Tag: basketball

ISB Wins A Trophy!

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Team Photo With Trophy in Helsinki, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

Doron and Zoki are holding the third place trophy outside of the International School of Helsinki. The team was celebrating an important victory over the Kiev International School in the consolation match, 50-47. The victory earned the team the third place trophy. There were 8 teams competing so it was quite an accomplishment. It was appropriate the cup was filled with snow, as it represented the team venturing to the frozen north of Finland to compete in the tourney.

Misa Goes for the Rebound
Misa Goes for the Rebound

The Dragons led the entire game against the Cosaks of KIS. ISB used a full court pressure defense to disrupt the opponents. The strategy worked as many fast break layups were scored by Doron and Nikola. Panayot played with an injured foot, and despite the pain, he had his usual outstanding game. A special mention also goes to Mik for his defensive efforts on their best player. Coaches Sands and Kralovec thank the team for their efforts. It was a fitting end to a great season. The boys played close to 20 games! They developed their individual fundamentals of basketball, learned the strategies and finer points of the game, increased their fitness, and interacted with students from all over the world and Serbia.

Things are looking bright for 2009-2010, as the entire team that traveled to Helsinki returns. We will also get some excellent players from the Middle School team that finished in second place in their tourney. We will also be hosting the high school boys’ tourney, so there are many things in our favor. Job well done gentlemen!

CEESA Championship Final Day

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After watching the fifth and seventh place matches, we had the consolation final against the Kiev International School. The Dragons defeated the Cozaks, 50-47 to take the third place trophy (of eight teams competing).

It was an incredible performance by the boys’ basketball team. Mik had 6 points and played stellar defense against their top player. Tausan and Misa rebounded well against the bigger Ukrainians. Pan played with an injured foot and still scored in double figures. It was a proud moment for the school and the team. Congratulations to the Dragons! Photos and video to come!

Day Two of CEESA Basketball Tourney

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ISB on the Attack, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

The International School of Belgrade lost this afternoon to the Perchersk International School of Kiev, Ukraine, 39-47. The game was the semifinal, as the Dragons won the Pool B. The boys were matched up with the second place team of Pool A. The team started out slow and shot only 12% from the field in the first quarter. The boys from Percherk were physical and out played us.

The Dragons were led by the outstanding long range shooting of Nikola T. and Doron. They gave a good effort and cut down a larger deficit.

2 Points for Nikola
2 Points for Nikola

ISB now goes to the consolation match. The Dragons will take on the Kiev International School at 1:00 PM tomorrow. The Dragons previously beat KIS and the Cozaks will be seeking revenge. At stake is a third place trophy. Can the Dragons bring home some hardware? They will also have the chance to leave Finland with a winning record as they are 2 wins and 2 losses currently.

It was a great day despite the loss. The games were held at a local professional team’s arena (Messuhalli II). The arena was used for the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. We saw the photo of the USA Olympic team who played in the gym as our students did today.

CEESA Boys’ Basketball Championship Day One

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Laurynas Makes a Three Pointer
Laurynas Makes a Three Pointer

The International School of Belgrade won their first two games on Day 1 of tournament. In the first game this morning, the Dragons defeated Quality Schools International of Bratislava 52 – 34. Six players scored for the Dragons, with Panayot leading the way with 20 points. Mi also scored 6 points. Nikola T. had a stellar performance on defense.

In the second game today, the Dragons won by a score of 56 – 49 over the Kiev International School. The hard fought game was decided by coolness under pressure demonstrated by the Dragon. In the final quarter, Pan and Doron made some big baskets and steals to seal the victory.

Pan and Andras on the Move!
Pan and Andras on the Move!

We have one more game today against Suomalainen Yhteiskoulu, a local Finnish team. If we win, we guarantee a spot in the semifinals. If we lose, there will most likely be a three-way tie for the top and then it will come down to point differential, which we want to avoid. If we do lose, we could finish anywhere from first to third in the group.

UPDATE:

We lost to the local Finnish school, 47 – 74. The score was tied at halftime 30-30. In the second half, we ran out of energy as this is our third game today. The Finn school played a reserve team in the morning (lost to KIV) and had an easy game against Bratislava. It will be disappointing if this game against a non-CEESA school causes us to out of the semifinals. If due to point differential we finish third, the highest finsh we can have is fourth.

In the other Pool, the most likely winner will the Internationl School of Latvia and second place will be the Pechersk International School of Kiev, Ukraine.

