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I'd try to get in time and write some predictions of the Group Of Death.

Which group is actually Group of Death?

Pool A
Team W L PF PA %
1 Italia 5 0 572 400 1.000
2 Hrvatska 5 0 607 465 1.000
3 Türkiye 4 1 582 471 0.800
4 Latvija 2 3 604 569 0.400
5 Bulgaria 2 3 549 531 0.400
6 Belarus 2 3 528 568 0.400
7 Norge 0 5 414 506 0.000
8 Luxembourg 0 5 410 756 0.000

Italia, Turkey, Latvia and Croatia are pretty strong teams. Bulgaria can also make an upset to anyone. So, 5 top-class teams are here..

I see just 4 strong teams. Almost everyone (in any group) can make an upset to anyone by using CT (or even normal against TIE).

Ok, I'll try some predictions for the Pool A.

52 Belarus -- 96 Luxembourg
The game which has no intrigue. The question is: How much? Let's see if inside oriented Belarus destroyes the worst by rating NT in Europe. Belarus has some injury troubles but still has Rakau (8240002). Luxembourg is one of the NTs that can afford having 6th man potential player (11109668)
Last time Belarus has lost to Luxembourg few years ago, but this was the football match.
Belarus +35

50 Bulgaria -- 64 Norge
The must-win game for Bulgaria as in case of loosing they will be left at the 6th place in the group this season, which is not good at all for them. Bulgaria is the other example of inside oriented team. This should be the tough game. Norway has nothing more to lose, they have the last game against Luxembourg and today they should obviously put CT. Bulgaria is in the difficult position here. Probably playing normal should be the best decision as they still have the battle with Belarus in the last round. TIE vs CT will defenitely mean Norway's victory. Normal vs TIE is more difficult to predict. Norway has some GS problems this time and their main hope is the superb defensive skills of all the players, guards especially. I'd choose Norway beating Bulgaria with CT vs normal. Norway +2

24 Italia -- 33 Latvija
Ragans has 2 or 3 dull seasons with his club. They all are going to be dedicated to the training and collecting some cash. Having such a perspective the current B3 winner has decided to try and check his tactical abilities with the Nt Latvia. And he failed. The difficult win over Norway playing with the higher enthusiasm in the first round.. And upset after loss to the highly motivated Belarus. Looks like the community is not satisfied enough with the current performance. And nothing's gonna change after this game. Italy is too strong playing at home court.
2 italian 300k+ centers are a little bit ill and having only averahe GS, but they have good substitutes + the capitain Gabriele Turbato ((6769986)). I don't think that Latvia with huge, extra-huge problems with the roster(2 injured, other top-salary players having GS=6-7) can do something.. Italy wins +30.

And the most important game in this group during all the qualifying tournament:
25 Hrvatska -- 40 Türkiye
Croatia has the last game against Italia and they must-win it in order to book the 2nd place. Turkey being led by GM-Lloyd meets unlucky Latvia in the last round and it should not make huge problems.
SO this game decides it all. I won't be surprised much if one or both of the teams play CT today.
Turkey has some out of GS players, but still good choise. Croatia has only 3 players in proficient GS and that makes Turkey the favourite of the game. Anyway, that's the manager's decisions that will decide how the game finishs. My prediction is Turkey to win +12.

This is too late probably, the games are starting in 30 minutes. But at least there will be smth to read during the big break ;)

Italy had some what nice RB-rating with 3-2 zone!

I do take it into account, like to myslef, I guess I don't write about too much and thats my fault, but this week I was rushing a bit trying to get it done. Anyways I like any and all criticism because it will allow me to be better at these writeups :)

The only group without a dominant 6-0 team is pool B. And what a dramatic matches were played there yesterday- losses for both 5-0 teams (Nederland in consecutive overtime) and now it's all up to last round. 4 teams have theoretical chance for top 2 and no team is secure.

Pool A:
1.Italia(1) 6-0 681 496
2.Hrvatska(3) 5-1 702 569
3.Türkiye(2) 5-1 686 566
4.Bulgaria(5) 3-3 642 605
5.Belarus(7) 3-3 676 657
6.Latvija(4) 2-4 700 678
7.Norge(6) 0-6 488 599
8.Luxembourg(8) 0-6 499 904

Italia 109 Latvija 96
Italia put up a good rebounding rating while using their 3-2 defense. They also put up a wondrous(low) inside scoring rating. They fully dominated Latvija and if Latvija hadn't used more ffort this one could of been real ugly. Good win for Italia as it basically secures them a spot in the next round. POTG: Ruggero Marsili had 28 points, 11 rebounds and a 19.0 rating in this one.

