Canada with the narrow 89-85 win today over Estonia.
(40642)When I prepared a lineup and GDP for LI and saw they didn't (but at least went PTB) I was quite worried for a loss here. I went with a little less OD in places for higher ID and used both GDP guesses.
The team ratings, PP100, and player ratings all show a loss here, so we must be thankful for this result from the GE.
We did take 20 less shots and make 1 more, and again the free throw line was key. We were 19/32 while they were 13/20. Also our 19 assists to their 12 stand out to me, indicated we won the tactical game.
20 year old Beiguo is making quite the name for himself at this season's worlds, coming away with another game MVP award. 27 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists making up for the 6 turnovers he accumulated.
Kudos as well to 2 other players this game.
Metzger (called up this week), who I gave the PG start to this week. Serviceable outing for him with 6/8 shooting, 6 assists, and a great defensive effort in holding the other PG to 4/18 shooting and 4 assists.
Edwards, again getting work done despite less than star skills, but a usable skillset able to be used at different positions. This time at SF shooting nearly 50% and bringing down 8 boards while holding his counterpart to 3/14 shooting.
Finally, it cannot go without mentioning the effort our bench put in. This is a testament to our team depth while lacking outright superstar players this season. Our bench, with minutes of 7, 8, 9, 12, 9 brought forth +/- values of +3, +7, +9, +14, and +12. We would not have won the game if we didn't outplay their bench so fantastically.
So, co-game MVPs to all our 2nd unit: McNamara, McEntee, Rudolph, Beauchamp (called up this week), Janiga.
With wins over Estonia and Ukraine (who I perceived to be our competition to get 4th in the group), this might already put us into the next round. Unlike last worlds, allowing us to carry a win into the next round.
With a game vs Senegal next week, we can really do ourselves a favor with another win. Or do we go TIE to save enthusiasm for next round, but risk the dreaded TIE vs CRU loss? Senegal has TIE'd every game and might be targeting Canada to use all that saved up effort on.
We'll see...
Last edited by U21 CAN Cletus at 1/16/2017 5:37:26 PM