Boys’ Basketball Team Arrives in Finland

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ISB Cheerleaders Send off Hoop Team, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

The ISB cheerleaders gave the team an enthusiastic farewell before the boys embarked on their journey. The cheerleaders have been incredibly supportive this year. This is the best cheerleading squad perhaps in the history of the school. They attended all of our regular season games. On behalf of the team, THANK YOU!!! You can see them in action by clicking on the video above.

We bussed to the Budapest, Hungary airport and flew from there to Helsinki. The International School of Helsinki (ISH)is hosting the annual Boys’ Basketball Championship of the Central and Eastern European Athletic Association. Eight teams from all over the region are competing for the title. All visiting student-athletes are billeted with ISH families.

I wil try to post regularly during the competion which begins today. We have been placed in Pool B with the Kiev International School (Ukraine), Quality Schools International of Bratislava (Slovakia) and Soumalainen Yhteiskoulu (Finland). We play those three teams today with games at 10:45 AM, 12:45 PM, and 3:45 PM. It will be a grueling day indeed.

This is the farthest away I’ve been from the equater. Helsinki is at 60 degrees north latitude, a mere 6 degrees (400 miles) from the arctic circle. There is still snow on the ground and temperatures are below freezing. This is a special trip for me as my mother’s ancestry is Finnish. It will be great to learn more about Finnish culture and coaching a lot of basketball the next three days.

March Madness Hits Belgrade!

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Coach Kralovec, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

It is basketball madness for me as the boys’ high school team is on their final preparations for next week’s CEESA championship in Helsinki, Finland. I am shown above at Tuesday’s game at the FMP Arena in the Belgrade suburb of Zeleznik. It is an industrial area with lots of Communist Era apartments, but in the midst of the run down buildings is the basketball school and this beautiful basketball arena. Our school project manager went along to get ideas for our new gymnasium.

The team lost 37-81 to their sub-15 team. FMP has the best basketball club in Serbia and they compete in international tourneys for elite high schools in Europe. They are one of the best high school teams I have ever seen! Our students got to experience the best in the world and they held their own in the second half. The relentless pressure defense and attacking style of FMP forced our students to bring up their game. It was a great experience and on behalf of ISB, I thank the basketball school for inviting us to play twice this season! The opposition in Helsinki will pale in comparison and our team will be battle tested by the time we get there.

Pre-game photo of the teams
Pre-game photo of the teams

It is also the NCAA tourney and the team joined a pool. The students and coaches filled out their brackets like President Obama. All of the games are on live on ESPN America, My favorite, the Michigan State Spartans, won their opening game against Robert Morris. The University of Michigan also won their first NCAA tourney game in 11 years, upsetting Clemson. And finally, neighboring state Wisconsin also made it to the second round. I hope they make it to next weekend.

To top off the basketball frenzy, Belgrade professional team, Partizan starts their series with CSKA Moscow in the Euro League Quarterfinals. My favorite professional team Red Star, made it to the Final Four of the Adriatic Basketball League. It will be next month at the Belgrade Arena. Three Serbian teams (Red Star, Partizan, Hemofarm) will join Croatian Zibona for the games in the Belgrade Arena.

Team Photo With Cheerleaders

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Yesterday the boys’ high school basketball team traveled to the outer suburbs of Belgrade to play The First Basketball School of Belgrade. The game was played in the beautiful arena used by the FMP – Belgrade professional basketball club. We specialize in producing global citizens, they specialize in producing basketball players, so you can probably tell how the game turned out. Our student athletes played well and improved quite a bit as the game went on. We even had the support of the cheerleading squad and mascot and both teams appreciated their enthusiasm.

The Principal of the school gave Dr. Sands and I a tour of the facilities after the game. The First Basketball School is for boys ages 14 – 18. The students mostly come from Serbia but they also have international students. The boys want to focus on basketball and two practices per day are an integral part of the curriculum. They have several levels of teams and they play an NBA – type schedule of games. The school is affiliated with the FMP – Belgrade professional team. FMP plays in the NBL Adriatic Basketball Leage. FMP is a steel product factory that sponsors the team. Many of the students are boarding residents and the Principal showed us their rooms. Students from the school after graduation in 11th grade, often complete the final year of their high school in the USA or home countries. Several earned USA university scholarships and some go on to play professionally. Many with the FMP club or other Serbian professional club.
Lajos looks inside.
Lajos looks inside.
The Serbs know how to do sports and this is an example of it. They take sports to the highest level. Most Serbian youngsters specialize in a sport and they are provided with the best in coaching and time. It is the reason why such a small country has so many successes in sports. They have three players ranked in the top 10 tennis players in the world, the Partizan team is one of the best in Europe, and the national soccer team is leading their group in World Cup qualifying.
Their team was spectacular with height, speed, fundamentals, etc. Our team improved in the second half and raised their game. The team scored 1o more points in the second half than the first and reduced the number of turnovers by 6. It was a good lesson for them. The ISB cheerleaders also performed several dance routines during time outs and cheered on the team during the game.
Nikola Sets Up the Next Play
Nikola Sets Up the Next Play

