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Who can beat Spain now?? ESPANA ESPANA ESPANA!! - Raze Lupin - Dec 9, 2010
It's over for Eurobasket, Olympics and 2014 WC. If He goes to Spain they will be unstoppable. What is your opininion Ibaka becoming a citizen and playing for Spain NT? Maybe even in Eurobasket?
http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/news/lateNews/p/newsid/45395/arti.html
MADRID (EuroBasket 2011) - Pau Gasol has expressed the opinion that Congo-born power forward Serge Ibaka would be a good addition to Spain's national team if he were to be granted citizenship.
Ibaka, now 21 and playing with Oklahoma City in the NBA, moved to Spain as a teenager and played with Club BÃ squet LâHospitalet and Ricoh Manresa in the ACB (2008-09) before leaving for the Thunder in the 2009-10 campaign.
On Wednesday night, he blocked eight shots for the Thunder in their 111-103 victory at Minnesota.
He also had 10 points and five rebounds.
In September, Ibaka said he would, if asked, like to play for Spain's national team.
"Spain has done a lot for me and I want to do something in return," Ibaka said.
âThe Congo is the past. Oklahoma is my work place, and Spain is where I live. My younger brother, Igor, is playing here in Manresa.â
His remarks were carried by hoopsleader.com
Gasol, who has taken part in a fan question and interview session with Madrid-based Marca, was asked about Ibaka and Spain's national team.
"He is a young player that is playing at a high level in the NBA and could help the national team a lot," said the Los Angeles Lakers star forward-center, who is the most famous player ever to wear a Spain jersey.
"I think it's good that he gets the nationality."
Spain will next summer try to defend their European title and qualify for the London 2012 Olympics.
Who can beat Spain now?? ESPANA ESPANA ESPANA!! - Raze Lupin - Dec 9, 2010
I must also add that having a front court of Serge Ibaka as center ans Marc Gasol, Pao Gasol as forwards looks extremely formidable front court. My personal opinion is If Ibaka goes to Spain and Spain has its best players for Eurobasket they should be favored to win a medal.
Who can beat Spain now?? ESPANA ESPANA ESPANA!! - stefans - Dec 9, 2010
Don't forget Serbia.They will be best in London.
Who can beat Spain now?? ESPANA ESPANA ESPANA!! - forum troll - Dec 9, 2010
Pau is not playing at the EuroBasket. There is absolutely zero reason for him to play at that tournament. As for Ibaka, I don't see where adding him makes such a big difference. He would not be some real big difference maker in FIBA.
I don't see Spain winning EuroBasket. Lithuania is at home and should be by far the favorite, especially since FIBA now rigs the tournaments for the home teams.
Pau and Navarro are starting to look old. Their impact for Spain is going to start to decline a lot, just like with guys like Jasikevicius and Papaloukas.
Who can beat Spain now?? ESPANA ESPANA ESPANA!! - Raze Lupin - Dec 10, 2010
Ibaka is a young improving player! He's becoming a force under the basket. his youth, skill and ability may be a game changer for any club. Pao Gasol may be older but his skill is amazing. His numbers are getting better actually. Gasol is a special player.
Yes I agree Lietuva is the best choice for Eurobasket. Spain is looking really good for the upcoming competitions tho! I'm excited. My sleeper team for Olympics 2012 is Brazil. They are dangerous...
Who can beat Spain now?? ESPANA ESPANA ESPANA!! - Raze Lupin - Dec 10, 2010
Quote:Don't forget Serbia.They will be best in London.
I like Serbian team so good luck! We know Serbia was robbed. ;-) I have question is Dan eligible for Serbian national team??
http://www.nba.com/playerfile/dan_gadzuric/index.html
Who can beat Spain now?? ESPANA ESPANA ESPANA!! - Black Urum - Dec 10, 2010
Isn't Gadzuric Dutch and black? I think Serbia got mroe than enough talent to ever need him.
Who can beat Spain now?? ESPANA ESPANA ESPANA!! - Raze Lupin - Dec 10, 2010
Yes he is from Netherlands but I think his dad is Serb his mom is from an African country. I'm not sure which one. Maybe even the Virgin islands. Dan did grow up in the Netherlands though. I'm not sure if this makes him Serb citizen. I don't know about Serb citizenship process. This is why I'm asking. Yes I agree Serbia has a lot of talent. Counting Dan Gadzuric and Vladimir Radmanovic there are 2 Serbians on the Golden State Warriors roster.
Who can beat Spain now?? ESPANA ESPANA ESPANA!! - straight forward - Dec 10, 2010
Gasol wants to play in Eurobasket, he mentioned that couple of times. Ibaka? Who is Ibaka?
Seriously, he never even played in FIBA games so far right? Gasol is the different maker.IMO, Lithuania and Serbia will be among contenders with Spain in 2011 Eurobasket, but a lot of other teams will be a threat.
Who can beat Spain now?? ESPANA ESPANA ESPANA!! - Raze Lupin - Dec 10, 2010
Quote:Gasol wants to play in Eurobasket, he mentioned that couple of times. Ibaka? Who is Ibaka?
IMO, Lithuania and Serbia will be among contenders with Spain in 2011 Eurobasket, but a lot of other teams will be a threat.
Ibaka was born in Congo but lived in Spain and played FIBA rules in both Congo and Spain. He could not play for Spain junior team because he was not a citizen of Spain. Now he plays in NBA with Oklahoma City Thunder along side Kevin Durant and Russel Westbrook from the gold medal winning team USA.
Here is my opinion: Ibaka is not as good as Gasol. Not even close BUT he can be a solid contributor. I saw him match up against Nikola Pekovic from Montenegro now NBA. Ibaka matched him. I think he would do well in Eurobasket. Also in a future USA vs Spain match up. Ibaka will be very dangerous to USA.
