Quotes of the day (27 August 2007)

USA 127,  Mexico 100

USA BASKETBALL POSTGAME QUOTES
COACH MIKE KRZYZEWSKI and KOBE BRYANT
Coach K: Nolan Richardson's team really shot the heck out of the ball. They played well. You can tell (that they're in great shape). I was speaking with him (Nolan) before the game and he said that they've been training since May. They're in great shape. They never gave up, whenever we got up by 30 or 27 or whatever (the margin). They just kept making shots. That's to their credit. Tayshaun, we held him out tonight but he could have gone if need be; he said he will be ready tomorrow. Anyway, let's just keep moving on.

Folks around the world are going to look at this game and say, 'Wow, Mexico scored 100 points on them'. Is that kind of an ominous sign?
Coach K: Whatever sign somebody wants to make of it. We scored about 130 points, so, it was one of those games where a lot of fouls, a lot of - it was a different kind of game. To their credit, they never gave up. They just played every second of the game. For us, we need to move on. We've played great in this tournament. We can play better than we played tonight. But, when we win by 30, I'm not going to complain. That's a good thing.

Kobe, how hard was it for this team to get motivated at the start of the game? It was very quiet in the gym, almost like a practice atmosphere.
Bryant: I think everybody was just a little stiff tonight. We had a hard time getting loose and getting going. It took us a while to find that rhythm and get our legs, and once we did, we were able to make a pretty good run.
Coach K: I think both teams played last night. Last night was a very big game, for us, against Brazil and there was a lot of energy spent, and emotion, and adrenaline, by both teams. And there wasn't a crowd for each one of us tonight. In Brazil's case, they lost, and Puerto Rico played great.

Inaudible.
Coach K: It was different. There were people in the stands in Japan, but they were quiet. This, there just weren't that many people in the stands.
Bryant: Here, everybody hits the craps tables after work. (Laughter).
Coach K: I think your paper advertises a lot of it. (Laughter).

Is it a fair statement that Dwight Howard and Amare Stoudemire have the biggest changes to make in that they have to run out to the perimeter and guard shooters as well as guarding big men, when both are on the court at the same time?
Coach K: That's a fair statement. A lot of international teams play their big guys outside. A few of the teams in this tournament, their big guys aren't good shooters from outside. That isn't the case for Mexico. Mexico not only rolls or slips, they pop. We kept playing against it because we needed practice against it. We could have gone zone early. We could have done some trapping. One of the things about playing game after game like this, in kind of a crazy format, is that you don't practice. So, sometimes you let things go in a game like this that you would not let go in a close game, so that you would keep going on it. So, that is how we have tried to do it.

Why the lineup changes?
Coach K: Just to give it a change. Also, those two guys are like starters. We may go back to the original starters tomorrow but Chauncey (Billups) and Amare (Stoudemire) have both been playing great. Chauncey played a terrific game against Brazil.

Is it special to play these games in front of your home crowd? And what was it like to play the other night, here, on your birthday?
Bryant: That was the first time I ever played in a game on my birthday. That was a little weird, a little awkward even for them to chant and sing happy birthday to me, but it was a great feeling. I'll tell you what, Celine Dion definitely wasn't in the crowd.

Any thoughts on the play of Romel Beck for Mexico?
Bryant: He is a very good player, a young player, but one with tremendous upside. The important thing is to continue to work and continue to get better. He has a bright future ahead of himself, he just needs to stay the course.
Coach K: He has had a really good tournament. He's done a great job. He's a really good player. Nolan has done a great job with them.

NOLAN RICHARDSON, MEXICO HEAD COACH
The US is a talented team.  We think we played a different game than what other teams played against the US. Romel Beck played a very good game against Kobe.  He is a very good player. 

Will Beck play on Tuesday night?
I think he will play; we use Beck quite a bit.  We played a lot of basketball games before we even got here, to try and get prepared for this tournament.  We probably played too much and he is probably getting worn down.  Hopefully all the teams are getting worn down and that will slow them down and maybe we will be back to normal with everybody else. 

I have always been proud of Beck.  He is an unusual type basketball player.  You give him basically a green light to do some things.  In certain ball games there are things he has to do or to learn to do that will make him an even better basketball player.   He went against some of the greatest basketball players and showed them that he is a pretty good basketball player. I think he has the chance to be something very special.

As soon as the game was over, everyone was talking about the great second quarter your team had, can you take a moral victory out of this because it was such a great effort and that you did score 100 points?
I am not into moral victories, I am into the fact that we came back and we played extremely hard in the second quarter.  That's how my teams have always been, we never give up.  That is what I told them about the game tomorrow, let's bring that same intensity back to the game tomorrow and put it on display and see what happens.  There was not question that I was very proud of that.

