Marca.com - Spain Should Intentionally Lose To Brazil

[Euroleague]

If you can read Spanish, check it out, Spain plans to lose.

Jorge Garbajosa also said on Spanish TV that they need to lose and will do so.

[SpanishACB]

It's just an article where the reporter raises a very valid question, would Spain be better off by losing to Brazil? Well, it's a legit concern.

[IGOTGAME]

It's just an article where the reporter raises a very valid question, would Spain be better off by losing to Brazil? Well, it's a legit concern.
Why? They scared?

[Cangri]

Imagine if Brazil also tries to lose their game, it would be like in the Badminton tourney:lol

[Clutch]

Imagine if Brazil also tries to lose their game, it would be like in the Badminton tourney:lol
:roll: :roll: :roll:

It would be hilarious to see both teams tanking to take that 3rd spot

[dunksby]

Greece were so scared of US they did not even want to qualify for the Olympics :roll:

[Rooster]

Greek should not question Spain intention because they are Spain's bitchez in basketball.:roll:

[BoutPractice]

Why would they risk getting disqualified when they are good enough to reach the gold media game without playing the system?

[InfiniteBaskets]

Why would they risk getting disqualified when they are good enough to reach the gold media game without playing the system?

I don't know if they would go to the extent of literally throwing the ball into their own basket every possession for the sake of tanking, which would be equivalent to that ridiculous badminton game. They could simply just rest their starters and see what happens. If Brazil tanks as well by resting their starters, well then as long as both sides are playing some semblance of basketball, I'd imagine things would be fine.

It would only be disqualification worthy if they start making a mockery of the sport, at least in my opinion.

[Raz]

If you can read Spanish, check it out, Spain plans to lose.

Jorge Garbajosa also said on Spanish TV that they need to lose and will do so.

Great link. Thanks for sharing.

[devin112]

Euros for you...

[Qwertyazerty]

Here is the link: http://www.marca.com/2012/08/05/jjoo/baloncesto/1344129746.html

Those are the results of a survey in which Marca readers answer to the question:

"Should Spain loose to Brazil in order to avoid the dream team till the final?"

http://www.marca.com/debate/2012/08/2586/prevotaciones2586.html

And it is around 43% NO versus 57% YES (voting is still open).


Marca is a tabloid, they write sensationalist sport news and they make up almost everything concerning spanish stars. What do you expect its readers to choose???


BTW Greece has already do that to avoid Spain in big tournaments. I think it was versus France and a 3 pointer by de Colo gave France the win... I have to double check it though.

[Derka]

You guys understand how completely not feasible this is, right? Whoever wrote that article probably knows it, too.

Besides, anyone who watched the USA/Lithuania game knows that the USA is absolutely beatable.

[dunksby]

You guys understand how completely not feasible this is, right? Whoever wrote that article probably knows it, too.

Besides, anyone who watched the USA/Lithuania game knows that the USA is absolutely beatable.
It's only fitting that Euroleague here reads the biggest tabloid paper in history of sports, like a fly who is attracted to shit.

[Euroleague]

Here is the link: http://www.marca.com/2012/08/05/jjoo/baloncesto/1344129746.html

Those are the results of a survey in which Marca readers answer to the question:

"Should Spain loose to Brazil in order to avoid the dream team till the final?"

http://www.marca.com/debate/2012/08/2586/prevotaciones2586.html

And it is around 43% NO versus 57% YES (voting is still open).


Marca is a tabloid, they write sensationalist sport news and they make up almost everything concerning spanish stars. What do you expect its readers to choose???


BTW Greece has already do that to avoid Spain in big tournaments. I think it was versus France and a 3 pointer by de Colo gave France the win... I have to double check it though.

Greece lost to France and Russia on purpose in 2009 and also lost to Russia on purpose in 2010. The strategy worked in 2009, but backfired in 2010.

It's a risky strategy, but it can pay off.

[Euroleague]

You guys understand how completely not feasible this is, right? Whoever wrote that article probably knows it, too.

