Basketball On The Internet.

IT will be interesting to see FIBA’s next set of international rankings in the wake of Australia’s stellar performance at the World University Games in Kazan, Russia.

The glass-half-empty folk will say neither our young men nor women captured Gold in Kazan – don’t you sometimes wish whatever was left in their glass was hydrochloric acid? – but here’s a terrific fact Basketball Australia can toast with half-full glasses of champers.

Only Russia – population 143 million, basketball status “high” – and Australia – population 23 million, basketball status “that girls’ game?” – claimed medals in both men and women.
Russia’s men claimed Gold and Australia took Silver.

Russia’s women collected Silver, Australia’s won Bronze.

The USA – population 316 million, basketball status “very high” -  took women’s Gold.

Serbia – population 10 million, basketball status “nation’s No.2 sport” – won men’s Bronze.

(Just in case you were curious, and I’m guessing you are, the USA men started by embarrassing United Arab Emirates by 94, then cashing the Czechs by 43, and humbling Sweden by 18. But once Australia brought off its 93-84 boilover, the US went into a tailspin and finished up … wait for this … ninth. Sounds like the reverse of an Australia-USA Olympics quarter-final upshot.)

(Oh, and for the very few of you who might care, Serbia did not compete in the women’s bracket at the Uni Games, because it clashed with the annual Borschtfest.)

So right about now, Russia and Australia should be feeling very good about themselves because clearly, they are doing something right.

You will find the news story about Australia’s 74-81 Gold Medal playoff loss to Russia at: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/basketball/from-russia-with-love-in-basketball/story-fnii09gt-1226680745251

SUMMER League watch:

New Zealand Breakers’ reigning league MVP Cedric Jackson only saw 5:34 of daylight in Las Vegas today, contributing a steal and a turnover in Portland’s 78-80 loss to Chicago.

Fellow Breaker Tom Abercrombie played 3:50 in Phoenix’s 100-88 win over Memphis, blocking one shot.

FOR anyone at SA Church or Scouts SA (the venue owners), the pride-and-joy of South Australian basketball – the Adelaide Arena – was still a glorified toilet last night.

The main scoreboards on two of three courts still out FOR THE THIRD STRAIGHT WEEK, not to mention missing lights or the fact there is barely a soap dispenser in any toilet in the 8,000-capacity toilet which is still workable/usable.

Oh wait. I guess I did just mention it.

Yes, this is how we treat our elite venue, our elite Youth League and our elite spectators in the home of SA basketball.

(I call them “elite spectators” because there’s so few there we may as well deem them “elite” instead of “lost”.)

The state of the venue is such an accurate reflection of the state of Basketball SA that it should be no surprise, I guess.

It’s just such a shame to see the venue – the NBL’s Grand Old Lady - with her knickers down and no paper in the toilet.

POSTSCRIPT to the SEABL controversy this week where Mount Gambier beat Knox on a basket AFTER the buzzer – a new concept being trialled at the second-tier level – has the following up for discussion for next preseason.
1 Baskets CAN be shot AND can count after the siren but only if the losing team’s import has missed two free throws in the last minute;

2 Layups, assists and rebounds in the warmups count toward players’ individual stats;

3 Any halftime halfcourt shot by a spectator that connects counts toward the score of the home team UNLESS it is by a spectator supporting the visiting team;

4 Bench officials can ONLY speak to referees to inform them where they moved their drink bottles.

And in some exciting news soon to be highly publicised by our umpiring fraternity, based on the speed of their exit from the court at Knox, the three refs have been confirmed for the 4x100m relay team at the Rio Olympics, and after his performance post-loss to the Aussies in Kazan, Serbia’s coach at the Uni Games is invoking his dual citizenship to run the last leg.

IF you cannot find anyone from West Adelaide Basketball Club around lunchtime tomorrow, it will probably be because the Bearcats’ best will be in a hotel front bar somewhere, toasting the 31st birthday of the day the club won its NBL Championship.

THIS just in. Baron Davis is now available for psychic readings.

Which reminds me about my favorite aspect of the Psychic-TV channel on Foxtel.

They always know I’m not watching.