WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP JAPAN 2006
There were other interesting elements in the first day. Lebanon, in the midst of war, reappeared in
a world championship with an 82-72 victory over Venezuela, (“We dedicate this victory to the
people killed in the war”, said the forward Fadi El Khatib, scorer of 35 points, after the match);
Argentina beat France (80-70) in a high class game and Spain beat New Zealand (86-70) in what
would be their first sep towards “The Big Step”. They were just getting into their stride with this
modest 86-70 which merely served as a warm up. Spain won and justified the confidence shown
by the coach, Pepu Hernández when, at the oficial presentation of the team 5 weeks before the
tournament, he was asked by a journalist, “Aren't you overawed by the responsibility at the head
of the Spanish national team?” His answer was clear, “With the players and technical staff at my
disposal I can assure you that I'll sleep very well at night.” And he certainly did. There were three
outstanding players in the debut against New Zealand, Carlos Navarro, Jorge Garbajosa and Pau
Gasol who scored 16 points each.
The first phase showed Japan just how hard it would be to find a place in the elite. Zeljko
Pavlicevic's young players also lost their second game, against Angola (87-62) and only managed
to win one of their five matches, against Panama (78-61) and thus failed in their ambition to
qualify for the next round. The hosts had to take a back seat and learn a lesson from the
basketball offered by other teams in the competitions.
For example the USA who only had one slight mishap, in their match against Italy. In fact they
were losing at half time (45-36) but they stepped up the pace in the second half and the 35
points scored by Carmelo Anthony (a US record at the time), to mark up their fourth victory in the
first phase (94-85) and guarantee first place in Group D. Meanwhile, in Hiroshima, Spain beat
Germany in the duel for first place, winning the match between the two by 92-71. “We have to play
like that everyday. Everyone knows their role in the team to perfection and that's why it works”,
stated Jose Manuel Calderon, praised by Nowitzki (“He was incredible”, said the man from
Wurzburg about the Extremaduran) and the perfect teamwork of a squad was improving day by
day.
The same tune was played in Sendai where the stars were Argentina. They started with a 80-70
victory and finished by beating Serbia and Montenegro 83-79 which gave them an indisputable
balance of 5-0 in the first round. Carlos Delfino took on the mantle of Herrmann and Nocioni, and
the Olympic champions showed that they were real contenders for the title. In Hamamatsu Greece
completed the foursome of unbeaten teams. The Greeks showed real character, especially in the
tough games against Lithuania (81-76), Australia (72-69) and Turkey (76-69). With Theodoros
Papaloukas in the lead, the team's character was guaranteed.
AMERICA AGAINST EUROPE IN SAITAMA
On 26 August it was hot and humid in Saitama, maybe it was the rising pressure as the
tournament progressed that raised the temperature. There, in the imposing Saitama Super Arena,
built in 2001 with a capacity of 18,500, where the tournament started the elimination phase. A
venue that included a museum (the John Lennon Museum), 30 minutes away from Tokyo.
However, the change of venue did not alter the script. Now that Japan had been eliminated the
public chose to support China, so attendances remained high, Nigeria was on the point of
surprising Germany (77-76), but the rest of the matches went as expected. The US victory by 113-
73 (59-29 at half time) over Australia gave out a clear message: we want the gold, nothing else
will do. In addition they enjoyed a stream of assists, half court defence and numerous “alley-oops”
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FUNDACIÓN PEDRO FERRÁNDIZ