Besides, anyone who watched the USA/Lithuania game knows that the USA is absolutely beatable.

Jorge Garbajosa said on Spanish TV during the game broadcast that Spain would definitely try to lose the next game.

So stop pretending that this isn't possible.

[tobethdope]

well i guess there is at least 1 spainard who heard about the badminton incident; if they try to pull this off, they are out - 100%...so i guess no, its not possible

[dunksby]

Greece lost to France and Russia on purpose in 2009 and also lost to Russia on purpose in 2010. The strategy worked in 2009, but backfired in 2010.

It's a risky strategy, but it can pay off.
Don't forget the 2012 Olympics qualifiers against Nigeria.

[Rooster]

Greece lost to France and Russia on purpose in 2009 and also lost to Russia on purpose in 2010. The strategy worked in 2009, but backfired in 2010.

It's a risky strategy, but it can pay off.


Also Greece purposely lose to Nigeria to avoid the USA and save the embarrassment of losing to them by 84 points.:oldlol:

It paid off.:bowdown:

[Qwyjibo]

If it gives you an easier path then it's a smart move. It was smart for the badminton players to do so as well and, IMO, they were unfairly punished. The ultimate goal is to win a medal. It's not the players' fault that the formats of these tournaments essentially create "useless games".

This should be easier to do in basketball too. Just don't play your best players. Rest them and play all your backups. Don't go as hard when it comes to things like stepping in to take charges and battling for tough rebounds.

[Derka]

Jorge Garbajosa said on Spanish TV during the game broadcast that Spain would definitely try to lose the next game.

So stop pretending that this isn't possible.

Its cheating. It flies entirely in the face of what the Games are supposed to be about and FIBA and the IOC will rain holy hell down on them if they do this. This is to say nothing of the fact that its completely without merit as the US is not some unbeatable juggernaut that needs to be avoided at all costs. Lithuania gave the US its toughest game of the tourney thus far and led several times throughout the game. Lithuania. Just let that sink in for a second.

Its a ridiculous idea.

[JMT]

Inferior teams playing even lower than their limited capabilities?

It'll look just like a Euroleague game.

[Euroleague]

Its cheating. It flies entirely in the face of what the Games are supposed to be about and FIBA and the IOC will rain holy hell down on them if they do this. This is to say nothing of the fact that its completely without merit as the US is not some unbeatable juggernaut that needs to be avoided at all costs. Lithuania gave the US its toughest game of the tourney thus far and led several times throughout the game. Lithuania. Just let that sink in for a second.

Its a ridiculous idea.

Greece lost to France and Russia on purpose in 2009 and to Russia in 2010. FIBA never punished them for it.

[Kblaze8855]

It was smart for the badminton players to do so as well and, IMO, they were unfairly punished.

....**** em. You play to win or I dont care if you are banned from your sport.

Tanking has always annoyed me. Even worse is that it works(in situation like the NFL draft at least).

Goes against everything the olympics should be about. Work all your life to get to that level and play some jackasses not trying to win because they dont feel good enough to win a tougher match later?

If you can prove it...id vote for banning everyone who ever threw a game of anything.

[Euroleague]

....**** em. You play to win or I dont care if you are banned from your sport.

Tanking has always annoyed me. Even worse is that it works(in situation like the NFL draft at least).

Goes against everything the olympics should be about. Work all your life to get to that level and play some jackasses not trying to win because they dont feel good enough to win a tougher match later?

If you can prove it...id vote for banning everyone who ever threw a game of anything.

:lol :oldlol: :roll: at an NBA fan saying they are annoyed by tanking. NBA is known as the biggest league of tanking in the whole entire world of pro team sports.

No other pro team league on the planet has the rep of tanking that the NBA does.

[Miserio]

No guts no glory.

[Derka]

Greece lost to France and Russia on purpose in 2009 and to Russia in 2010. FIBA never punished them for it.

Translated: Some writers and pissy coaches said this happened, so it must be true even if it isn't really proven.