Who can beat Spain now?? ESPANA ESPANA ESPANA!! - straight forward - Dec 10, 2010
Quote:Ibaka was born in Congo but lived in Spain and played FIBA rules in both Congo and Spain. He could not play for Spain junior team because he was not a citizen of Spain. Now he plays in NBA with Oklahoma City Thunder along side Kevin Durant and Russel Westbrook from the gold medal winning team USA.
Here is my opinion: Ibaka is not as good as Gasol. Not even close BUT he can be a solid contributor. I saw him match up against Nikola Pekovic from Montenegro now NBA. Ibaka matched him. I think he would do well in Eurobasket. Also in a future USA vs Spain match up. Ibaka will be very dangerous to USA.
Yeah, I know Ibaka (even though you gave some interesting info, thanks) and I know he is amazingly athletic player and pretty dominant under the boards, but my reaction was very simple - Gasol is in the different level. As for the future, I think that Ibaka could be a great contributor for the Spain if he will play for them, but basically I don't think he'll ever reach the same level of top players. Ibaka is one of these physical monsters, but not that talented and obviously lacking BB IQ for being the decision makers. He is a role player, IMO.
Who can beat Spain now?? ESPANA ESPANA ESPANA!! - Black Urum - Dec 10, 2010
Pekovic dominates FIBA courts with Montenegro, at least he did in Division B and the Div. A qualifications.
Montenegro is a new nation-team, so Eurobasket2011 will be Pekovic first real test on international level, but I think he will be as good as any big guy out there, maybe except for Gasol.
Who can beat Spain now?? ESPANA ESPANA ESPANA!! - Raze Lupin - Dec 10, 2010
Quote:Yeah, I know Ibaka (even though you gave some interesting info, thanks) and I know he is amazingly athletic player and pretty dominant under the boards, but my reaction was very simple - Gasol is in the different level. As for the future, I think that Ibaka could be a great contributor for the Spain if he will play for them, but basically I don't think he'll ever reach the same level of top players. Ibaka is one of these physical monsters, but not that talented and obviously lacking BB IQ for being the decision makers. He is a role player, IMO.
Yeah I totally agree with you! He does not compare to Gasol. He most probably never will. Pau Gasol is a leader for NBA MVP award. Everyone has him in their top 5 - 10 best players in the NBA. We have the same opinion. From a USA perspective a frontcourt of Ibaka, Gasol brothers is very intimidating. Two skilled big men plus one beast would give USA problems. I believe if you put Ibaka as he is now in the 2008 USA vs Spain final. It increases Spain's chances to win. Ibaka is a beast, he is the type of player that you could assign to the opponents best center or forward and disrupt their game. For example I love Linas Kleiza BUT i think Ibaka's defense could disrupt his game. A Spain front court with Ibaka vs Lietuva front court would be interesting match.
Who can beat Spain now?? ESPANA ESPANA ESPANA!! - forum troll - Dec 12, 2010
Quote:Pekovic dominates FIBA courts with Montenegro, at least he did in Division B and the Div. A qualifications.
Montenegro is a new nation-team, so Eurobasket2011 will be Pekovic first real test on international level, but I think he will be as good as any big guy out there, maybe except for Gasol.
I love Pekovic. He is an absolute beast. But he is also a huge foul machine. He wont take Montenegro anywhere with all his fouls.
Who can beat Spain now?? ESPANA ESPANA ESPANA!! - Black Urum - Dec 12, 2010
Quote:I love Pekovic. He is an absolute beast. But he is also a huge foul machine. He wont take Montenegro anywhere with all his fouls.
He will most likely make his opponents foul out first... nobody in Europe can contain him in the low post.
Who can beat Spain now?? ESPANA ESPANA ESPANA!! - straight forward - Dec 12, 2010
Quote:He will most likely make his opponents foul out first... nobody in Europe can contain him in the low post.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSbEbpJ0mxc&feature=related
Who can beat Spain now?? ESPANA ESPANA ESPANA!! - Black Urum - Dec 12, 2010
I excluded Gasol in my earlier post. And this dunk occurred in an NBA games. Something tells me that if Gasol will try to pull the same stunt in Eurobasket, he will be fouled, hard.
Who can beat Spain now?? ESPANA ESPANA ESPANA!! - Raze Lupin - Dec 13, 2010
Pekovic is great. The only thing is his lateral movement is a bit slow. I think he plays better when he with Darko Milicic. He is athletic and has a good body though. He is also getting a lot of minutes. Kevin Love is the star on the team right now. Having Milicic, Love and Pekovic on the court at the same time is beef city.
Who can beat Spain now?? ESPANA ESPANA ESPANA!! - ZEUS - Dec 16, 2010
I don't think Spain needs to resort to handing over passports to foreigners to play for their national team. Their junior and young men's national teams showed plenty of promise, and especially basketball IQ. It would make Spain look desperate to bring over a foreign player. On the whole, I am against all this naturalization crap for the benefit of national teams, at least for those competing at the premiership level.
Who can beat Spain now?? ESPANA ESPANA ESPANA!! - Raze Lupin - Dec 16, 2010
Quote:I don't think Spain needs to resort to handing over passports to foreigners to play for their national team. Their junior and young men's national teams showed plenty of promise, and especially basketball IQ. It would make Spain look desperate to bring over a foreign player. On the whole, I am against all this naturalization crap for the benefit of national teams, at least for those competing at the premiership level.
I have a question for you.Considering your philosophy on naturalization. Do you think Ibaka may be a special case since he moved to Spain at a young age? He played basketball in Spain as a junior and his family still lives in Spain. So is the Ibaka case more acceptable to you?