Vasco X Adelaide 36ers - Game 1 McDonald´s Championship 1999
O Vasco Estréia no campeonato Mundial das cestas tendo pela frente o campeão da Oceania, o time Australiano Adelaide 36ers. Como se não bastasse, o time enfrentava a dúvida da escalação do pivô Vargas, com um abcesso dentário, e ao desrespeito da Organização do Evento. Apesar de estar no mesmo hotel das demais delegações, o Vasco não usufruia das mesmas facilidades.
- Acho que a NBA não tem muito respeito por nós. Não somos melhores, mas também não somos piores do que ninguém. Somos campeões de uma Liga Continental como todos os outros aqui, tem de haver respeito - afirmou o técnico Flor Melendez do Vasco, aborrecido com a modesta quadra de treinamentos que foi oferecida ao Vasco e até com o refeitório da equipe, que não é o mesmo utilizado pelo San Antonio Spurs ou pelo Zalgiris Kaunas, da Lituânia. - Partindo disso vou trabalhar a cabeça de meus jogadores. Se ganharmos essa primeira partida, será um golpe grande até para a organização do Torneio.
Dito e feito. Uma Grande vitória para o Brasil e para o Continente Sul-americano. Mas era apenas o começo…
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What is the McDonald´s Championship?
The McDonald’s Championship was established in 1987 as a joint effort between the NBA and FIBA to promote the sport of basketball globally.
It has evolved into a global championship for the best club teams in the world.
Other NBA winners of the event were the Milwaukee Bucks (1987), Boston Celtics (1988), Denver Nuggets (1989), the New York Knicks (1990), Los Angeles Lakers (1991), the Phoenix Suns (1993), Houston (1995) and Chicago Bulls (1999)
about the game:
MILAN, Oct. 14 — Size does matter. The Adelaide 36ers, champions of the National Basketball League in Australia, are latest to discover that.
Playing against Vasco da Gama, the 1999 South American Club League champions, the 36ers were unable to effectively match up with a taller and heavier opponent, and Vasco muscled its way to a 90-79 victory in the first game of the McDonald’s Championship.
The victory enabled the Brazilians to advance to the second round of the tournament. They will play Zalgiris Kaunas, the reigning European champions, on Friday night at the FilaForum in Milan.
Vasco da Gama used its inside strength to its advantage, particularly on defense where its bulk prevented the Australians from penetrating the lane and getting easy shots. The 36ers managed to get as many rebounds as Vasco — 35 each — but they did not get inside very often, which led to a 39.5 percent performance from the field.
On offense, however, Vasco was led by its smallest player, 6-foot-1 Charles Byrd, an American who played at West Texas State University. The 33-year old guard, who has also played in Spain, was a pest throughout the game. Byrd had 31 points while also adding seven assists and six rebounds as he effectively battled on the inside.
Guard Brent Maher, who is widely regarded as the best player Down Under, led Australia. Maher, who has drawn some interest from NBA teams, had 19 points and consistently demonstrated the ability to create his own shot.
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Postgame Quotes:
Vasco da Gama
Coach Flor Melendez:
We played a great first half. We got the job done on defense. We studied Adelaide and knew how to stop their game. Offensively, our three scorers functioned well: Byrd, Vargas and Rogerio (Klafke). We had some problems in the second half, especially with the ballhandling because it is tough to get adapted to the 24-second clock. In summary, we played a great game. My players gave their best and we are very, very happy.
Adelaide 36ers
Coach Phil Smyth:
From our point of view, we got off to a slow start. We had some excellent opportunities, which we didn’t take advantage of. For whatever reason, we were out of sync. Once we got in the game, we were pretty competitive. We gave them a lead, but we came back a couple of times. But Charles Byrd’s three-pointer at the end of the third quarter probably summed up the game for us. I thought we hung in there the best we could.
Darnell Mee: I agree with Phil. We got off to a slow start. It took a while before we adjusted to how the refs were calling the game. We gave them a lead and when Byrd hit that three-pointer at the end of the third, it put us in a hole that was tough to come back from.
Mark Davis: All credit to Vasco da Gama, I thought they played very well today. Like Phil and Darnell said, we got off to a slow start. We had to play catch-up basketball the rest of the game. On this night, Vasco da Gama played better. That happens. We have to rectify the situation the next time we play.
Duration : 0:1:8
Posted on March 31st, 2008 |
Filed under: West Germany 1988