ROMEL BECK, MEXICO
You had a good game against Kobe can you speak about that
It was never a one-on-one match up.  Kobe is a great player, we all know that.  I just went out there and tried to play team ball.  I'm a slasher, I'm a driver and I'm a scorer, that's what I do.  I never came into the game thinking that this is Kobe Bryant and I'm going to go one-on-one with him.  If I had the opportunity to attack then I wanted to do that to help my team win. 

How is your calf?
It started to tighten up towards the end of the third quarter, I felt it tighten up.  I put some ice on it and took some medicine so hopefully I'll be ready to roll. 



Puerto Rico 97, Brazil 75

MANALO CINTRON, PURETO RICO HEAD COACH
[Question inaudible]
First of all I would like to personally say thank you to the press for the stories in the paper, the very sincere statements they made towards me in the local newspapers in Puerto Rico. 

In terms of the game, this is the real Puerto Rico team.  When we play collectively we can compete with all of the other teams in America.  It was a perfect game, the ball was passed around, and everyone played good defense.  For the first time in four or five games we were able to compete defensively and physically.  Everyone did what they had to do to run the offense. 

[Question inaudible]
I told the players we needed to play the right game that means passing the ball, taking the right shots, playing defense and not giving the other team the opportunity.  We tried to use all 24 seconds on the clock, we moved the ball enough so that we could find the right opportunity so we could finish.  This game is very important because it gives us a personality and tells the other teams that we can do it and that they will have to compete with us from now on. 

JOSE BAREA, PUERTO RICO
[Question inaudible]
Yesterday we were able to talk before practice, about how we needed to keep going and focus on the second round.  We had nothing to loose, all of the bad games are behind us and we are focused on the second round.  This is a new life for us and it is very positive.  We really made a good game, we needed a positive game to pull this off. 
 
ALUISIO FERREIRA, BRAZIL HEAD COACH

What would be the turning point in the team's attitude for the game against Mexico?
It's at the point right now. I am going to take all of the responsibility; I'm going to be answering all the questions. This is an emotional situation and very difficult one but Brazil has the ability to reverse this. This was a very atypical game and everything went wrong. It wasn't just one factor. Since the beginning of the game Puerto Rico took over. They took over the emotional part of the game and we could never regain our ground. We kind of bounced back in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, we had a lot of pressure and it didn't work out for us.

What good can you take out of games like this?
Nobody likes to have this type of game. But you always need to find a way out of any situation. Our players are united in their desire to win the game tomorrow. Obviously, after losing like this it can make our situation harder but we still will be pushing to move to the next phase. It's all in our hands. We will come tomorrow with full force to play against Argentina. Then we will find out which position we are going to end up in in the tournament. Now we have to do everything we can to win. This championship is about being among the final four. Everything's in our hands and it is in our capacity to work hard and win.

After doing so well in the first round, do you think that made the team over confident?
No. This is not the case. Puerto Rico is a regular opponent of ours. We always play against them. We always have awesome battles. Brazil respects Puerto Rico deeply. Obviously we tried to reverse the bad results in the third quarter but by no means did we have anything less than respect for Puerto Rico coming into this game.

Argentina 98 vs. Venezuela 63

SERGIO HERNANDEZ, ARGENTINA HEAD COACH

What was your objective getting into this game?
My goal is always to win the game by working on a rotational system, which is working great for us in this tournament. We play with great intensity every game and by using a rotational system we do not overwhelm our players. I think today's game went great, and as a result of our strategy the player who played the most had only seventeen minutes of game time. 

How difficult was to prepare the team with such a short notice?
It was very difficult because we went to sleep last night around one A.M., and we did not practice this morning. About ninety percent of the team after breakfast sleeps until eleven o'clock, and this is not ideal. We need to have more time to prepare them, but this is how this tournament goes. There are teams who play three or four consecutive games with no break. We, for example, will play again tomorrow, so my strategy is to give some rest to our players by using this rotational coordination.

ROMAN GONZALEZ, ARGENTINA

What is your opinion on how this game went?
My opinion is very positive. We not only won this match, but we also reached our goal to play collectively. I do not get happy about individual achievements within the team, so I am very happy with the way we played today… as a group. I think this was key for Argentina, so I am happy for the team today and excited about tomorrow's game.

After a late game last night, what did you personally do to prepare for this game?
I did what I always do. Last night's game was very positive for us as well on offensive and defensive levels, but we had very little rest. I simply tried to focus on the next game and think positive. As I said before, every team has a way to succeed, and I think Argentina succeeds by staying focus as a group.