Hrvtaksa 95 Turkiye 104
Nothing really sticks out in this game, it was a fairly average NT game. Turkiye did manage to put up some good ratings, but overall nothing to special. It was a huge win for Turkiye though as it keeps their hopes alive. Theyll still need to win their next game, but this win was still monumental. POTG: Fadil Akdiken had a game high 34 points, 6 rebounds and a 17.0 rating.

Bulgaria 93 Norge 74
Both teams put up some impressive ratings, but Bulgaria pulled out the sound victory and are now 3-3 and in the 4 spot right now. Norge lost again and it has just not been their tournament as they drop to 0-6. POTG: Marin Kanchev had a team high 19 points, a game high 17 rebounds and a game high 19.0 rating.

Belarus 148 Luxembourg 89
Belarus were given the free win of the week and they really crushed Luxembourg, by scoring 30+ points in each quarter and 38 points in three of the quarters. Belarus are now 3-3 and battling for that 4th position. POTG: Alhierd Laurynkovich had a team high 30 points, a game high 20 rebounds and a 16.5 rating.

My predictions:
Luxembourg(96) at Norge(69)
Both teams are 0-6. Two teams walk in with no losses, but only one will walk out with a win and a good way to end their tournament. Both teams will CT, they have nothing to lose and a win is just what they need. My pick: Norge. It's not really how good Norge is, it's more how bad Luxembourg is.

Belarus(42) at Bulgaria(45)
This should be a really really good game, the teams are fairly similiar talent wise, they had fairly similiar GS updates, they both cannot advance so it should be a CT vs CT game and the winner gets fourth in the group. They both look like they'll be going with inside tactics. My pick: Bulgaria. I like them in an inside battle.

Turkiye(39) at Latvija(35)
Turkiye is definetly stronger talent wise, but latvija probably had the better GS update. However Latvija's GS will probably make them go with an inside tactic. This makes it more predictable for Turkiye who need a win. Also Latvija has nothing to lose so you can expect a CT out of them.The question for this game is effort for Turkiye. Do they TIE and hope they can still squeak out a win? Do they play normal and trust that their talent advantage will make up for the effort difference? Or do they straight up CT them back? My pick: If Turkiye Normals or CT's then I think they'll win, if the TIE, then Latvija should win.

Hrvatska(24) at Italia(19)
Both teams had good GS updates, especially Italia who had a great GS update. Mijo Topic is still at awful GS for Hrvatska which sucks, cause they really could of used him in this one. Anyways, Italia has the talent advantage and HCA. This is a huge game. If Turkiye beats Latvija and Hrvatska beats Italia then all three teams are 6-1 and it goes down to PD. Also choosing what effort to use at this point is tough, I think both teams will Normal, but Italia could TIE... My pick: Italia, unless it is a TIE vs CT game, Italia will win this one and advance.

1.Schweiz(1) 5-1 672 528
2.Eesti(2) 5-1 686 581
3.Nederland(3) 5-1 711 616
4.Hellas(5) 4-2 623 572
5.Rossiya(4) 2-4 601 649
6.Bosna i Hercegovina(6) 1-5 598 629
7.Shqipëria(7) 1-5 559 692
8.Malta(8) 1-5 519 702

Schweiz 92 Eesti 99
With the help of extra effort and a wondrous(high) inside scoring rating, Eesti pulled out a win over Schweiz to drop Schweiz to 5-1 and improve their own record to 5-1. Schweiz got off to a good start and held a halftime lead. Eesti's coach had a heartfelt, emotional halftime speech and Eesti pulled themselves together and took over the game in the 3rd quarter. POTG: Mart Raud had 18 points, a team high 12 rebounds and an 18.0 rating.

Nederland 100 Hellas 110
Hellas used more effort and it paid off as they pulled this one out in OT. This game dropped Nederland to 5-1 and improved Hellas to 4-2. Nederland joins three teams at the top of this pool with identical ratings and Hellas, gives themselves, very slim chances at advancing. POTG: Konstantinos Filipakopoulos had 19 points, 6 rebounds, a team high 4 assists and a game high 18.0 rating.

Bosnia i Hercegovina 90 Rossiya 98
Rossiya had a slow start, but quickly put that behind them as they charged forward for the win. This puts Rossiya ahead of Bosnia i Hercegovina for the number 5 spot and drops Bosnia i Hercegovina to 1-5 with two other teams trying to stay out of the basement. POTG: Grigory Chupyatov had a game high 34 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and a 15.5 rating.

Shqiperia 97 Malta 114
There were some pretty absimal ratings being posted in this one, but in the end Malta's CT against Shqiperia's TIE was the difference and Malta walks away with their first win. Both teams are now 1-5 and have the same record as Bosnia i Hercegovina battling for that fifth spot. POTG: Gavin Vassallo had a game high 34 points, a team high 4 assists and a game high 15.5 rating.

