semi-finals and bronze medal game. His tournament averages are 22.9 ppg, 16.5 rpg, 1.5 bpg on more than 64% from the field. He leads no less than 11 different statistical categories and ranked 2nd, 4th and 5th in three other. Milan Ryska was the best and most consistent player of the biggest story of the championship - the Czech Republic. He posted four double-doubles including a 16 points and 11 rebounds performance in the semi-finals when he didn't leave the court for a single second. The silver medal winner is a long and mobile big guy and he averaged 10.1 ppg and 9.5 rpg as the main star of the finalists.
U-16 EUROPEAN B CHAMPIONSHIP
Germany Wins in Undefeated Style Germany capped a magnificent undefeated run at the U16 European Championship for Men Division B in Bosnia-Herzegovina by beating Montenegro to win the title. Mathis Mönninghoff poured in 19 points to lead the Germans to a 76-69 triumph. Montenegro, who with Germany won promotion to Division A by prevailing in their respective semi-finals, played their part in a thrilling final. After falling behind 27-11 by the end of the first quarter, the Montenegrins fought back to take the lead in the third and were still in front 66-63 after a three-pointer from Nemanja Djurisic with 3:50 remaining in the game. Philipp Neumann's layup cut the gap to one and a pair of Mönninghoff free throws put Germany back in front. They went on top by three, only for Jaksa Vulevic to tie the game at 69-69 with a shot from long range for Montenegro. Another Neumann layup started a 7-0 run for the Germans over the final 1:41 to clinch the title. Mladen Novakovic had 17 points and five rebounds in defeat for Montenegro. Bulgaria defeated Sweden 81-61 to seal third place in the tournament.
OLYMPICS
Colangelo expected to return for 2012 Jerry Colangelo, the architect of USA Basketball’s gold-medal revival, is expected to stay on as the managing director and oversee the men’s program through the 2012 London Olympics, an NBA source said Sunday. Moments after the United States’ 118-107 victory over Spain on Sunday, Colangelo strongly suggested he would return: “Look, continuity is important. If you’re a betting guy, you’d say, (I’m) probably going to do it. But it’s not official.” Colangelo, 68, said he plans to make an announcement next week. His continuing in the job would be no surprise. Colangelo has been talking a lot about the future of the program, about its next steps and no one surrounding USA Basketball and the NBA expects him to walk away. “Jerry’s coming back,” said one NBA official. Colangelo’s return to run the Olympic program could come with the broader responsibilities of a new position overseeing a possible partnership between the NBA and the NCAA. Nothing has been determined, nor agreed upon, but it seems likely that Colangelo will come back in a paid executive position. He did not draw a salary for his work as managing director of USA Basketball. NBA commissioner David Stern has already asked Colangelo, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, to stay on the job. What’s more, USA Basketball plans to leave its Colorado Springs, Colo., offices and build a training facility elsewhere. Glendale, Ariz., is considered the favorite. Colangelo, the longtime Phoenix Suns owner and executive, still lives there.
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