News of FIBA of Group D From FIBA:
IZMIR (FIBA World Championship) Day three of Group D in Izmir looms as a critical day for Spain, New Zealand and Canada.
Having lost their opening night contest with France before bouncing back against New Zealand, todays game with Lithuania is of massive importance to the Spains hopes later in the tournament.
Forward Alex Mumbru summed it up neatly. "This game is very important for us to get second place. If we get third place then things could get tricky".
He is of course referring to the potential Eight Final match-up with Turkey or Greece that likely awaits the third place team in Group D. But Spains eyes will purely be on Lithuania the last game on todays program - and they will be looking to free up their dangerous shooters more often than they did against France.
No doubt Lithuania coach Kestutis Kemzura took note of Les Bleus performance in that game and will be looking to lock the defending world champions into a 40 minute struggle in the half court.
Look for Spain to go inside regularly, especially to Marc Gasol. While Robertas Javtokas is a solid starting centre for Lithuania, they have been using forwards Tada Klimavicius and Paulius Jankunas as their primary back-ups, something Spain would have duly noted.
Lithuania will be looking to forward Linas Kleiza once again. He is averaging 22 points per game and will present a very difficult physical match-up for Rudy Fernandez. Mumbru may be needed to play extended minutes today if Kleiza gets rolling.
The first game of the today sees Lebanon face New Zealand, and long time friends Tab Baldwin and Nenad Vucinic face each other in international competition for the first time. Baldwin was New Zealand coach at the 2004 Olympic Games and two FIBA World Championships with Vucinic as his assistant.
The game takes on added importance though, with a win almost certain to secure Lebanon a trip to Istanbul for the knockout rounds. A loss for New Zealand would leave them the unenviable task of having to beat Canada and France on consecutive nights for any chance of progressing.
Baldwin knows Kirk Penneys game inside-out, but no one has been able to stop him so far in the tournament, leading the scoring charts with 29ppg. How many of Penneys teammates step up to help will have a big bearing on the result.
Penney said it was vital for his team not to lose belief after a tough start to the tournament. Right now I think (the key) is to forget about the first two games. Lithuania and Spain are both very good teams. We wanted to play better than we did for the most part, but we took a couple of defeats, we are 0-2 right now, and we just need to put that aside and focus on Lebanon.
The Tall Blacks transition defence has been susceptible at times, and Lebanons Rony Fahed will again be looking to spearhead his teams open court game, where captain Fadi El Khatib is particularly dangerous.
The likely match-up of Mika Vukona and Matt Freije will be a highlight, as will rookie Thomas Abercrombie on the experienced El Khatib.
The middle game is between France and Canada, the North Americans knowing that a loss here will effectively end their chance of heading to Istanbul for anything more than sight seeing. They have been in winning positions in their first two games against Lebanon and Lithuania, but scored a combined total of just 24 points in the fourth quarters of those games.
Canada defeated France twice in lead-up games on home soil, with their athleticism nullifying what is usually a significant French advantage
Canada coach Leo Rautins said: Today against France is going to be a very difficult game. We got first hand experience against them in Toronto, and I think both teams in some ways have a very similar style. We will rely on our athleticism at the defensive end to create the tempo.
"I think whichever team imposes their will at that end of the floor has the best shot of winning."
For France, they will be looking to roll on their merry way after to first place in the group after their wins over Spain and Lebanon.
No doubt they will again focus on their superb transition and half court defence, and will be looking to Nicolas Batum and Mickael Gelabale to continue their excellent form on the wings that has opened up the inside for Ali Traore and Alain Koffi, who will have to be at their best against the in-form Joel Anthony.
