OLY - Italian giants Siena stacked with players eyeing London

SIENA (Olympics/Olympic Qualifying Tournament) - With one player from a national team already qualified for London and four from three teams that will compete in next summer's Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT), Montepaschi Siena is one of the club sides that is most involved in the road to London 2012.

Siena big man David Andersen may have been missing in action as Australia swept New Zealand in the FIBA Oceania Championship last month, but he will be a huge addition to the Boomers' team next year as they look to make a breakthrough and reach the podium for the first time at the Olympics.

Andersen could face some familiar faces along the way in London as club team-mates Bo McCalebb of the F.Y.R. of Macedonia, Nikos Zisis of Greece and the Lithuanian pair of Rimantas Kaukenas and Ksystof Lavrinovic will be vying for the three remaining berths for the Olympic Basketball Tournament at stake in the OQT to be held in early July.

Before then, these five players have other objectives they would like to achieve, starting with helping Montepaschi set a new Serie A record by winning six league titles in a row. Going a step further in the Euroleague will be the other main target for last year's semi-finalists.

McCalebb led the way for F.Y.R. of Macedonia as they came in an impressive fourth at EuroBasket to clinch their place in the OQT and the welcome he and his team-mates got when they returned home from Lithuania is something he will never forget.

“When we got back to Macedonia, even the President and the Prime Minister were waiting for us at the airport," he recalled.

"We had a big celebration in Skopje, with about 100,000 fans on the streets. I had never experienced something like that."

McCalebb closed EuroBasket as the tournament's second leading scorer (21.4 points per game) and was named to the All-Tournament team alongside some pretty heady company: tournament MVP Juan Carlos Navarro (Spain), Tony Parker (France), Andrei Kirilenko (Russia) and Pau Gasol (Spain).

The 26-year-old said there was no real big mystery as to why his team played so well.

“Our secret? Our team was underestimated, we played without pressure and coach Dokuzovski gave us freedom," he said.

Meanwhile, Greece overcame the absence of national team stalwarts Dimitris Diamantidis and Vassilis Spanoulis and of key player Sofoklis Schortianitis to come in sixth. It's a far cry from their EuroBasket gold medals of 1987 and 2005, but a good enough result to put them in a position to reach the Olympics.

At age 28, Zisis was one of the leaders of a young and hungry team which accomplished what it set out to do.

“The Olympic Qualifying Tournament was our goal, as six players were at their debut as internationals," he explained. "We didn't have much experience, but we were able to build a system and found the chemistry very soon."

“We should recover important players like Spanoulis, Stratos Perperoglou, Schortsianitis, we hope Diamantidis, too.

"Then me and (Milan's) Antonis Fotsis and Ioannis Bourousis could fly straight from Italy after the season to Greece's training camp. We won't have much time to rest, but the Olympic Games is the most exciting tournament, (so) no player will feel tired."

While he values the return of some veteran players, Zisis is very confident about Greece's next generation and what it has to offer.

“We have several players aged 22 and under who can be competitive and effective: Kosta Koufos, Nick Calathes, Kostas Papanikolaou, Kostas Sloukas, Vangelis Mantzaris, Linos Chrysikopoulos," he offered.

McCalebb expects the level of competition at the OQT will be very high, but he is confident in his team's ability.

“It won't be easy against teams like Greece, Lithuania, Russia or Dominican Republic. But don't forget F.Y.R of Macedonia was a big surprise at EuroBasket," he warned.

Before next summer, the 1.83m guard will be one of the biggest Euroleague stars.

Even the presence of 22 players coming from NBA – many of them because of the lockout – doesn't scare him.

“In FIBA basketball, no one can win a game by himself or change the destiny of a team," he reasoned.

Andersen, for his part, has his ticket for London already punched.

The Australian center – returning to Siena, where he won the 2004 Italian title – recovered from a knee injury that kept him out of action for the Boomers this summer and is off to a promising start this season.

“I will be available for London, it will be my third Olympic Tournament,” he said.

“Australia can be a contender for a medal. We'll line up NBA players like Andrew Bogut and Patty Mills.

“There are also other players starring in Europe like Matt Nielsen, Aleks Maric or Joe Ingles.

"Our national team has always been underrated, but we have skills and experience."

FIBA