NELSON SOLÓRZANO, VENEZUELA ASSISTANT COACH

What are your thoughts about today's game and your expectations about tomorrow's match?
I think since the first quarter, the team did not play with the same intensity as it has in the past. Team Argentina saw an opportunity and dominated the game early because of this. We could not stop them after that. I think we just have to take the positives about this game and use it for our following game. Hopefully, we will have a better game tomorrow than today.

CARLOS CEDENO, VENEZUELA

What positives can you take from this game and use on the next one?
Overall, I think what we need to improve is to play together. I think that was key on this game. We have to make plays together, have more patience in court and concentrate better on our shootings. I think the most important thing I can take from this game is to improve on our defense. We were too open and the Argentinean team had too many clear shots. Every time we could balance the game, we would open up and they would get a clear shot.

What makes Argentina so effective?
The collective game that they have. It was impressive how often they made plays and worked together. They all know their roles in court, and they execute them very well. I think this is how Argentina is so successful.


Uruguay 88 vs. Canada 95

LEO RAUTINS, CANADA HEAD COACH

This was a pretty physical game. What do you take out of this game other than the win?
I just think it is really important to maintain your poise. I think we had experienced this type of game in Puerto Rico when we played Argentina; the game became kind of junkie and wild. There were a lot of sloppiness and a lot of grabbing. It is just really important in games like those to maintain your composure. You can't get caught up into it. You have to do what you do best, handle the pressure, handle the ball with confidence and exploit any opportunity. That is something that we need to work on a little bit.

What are your expectations for this second round?
Every game is a war. You are now talking about all good teams who fought for spots to get here. On every single game, teams have a different look and you just have to be ready for it all. You cannot have a let-down. It is just very important to come in with focus in every single quarter and in every single game.

Were you surprise that the Uruguayans three-point shooters were mostly on the bench during this game?
If you watched Uruguay play even yesterday, there have been some substitutions that you can question and wonder, but this team was very well coached. I am sure that their coach knows their team much better than I do. He brought in guys at different times, and they did a good job. We tried to put them away, and they kept getting in. So whatever decisions he was making were certainly working.

This was a huge game to start the second round. How did you prepared for it?
You know, it is getting boring because in the locker-room is the same thing. This is "the" game, and that is the reality of this tournament. The only thing we tried to stress today was to take advantage of the break we had. We had to bring in energy and beat Uruguay early as it is their third though game. It is just about focusing.

JESSE WADE YOUNG, CANADA

Do you thrive for these physical confrontations?
We knew this team would be physical. They have been down and by halftime on every game they were able to claw back in. It is fun to get down and dirty from time to time. That was a good time.

Has it also been nice to have Samuel Dalembert as a weak side help?
Having him on the team has been great. It is a total different feel than we had in Puerto Rico. He totally changed his game defensively, and when he starts his game it is hard to stop him. (Coach) Leo really tries to get match-ups and try to go to the hot end. My teammates were great; I was basically just shooting lay-ups and putting it into the basket. So I give them a lot of credit.

ALBERTO ESPASANDIN, URUGUAY HEAD COACH

What are your thoughts about today's game and your expectations for the following match-ups?
Uruguay had two opportunities to qualify for the Olympic Games, at least getting in within the top five teams. Today one passed, and tomorrow with Venezuela is another key game for us. I think Uruguay had to play two very intensive match-ups with extremely strong teams. Today's goal was, of course, originally to win this game by not overwhelming our players too much to tomorrow's game. We decided to rest up some of our key players, such as Mazzarino and Batista, and I think that the players coming from the bench did an amazing job in court. Unfortunately, Canada played a very smart game focusing on being below the basket, and I think that for that reason they won this game.

What will be your strategy for tomorrow's game?
It will be a huge game for us. We'll need that win it to get qualified, so I think Uruguay has to win that game. We have a strong team. We were able to get here and we'll need to play that game with all we have until the very end of it. Team Uruguay has been strong on that aspect, and giving their all until the clock runs out. We are focusing on adapting according to the volume of games played in this tournament and not overwhelming our players. So I think Uruguay will be ready to have a great game tomorrow.

LEANDRO GARCIA MORALES, URUGUAY

By watching how Uruguay plays in this tournament, one notices that it must be a very united team. How do you feel about this?
Yes, this group of players has been together for a while already. Since we spent a lot of time together, especially during the summer, Uruguay became a very united team. I feel that it is in court that we really show how united we play. We play and fight in court as a team. I think we have a very strong team, and we are ready for tomorrow's game, which will be one of the most important games in this t