[ILLsmak]

Greece were so scared of US they did not even want to qualify for the Olympics :roll:

haha

-Smak

[Euroleague]

Translated: Some writers and pissy coaches said this happened, so it must be true even if it isn't really proven.

Uh no, the players admitted it.

[BrickingStar]

Also Greece purposely lose to Nigeria to avoid the USA and save the embarrassment of losing to them by 84 points.:oldlol:

It paid off.:bowdown:

pretty much this nothing to see here

[Derka]

Uh no, the players admitted it.

No they didn't. Blatt and the Turkish coach stirred up some shit, and that was pretty much it. That Greek center almost took the Turkish coach's head off for talking that shit, too.

You're pretty much an idiot.

[Droid101]

No they didn't. Blatt and the Turkish coach stirred up some shit, and that was pretty much it. That Greek center almost took the Turkish coach's head off for talking that shit, too.

You're pretty much an idiot.
Just put Euroleague on ignore. In his mind, if Greece loses, it's for one of two reasons:

1) Intentional loss for strategy.
2) The refs conspired against them at the whims of David Stern.

[kobron23]

quickest way to get this euro kid to slit his wrists?? Have USA play greece

[Rubio2Gasol]

Do we play the US if we win?

Honestly I don't support it but I wouldn't be surprised.

[Kiddlovesnets]

Well its not like they have much better chance against Russia in the semi-finals if they cannot beat them this time. USA is definitely a better team, but Russia may be the team to beat this year.

[Euroleague]

No they didn't. Blatt and the Turkish coach stirred up some shit, and that was pretty much it. That Greek center almost took the Turkish coach's head off for talking that shit, too.

You're pretty much an idiot.

The Greek players openly admitted it in the press.

[fpliii]

The Greek players openly admitted it in the press.

I haven't the time to watch much international basketball in my days, so I'm wondering what top 5 games you'd recommend to a guy who hasn't seen much outside of the World Championships and Olympics? I'm not trolling (and am pretty interested, so preferably something I can find on youtube.

EDIT: you can PM me if you want

[imdaman99]

....**** em. You play to win or I dont care if you are banned from your sport.

Tanking has always annoyed me. Even worse is that it works(in situation like the NFL draft at least).

Goes against everything the olympics should be about. Work all your life to get to that level and play some jackasses not trying to win because they dont feel good enough to win a tougher match later?

If you can prove it...id vote for banning everyone who ever threw a game of anything.
I dont think NFL teams tank. why would they tank, when they arent sure if they will be back next year? these guys are fighting to get that next paycheck, not sure if they care about getting an andrew luck in the draft. coaches arent trying to have shitty seasons, because who knows if they will stick around to get that draft pick. i see it more likely happening in basketball than the nfl.

[Euroleague]

I haven't the time to watch much international basketball in my days, so I'm wondering what top 5 games you'd recommend to a guy who hasn't seen much outside of the World Championships and Olympics? I'm not trolling (and am pretty interested, so preferably something I can find on youtube.

Outside of world basketball cup and Olympics?

Then you are looking for good EuroBasket games.

Ones that come to mind are,

Slovenia - Greece 2007 EuroBasket quarterfinals

Spain - Greece 2007 EuroBasket semifinal.

Russia - Spain EuroBasket 2007 final.

Turkey - Greece EuroBasket 2009 quarterfinal.

Serbia - Slovenia 2009 semifinal.

Macedonia - Lithuania 2011 quarterfinals. Actually, a lot of the games from 2011 should be available on YouTube, and there were a lot of good games.

Like,

France Greece quarterfinal
Russia Macedonia bronze medal game
Lithuania Slovenia in the Olympic qualification match
Lithuania Greece in the 5th place match

Macedonia - Spain semifinal was pretty good too and so was the France and Russia semifinal.

Just look for the games from last year's EuroBasket and I am sure you can find them.


I'm just listing games that are recent (last 3 EuroBaskets) and should probably be available on YouTube. I'm not sure what the quality of games from 2007 would be though.



