USA - Young international talent shines at Jordan Brand Classic

CHARLOTTE - After trailing almost the entire game, Lucas Dias Silva of Brazil and Federico Mussini of Italy led their White team to an 89-87 overtime victory over the Blue squad in the international game of the three-game 2012 Jordan Brand Classic.

Down by 12 points after three quarters and trailing by nine with 3:26 to play, the White team’s balanced play (20 assists to 12) and superior shooting (51.9% to 37.5% FG for the game) drew the game even at 74 on a Mussini jump shot.

It was even stronger in overtime for the White where five players scored on six of seven shots, capped by France’s Etienne Ory’s winner with nine seconds to play.

It was a bitter pill for the Blue’s Marko Arapovic.

“We had a 10-point advantage five minutes from the end and we just stopped playing (as a team), stopped defending. Our offense wasn’t that good and they were pumped up. Something like that should never happen,” he said.

This was the sixth year for an international game in the 11-year history of the Jordan Brand event, which saw three former participants - Enes Kanter (Turkey), Jonas Valanciunas (Lithuania) and Nikola Mirotic (Spain) - selected in last year’s NBA draft.

Unlike the headlining All-American and North Carolina regional all-star games that featured high school seniors - most of whom will be moving to collegiate careers next year - the international game featured players two to three years younger, 15 and 16 years old, eight of whom boast experience in FIBA U16 continental competitions.

Kevin Zabo (Blue) and Christopher Egi (White) played for Canada’s third-place team in last summer's FIBA Americas U16 Championship. Eliel Jose Gonzalez Gomez (Blue) helped Puerto Rico to fourth place while Dias Silva’s Brazil finished fifth in that competition.

Arapovic played for Croatia, winners of the 2011 FIBA U16 European Championship. Jan Wimberg (White) played for eighth-place Germany and Dimitrios Stamatis (White) was on Greece’s team that came in 11th.

The one exception to the game’s 15 and 16 year old range was Mali’s 18-year-old Boubacar Moungoro (Blue) who played for his country in both the 2008 FIBA Africa U16 Zonal Championship and the 2009 FIBA Africa U16 Championship.

Given their age, the game was marked by dueling moments of surprising vision and maturity against over-reaching youthful exuberance as evidenced by 25 turnovers for each team.

The game was tight through the first half with the Blue team ahead by two after one quarter and four at the half. Big men Moungoro and Arapovic each had eight points and six rebounds at that point while guards Zabo and Jules Akodo (England) each added six in a balanced attack.

The White team was led by Mussini and Egi, who also pulled down six rebounds, with nine points each for the half.

The player who seemed to catch everyone’s eye though was the 2.04m Dias Silva who finished the game with an impressive line of 18 points (8-12 FG), 12 rebounds, four blocks and three assists.

If the 2011 Nike Hoop Summit was the coming out party for 19-year-old Bismack Biyombo - now with the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats, coincidentally owned by Michael Jordan - this game may be the one referred to when discussing Dias Silva in later years.

He drew gasps from the crowd with his first block early in the game and later on with a put-back dunk and deft moves around the basket.

“His potential was the best exposed in the game,” said Marin Sedlacek, the long-time coach from Serbia and scout for the Philadelphia 76ers who headed up the selection of European players for the game.

“He showed more in the game than in the practice. He looks like a late bloomer to me.”

His equal in the match had to be Croatia’s 2.04m Arapovic who finished with 17 points (8-16 FG) and 11 rebounds (eight offensive).

The two players shared the game's MVP honors.

Other players of note: Mussini led all scorers with 21 points on 10-17 shooting. Ory was also impressive with his passing though his four assists didn’t tell the whole story.

Burk Ugurlu of Turkey gave notice with 14 points and seven boards on 60% shooting for the Blue while China’s Yang Jinmeng hit two of four three-pointers on his way to 13 points and six assists.

The long-range ace of the game though was the Blue’s Andrej Magdevski of FYROM who sank all three of his three-point shots, including two straight in overtime.

Also in the game was the familiar name of Sabonis, only this time it belonged to 2.01m Domantas, the son of the legendary Lithuanian star Arvydas Sabonis who played in 14 major FIBA events including three Olympic Games and two World Championships.

He finished with seven points, eight rebounds and four assists in 37 minutes for the Blue team.

Both Dias Silva of Brazilian side Pinheiros and Sabonis, who plays for Malaga in Spain, were impressed by the level of play compared to back home. 

“Here nobody gives up. Everybody plays hard," the Brazilian teenager said through a translator of the game's physicality.

Sabonis added: “The difference is the speed and intensity. This is much faster than I’m used to.”

Both players felt their experience provided a great measuring point for their games compared to the world.

The self-aware Arapovic added that even in defeat, “this showed us what we can do to get better.”

FIBA