Before getting to today's FIBA Americas action, a few words about yesterday's Brazil-Virgin Islands game. From reading the boxscore and the recap, it looks like Leandro Barbosa had his best game of the tournament so far. He had 36 points on 12-22 shooting and 2-4 from three point range. Unfortunately, thanks to NBA.com's failure to post a link to the game in a timely manner, I only got got to watch just enough to see Leandro nearly blow it in the final minutes by missing an easy layup, making a costly turnover, and missing a couple of clutch free throws as his team barely hung on for the win. But he hit the free throw that mattered most to keep it a two-possession game with 15 seconds to go, plus it appears he had an absolutely stellar game up until that last bit. So, I won't give him too much grief, especially about a game I didn't even get to see. It looks like at least some of the games are being posted to NBA.com in their entirety, so check this link in a couple of days for a possible replay.
Tonight's only Suns-related game features a matchup of two undefeated teams, USA and Brazil. It also features both of the Suns who are in this tournament, Amare Stoudemire for Team USA and Leandro Barbosa for Brazil. The announcers have been saying all week that this is a game that will "test" Team USA, but after watching them absolutely demolish everyone they've played so far, I'm having a hard time seeing it. Team USA is clearly on a mission, and as long as they keep playing the way they have been, I see another easy win in their immediate future. Tonight's wish list:
- No injuries
- Good games from Leandro and Amare
- Energy to the end for both teams (might not be easy for Brazil since they're playing for the third day in a row)