My predictions:
Malta(85) at Rossiya(56)
Rossiya has some injuries and not a very good GS update, but their talent advantage and their inevitable use of a CT in this one is definetly enough. If Rossiya wins they will secure the fifth spot. Both teams will CT so Rossiya's talent advantage is the edge they need. My pick: Rossiya.

Shqiperia(62) at Bosnia i Hercegovina(53)
Bosnia i Hercegovina has the talent and GS advantage. Both teams will CT as both teams have identical 1-5 records and are battling for position. My pick: Bosnia i Hercegovina should come out victorious.

Hellas(48) at Eesti(27)
If Hellas wins this game then they could advance based on PD. This makes this game the biggest game of the tournament for Hellas. It is going to be a tough assignment for Hellas though. They will most certaintly CT, but Eesti may CT as well. Eesti has the talent advantage especially down low and Hellas had a normal GS update and Eesti had an above average GS update. My pick: Hellas comes up just short and goes home in 4th.

Nederland(25) at Schweiz(2)
The winner of this game advances and the loser must hope that Hellas wins, but that their PD is better. This is basically a win or go home situation for these teams. Schweiz is the stronger team, but probably had a slightly worse GS update. Nederland really needs this win and I definetly see a CT from them. The question is whether or not Schweiz CT's. If Schweiz Ct's it is an easy win for them. If they normal I can still easily see them winning. If they TIE, I think Nederland can pull it off. My pick: Schweiz and Nederland will go home in third.

Pool C:
1.Deutschland(1) 6-0 669 523
2.France(2) 5-1 685 535
3.Ceska Rep.(4) 4-2 654 572
4.Makedonija(5) 4-2 638 619
5.Slovenija(3) 2-4 598 636
6.Cyprus(6) 2-4 607 649
7.Cymru(7) 1-5 593 742
8.Andorra(8) 0-6 571 739

France 65 Ceska Rep. 78
France probably had slightly better ratings then Ceska Rep., but Ceska Rep. won with the extra effort. The win was hugh for Ceska Rep. as it kept their chances and Makedonija's chances at advancing to the next round. POTG: Ervin Kubes had a team high 15 points, a game high 13 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Deutschland 103 Makedonija 82
Makedonija CT'd and Deutschland TIE'd but that still wasn't enough to beat Deutschland. Deutschland put up some real good ratings for a TIE. Makedonija's loss makes it difficult for them to advance, but possible. Deutschland has secured a spot and now its up to 1st or 2nd. POTG: Patrick Dachsbau a game high 28 points, a game high 16 rebounds, 4 assists, and an 18.0 rating.

Slovenija 113 Andorra 99
Andorra used more effort and still came up short. Slovenija is now battling for the number 5 spot. Andorra got off to a good start, but Slovenija was able to take over. POTG: Kristijan Kropivnik had 14 points, 12 rebounds and a 16.5 rating.

Cyprus 115 Cymru 122
Cymru put more into this game and won giving them their first win of the tournament. The game was close and Cymru was only up 2 heading into the fourth, but the lack of defense in the 4th quarter resulted in a 44-39 quarter victory for Cymru. POTG: Steve Munasinghe had a game high 28 points, a game high 9 assists, and a 15.0 rating.

My predictions:
Cymru(83) at Andorra(72)
I know I chose Andorra to be last in this pool after the first six games, my mind has been changed and I think Cymru is the weaker team. Both teams will CT and both teams are coming off using extra effort. My pick: Andorra.

Cyprus(58) at Slovenija(54)
Both teams are 2-4 and fighting for the 5th position. Both teams used less effort in their previous games and both teams should CT. GS wise they are similiar and talent wise I'd have to give it to Slovenija. My pick: Slovenija.

Makdeonija(31) at Ceska Rep.(29)
Both teams had pretty good GS updates, although I think Makedonija had a better one. Both teams are similiar talent wise although I think I might have to put Makedonija ahead. Ceska Rep. used more effort then their opponent last game, but Makedonija CT'd in their last game. Both teams are 4-2 and need a win and a France loss, plus the PD advantage to advance. My pick: Makedonija, Ceska Rep. very well could've CT'd although I don't think they did, but I still choose Makedonija.

Deutschland(16) at France(3)
Deutschland has already locked up a spot and I think they will probably TIE because of it. If France wins their in, if they lose they might still be in, but they'll be dependant on PD. Simple as that. Deutschland has the better GS update and the better talent. My pick: France could very easily CT, but I think Deutschland will surely TIE.