I think some of the older great games from the late 80s and early 90s with the top European powers like Yugoslavia, Greece, Soviet Union are also available, but you probably don't want to watch games that are that old.

[fpliii]

Outside of world basketball cup and Olympics?

Then you are looking for good EuroBasket games.

Ones that come to mind are,

Slovenia - Greece 2007 EuroBasket quarterfinals

Spain - Greece 2007 EuroBasket semifinal.

Russia - Spain EuroBasket 2007 final.

Turkey - Greece EuroBasket 2009 quarterfinal.

Serbia - Slovenia 2009 semifinal.

Macedonia - Lithuania 2011 quarterfinals. Actually, a lot of the games from 2011 should be available on YouTube, and there were a lot of good games.

Like,

France Greece quarterfinal
Russia Macedonia bronze medal game
Lithuania Slovenia in the Olympic qualification match
Lithuania Greece in the 5th place match

Macedonia - Spain semifinal was pretty good too and so was the France and Russia semifinal.

Just look for the games from last year's EuroBasket and I am sure you can find them.


I'm just listing games that are recent (last 3 EuroBaskets) and should probably be available on YouTube. I'm not sure what the quality of games from 2007 would be though.



I think some of the older great games from the late 80s and early 90s with the top European powers like Yugoslavia, Greece, Soviet Union are also available, but you probably don't want to watch games that are that old.

thanks, I'll check these out

I don't mind older games (though I was born in 86 the 50s-70s NBA are research topics of mine), but this should be a good start

[Qwertyazerty]

Just put Euroleague on ignore. In his mind, if Greece loses, it's for one of two reasons:

1) Intentional loss for strategy.
2) The refs conspired against them at the whims of David Stern.

Regarding those games he is absolutely right. I know I can find info about that and post it if you really want. Loosing games on purpose or, at least, not playing them at even 75% effort is something that happens often in basetball.



Well its not like they have much better chance against Russia in the semi-finals if they cannot beat them this time. USA is definitely a better team, but Russia may be the team to beat this year.

They have much better chances of beating Russia (they lost by 3 in the last 20 seconds of the game versus Russia playing one of their worst second halfs I've seen). This spanish team has no chance versus USA, believe me, Navarro is out of shape, Rudy is too inconsistent, they have zero perimeter defense (except Sada who is not good in offense), I don't think Fridzer will put another 26 points with 70% from the field versus Spain... USA have too many weapons to be contained and they will be focused versus Spain. At least in my humble opinion.

[chains5000]

If you can read Spanish, check it out, Spain plans to lose.

Jorge Garbajosa also said on Spanish TV that they need to lose and will do so.
Marca is the worst newspaper there is, never trust what it says.
Spain will beat Brazil, book it.

[BigTicket]

Russia just lost to Australia, so there is no reason for Spain to intentionally lose anymore.

[chains5000]

Russia just lost to Australia, so there is no reason for Spain to intentionally lose anymore.
I could be wrong, but I think Russia's got the 1st spot on lock, even losing.

[alenleomessi]

marca is worse than bleacherreport

[InfiniteBaskets]

I could be wrong, but I think Russia's got the 1st spot on lock, even losing.

http://espn.go.com/olympics/summer/2012/basketball/story/_/id/8238655/2012-london-olympics-patty-mills-late-3-pointer-pushes-australia-russia-men-basketball

Yes, Russia has clinched already according to ESPN.

[wang4three]

If it gives you an easier path then it's a smart move. It was smart for the badminton players to do so as well and, IMO, they were unfairly punished. The ultimate goal is to win a medal. It's not the players' fault that the formats of these tournaments essentially create "useless games".

This should be easier to do in basketball too. Just don't play your best players. Rest them and play all your backups. Don't go as hard when it comes to things like stepping in to take charges and battling for tough rebounds.

If you allow people to lose on purpose, it could lend way to teams or players taking dives and saying they were just "strategizing." Gambling world would be happy I suppose.