Free Throws

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There is a great article in today’s New York Times regarding free throw percentages throughout the history of basketball. They haven’t changed!

Since the mid-1960s, college men’s players have made about 69 percent of free throws, the unguarded 15-foot, 1-point shot awarded after a foul. In 1965, the rate was 69 percent. This season, as teams scramble for bids to the N.C.A.A. tournament, it was 68.8. It has dropped as low as 67.1 but never topped 70.

In the National Basketball Association, the average has been roughly 75 percent for more than 50 years. Players in college women’s basketball and the W.N.B.A. reached similar plateaus — about equal to the men — and stuck there…

The consistency of free-throw percentages stands out when contrasted with field-goal shooting over all. In men’s college basketball, field-goal percentage was below 40 percent until 1960, then climbed steadily to 48.1 in 1984, still the highest on record. The long-range 3-point shot was introduced in 1986, and the overall shooting percentage has settled in at about 44 percent.

The entire article is excellent with insight from university professors who analyze long term statistics in sports.

Basketball Season Underway at ISB

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It is basketball season here at ISB! Four teams (MS and HS Boys and Girls) are preparing for the upcoming games. ISB competes in the Central and Eastern European Athletic Association, which is composed of other international schools. We belong to the small school “blue” division. Each grade category has their own championships and they will be held throughout the month of March. Above are the high school boys in practice last Friday in our bubble gymnasium. They will compete in Helsinki, Finland on March 26-28. They are practicing 3 times a week and we are working on arranging games for the team with local schools in preparation for the championships.

Family Journal: Tuesday December 23, 2008 Red Star Basketball

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Tuesday night we attended the Red Star basketball game. You may have heard of Red Star’s soccer team. The professional clubs in Serbia as in Europe have teams in many sports. They also have the different levels, beginning with a youth team, moving through to the “A” professional team.

As I explained in a previous post, one of the leagues Red Star participates in is the Adriatic Basketball League, sponsored by the NBL bank. The Round 14 game was against FMP Belgrade. They are from the Belgrade suburb of Zelenik. Red Star is tied for second place in the league with a record of 11 wins and 2 losses. Partizan is in first place and fellow Serbian team, Hemofarm STADA is tied with them. FMP is in 8th place (out of 14) with a 5 and 8 record.

Most of the players on both teams were Serbian. The Serbs are a tall people and this was reflected in the rosters, as there were two 7 footers and many big men around that height. It was a high quality of play, although the players were not quite as athletic as the USA professionals. It was an evenly matched game as the Red Star’s lead fluctuated from 4 to 10 points most of the game.

The difference were the two American players on Red Star. Andre Owens from Indiana University and Lawrence Roberts from Mississippi State, and the Memphis Grizzlies gave Red Star and extra boost when they needed it. You can see Roberts behind Owen. My sister-in-law erased most of my photos and video I took so I don’t have a video post.

Sebey, Owen, and Papa Enjoy the Red Star Victory
Sebey, Owen, and Papa Enjoy the Red Star Victory

The arena is called Pionir Hall and seats 7,000 people. It is located near the center of the city and it was quite easy to find with our GPS. It was in good condition and we bought the best tickets for $20 each. Best thing is kids are free!!! We were a few rows up at mid court. It was mostly filled and the fans were enthusiastic and polite. Overall it was a great experience and we hope to go again. Red Star proved too much in the end and won their 12th game.

Owen and Sebey enjoyed the game. They loved the cheerleaders performing during time outs and the scoreboard. Owen learned what the 24 second shot clock was and how to keep score. I hope both the boys will play basketball as I did when I was younger. I need to put up hoops somewhere outside and inside the house.

We attended the game with Alejandra and Brad and it was an entertaining evening.