KK Bosna gets 5th place

The Bosnian basketballteam KK Bosna, from Sarajevo (Bosnia - Herzegovina), won a game which had to decide which team (Bosna or Santa Barbara Breakers) would become 5th and 6th of Dutch basketballtournament the Groningen basketballweek.

The more experienced guys from California, USA, suffered because it is a group of free agents. These players met just 2 days before the tournament started. 2 players just arrived the day the tournament started, it was only 1 day before the Santa Barbara Breakers had to play their first game.

Technical skills (dribbling, shooting) and athletic skills (jumping, running) are qualities the USA-players have for sure. Building a team however just takes more time than a couple of days. No matter how much of a teamplayer you are. Chemistry is not only attitude. You have to practice and play together for weeks or even months.

The Breakers also had the referees in more occassions against them. Both teams were mistreated by the referees, but the Californians were confrontated by injustice in even more situations. It was also a matter of watching and judging in different ways. An offensive foul (exactly the same) was a foul when a player of the Breakers did it. But it was a clean play when committed by a player of Bosna.

Yes, still the Breakers made just to much mistakes themselves. They admitted it themselves when talking to 2, and later a third, players in the stands. But if you get screwed (and get 2 technicals which shouldn't be given) it has a big influence at the game. People saying: shake it off! just don't understand psychology. Especially not sportspsychology.

Players practise a lot. They have learned how to dribble, to take charges, to jump towards the basket, to defend, to make a pick & roll screen etc. If calls are different for actions which are identical you lose rhythm and confidence. Your coach, a person who gots your back, treated by a technical foul just for asking what is going on, bullies even more. You got the feeling we don't play against 5 players but against 8 persons. It happens more often but next year (if there is a Groningen basketballweek again) bring in referees from other countries (USA, Lithuania, Serbia, Spain depending the countries the teams are coming from), please!