Not to mention the integrity of it. I would not respect a person who purposely beat worse players to get to the top. There's no honor in that. The whole point of the Olympics is to prove to the world you are the best, not that you can cheat the system.

[Qwyjibo]

All this talk about honour and pride is nice but, IMO, very naive. The only thing people will remember in 10 years is who won the medals. There is a reason why so much attention is placed upon winning and medal counts. Whether or not that's how it should be, it's how it is.

It should be all about the big picture like in any competitive tournament. If the format was stupidly created in such a manner, I don't see why athletes/teams shouldn't take advantage of it and give themselves a better chance to win. I don't mind tanking in the NBA either because there are obvious benefits to doing it. Blame (or fix) the system, not the athletes who are simply looking at the big picture.

The ultimate goal is to win the gold medal. Because of that, I have no problem with athletes "taking it easy" when heir advancement is already assured and a loss could actually be beneficial to them.

[wang4three]

All this talk about honour and pride is nice but, IMO, very naive. The only thing people will remember in 10 years is who won the medals. There is a reason why so much attention is placed upon winning and medal counts. Whether or not that's how it should be, it's how it is.

It should be all about the big picture like in any competitive tournament. If the format was stupidly created in such a manner, I don't see why athletes/teams shouldn't take advantage of it and give themselves a better chance to win. I don't mind tanking in the NBA either because there are obvious benefits to doing it. Blame (or fix) the system, not the athletes who are simply looking at the big picture.

The ultimate goal is to win the gold medal. Because of that, I have no problem with athletes "taking it easy" when heir advancement is already assured and a loss could actually be beneficial to them.

I'm sure those in the banking and financial industry think the same thing

[Clutch]

Spain tanked the game perfectly :applause:

[InfiniteBaskets]

All this talk about honour and pride is nice but, IMO, very naive. The only thing people will remember in 10 years is who won the medals. There is a reason why so much attention is placed upon winning and medal counts. Whether or not that's how it should be, it's how it is.

It should be all about the big picture like in any competitive tournament. If the format was stupidly created in such a manner, I don't see why athletes/teams shouldn't take advantage of it and give themselves a better chance to win. I don't mind tanking in the NBA either because there are obvious benefits to doing it. Blame (or fix) the system, not the athletes who are simply looking at the big picture.

The ultimate goal is to win the gold medal. Because of that, I have no problem with athletes "taking it easy" when heir advancement is already assured and a loss could actually be beneficial to them.

The "big picture" varies for different parties involved. I agree whole-heartedly that teams should play their best strategy and go for what will give them the best chance to medal.

However, fans don't want to see terrible games. The game today was not bad by any means, however that badminton game was straight up terrible and made a mockery of the sport. Fans aren't going to pay to see that and it's also not good for promoting the sport in general. The bigger picture there for the IOC and whatever body governs international badminton is to keep the sport seen in good light and not turn fans/$$$ away.

Had Spain actually made a mockery of basketball by purposely shooting the ball into their own basket or chucking the ball out of bounds - the equivalent of what that badminton game was like, then yes someone else is going to step in and an even bigger picture perspective will be enforced.

[Derka]

The Greek players openly admitted it in the press.
And yet you haven't sourced any of this press.

[ThatCoolKid]

I'm sure those in the banking and financial industry think the same thing

Don't hate the player, hate the game.

I think a vast majority of people would have made the same decisions as those who packaged and sold subprime mortgages without some entity or incentive to hold them back. I don't hold people to unrealistic standards that those who write the rules consciously design the system to necessitate. The IOC or whoever designs the tournament format should find a way to discourage tanking or just accept whatever comes of their paradigms flaws.

[Kiddlovesnets]

Looks like Spain did lose, this is getting funny.
:lol

[leopoldstotch]

sounds like Spain was scared of playing Argentina in the quarters. :lol

[Euroleague]

And yet you haven't sourced any of this press.

It was on Kostas Tsartsaris' twitter you idiot.