Read my log - just don't copy my tips.

We are hoping you read myFiba's daily Beijing update yesterday because we told you before the games had started who all the winners would be.  And you should have listened - particularly if you are tipping in the myFiba tipping competition.  We knew Australia would upset Russia and that China would beat Germany.  Small problem - we did not follow our own advice, and yesterday managed just two winners....so follow my advice ....for sure, just don't copy our tips.

Game by Game

Greece 102 dft Angola 61

A comfortable win for the Greeks with Angola not able to match their size and dominance on the boards.  Both teams knocked down 10 three pointers for the game, Greece hitting 10 of 18 and Angola 10 of 27.  Beyond that it was what happened in the paint that mattered and Greece simply had their own way. Ioannis Bourousis perfect from the field making 9 of 9 as he finished with 22 points.
myFiba Tippers heavily favoured Greece to win this game | Discuss

Australia 95 dft Russia 80

Finally Australia bought its best game and secured an opportunity to advance with a 15 point win over the Euro champs.  Russia must be wondering what went wrong in this tournament,  They will finish outside of the top eight, a major disappointment for such a telented team. Bogut and Bruton both notched 22 as the Aussies played aggressively on offence, and were well rewarded.
myFiba Tippers slightly favoured Australia to win this game | Discuss

Lithuania 86 dft Crotia 73

We might not have belieived this if we had not seen it but after three quarters of tight tense basketball, Lithuania turned this into a one sided game in just three minutes of breathtaking basketball.  It all happened early in the fourth quarter as Lithuania went on an 11 point run.  A big win that ensures them top of the pool for the quarter finals.
myFiba Tippers slightly favoured Lithuani to win this game | Discuss

Argentina 97 dft Iran 82

After being trounced by Australia Iran showed more fight here and for a couple of quarters took this to Argentina, who relied heavily on Ginobli and Scola for their scoring.  Argentina appeared to be cruising here, relying on their superior talent to get them home.  Scola managed 20 with 7 boards while Ginobli finished with 32 points.  Iran's giant Hamed Ehadadi collected 16 boards to go with his 21 points.
myFiba Tippers heavily favoured Argentina to win this game | Discuss

China 59 dft Germany 55

The lowest scoring game of the competition to date but the Chinese will not matter - it was a win and it secured them a spot in the quarter finals. Yao Ming continues to improve with another 25 points and 11 rebounds while the games other NBA superstar, Dirk Nowitzki, bettered that with 24 points and 17 boards.  
myFiba Tippers slightly favoured China to win this game | Discuss

USA 119 dft Spain 82

Team USA shot the lights out for the second game in a row, knocking down 12 three pointers at 48% and 42 of 76 overall to kill off any thought of a challenge coming from team Spain.  The worrying fact from this game is that against one of the competitions top teams, the US could still score 119 points.  Eight US players made it into double figures in another dominant display.
myFiba Tippers heavily favoured USA to win this game | Discuss

The Best of the Boxscores

We cannot go past what happened in the China - Germany game as the two NBA stars, Ming and Nowitzki, slugged it out.  Both had a double-double, both saw an awful lot of the ball.  For the record...Ming finished with 25 points on 9 of 19 field goals...including one three...11 rebounds...two assists and one block while Nowitzki....24 points on 7 of 20 shooting....three 3 pointers....17 boards including just one offensive...and seven turnovers...Ouch!

Something to watch for

A really quick loook at team stats would tell you that Argentina are the best defensive side in the competition, conceding just 70.5 points per game to that.  myFiba thinks thats far too easy because what you concede is relative to how you score, and for us its the differential between points scored for and against that matters.  On that count Team USA streets the field - with a massive 28 point differential, Lithuania score 14 and Argentina 13.  Iran are struggling at the other end of the scale with a negative 26.8 points per game.

Looking Ahead

The final day of pool competition for the women and some extraordinary games await.  For us Australia vs Russia is the big contest, and will decide leadership of Pool B.  Brazil vs Belarus and Latvia vs Korea should also be fun.  Look for blowouts in Spain v Mali and USA vs NZ.  Our tips...Spain, Australia, Latvia, Belarus, China and USA.

Discuss Todays Games

Spain vs Mali  | Discuss
Australia vs Russia  | Discuss
Latvia vs Korea  | Discuss
Brazil vs Belarus  | Discuss
Czech Republic vs China  | Discuss
New Zealand vs USA  | Discuss

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