Under the same moon and sky

Thursday, July 20, 2006

The 2006 World Cup in Japan

In less than a month from now the World Cup will begin. You may begin wondering and say to yourself that, "How can he say that the World Cup will begin, when it has just finished this month?"
Italy won over France, 5-3 on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw and the infamous headbutting of Zinedane Zidane on Marco Materazzi.

Basketball is my favorite sport. In less than a month, Japan will be hosting the 2006 World Basketball Championship. It will start on August 23 and end on September 3. This is the World Cup I am talking about, not to be confused with the recently concluded 2006 World Cup of Soccer in Germany.

There will be 4 groups of 6 teams each playing in different venues in Japan. Group A is composed of Argentina, Venezuela, France, Serbia and Montenegro, Lebanon and Nigeria. They will be playing at the Sendai-City Gymnasium in Sendai City, Miyagi.
Group B is composed of Spain, Panama, Germany, Japan, New Zealand and Angola. They will be playing in at the Hiroshima Prefectural Sports Center in Hiroshima City, Hiroshima.
Group C is composed of Lithuania, Brazil, Greece, Turkey, Austalia and Qatar. They will be playing at the Hamamatsu Arena in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka.
Group D is composed of U.S.A., Puerto Rico, Slovenia, Italy, China, and Senegal. They will be playing at the Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center in Sapporo City Hokkaido.
The Finals will be held at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama City, Saitama
The biggest question is "Can Team USA bring home the gold?" During the 2002 Basketball World Cup, Team USA finished a disappointing 6th place finish and watched as other teams played in the Finals. Gold: Serbia and Montenegro, Silver: Argentina, Bronze: Germany. During the 2004 Olympics Team USA again fell short in their quest to win the gold and settled for bronze. Argentina won the gold and runner-up Italy got the silver.
It's a hard to say who will win the this year's tournament. Can Team USA, recapture it's glory as the undisputed basketball superpower? Will Serbia and Montenegro be able to defend its title? Is Argentina going to get it's second consecutive gold medal and establish itself as one of the legitimate contenders for basketball dominance or will another team win this year? The list include: Germany, France, Italy, Lithuania or perhaps another team will emerge as Champions.
One thing is for sure, this is a must watch.

posted by Ernest at 9:34 AM

8 Comments:

  • Kobe in World Cup > Kobe not in World Cup > Ray Allen

    By Blogger Unknown, at 6:44 PM  

  • Ouch...hehe...

    Off-topic: I got new kicks from my Aunt

    Adidas Comptowns 10.5 White/Navy/Silver colorway.

    Imma post a pic when I get to NY. Gotta borrow or cop a digicam ASAP.

    By Blogger Ernest, at 8:26 PM  

  • Hello! Thanks for your comment!
    Actually, I don't like soccer(sorry) so I don't know anything about World Cup...

    BTW, are you learning japanese? because u wrote japanese in my blog.
    And, one more question. Are u studying abroad in USA?

    By Blogger erika, at 6:06 AM  

  • Hi Erika,

    To answer your questions?

    I learned Japanese when I was still studying in college, but I'm not very fluent. I have forgotten some of the things I learned and my Japanese needs practice.

    I majored in Communication in my University and I have a minor in Japanese Studies, that's why I know some things about Japanese Culture.

    I just moved here to New York last month. I am looking for work here. I used to be an english teacher in Philippines. I had many english students from Japan, China, Korea, Indonesia and other parts of Asia in the Philippines. I hope to become a teacher here in The US soon.

    You said that you are studying at Kansai Gaidai, is it the same University as Osaka Gaidai? I have some friends from majoring in Tagalog (Philippine Language) at Osaka Gaidai.

    Thank you for your comments. Feel free to ask me any questions.

    By Blogger Ernest, at 6:24 AM  

  • hey dawg, your entry doesn't sound like you. for a while there, i thought i wuz reading steve kerr [and that's a compliment]. hehe. intentional ba 'to? shifting from fugazi lingo to a more toned down one? hehehe.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:32 AM  

  • To Pau: Not really intentional but it's hard to be fugazi 24/7. We have to strive for versatilty. Hehehe...

    By Blogger Ernest, at 2:25 PM  

  • Oh, I see. I think it's enjoyable for you to move around!
    From your pic, I thought you're student because you're wearing school uniform.
    Well, Osaka Gaidai is differnt from my uni. My uni is private school and Osaka Gaidai is public school so maybe students are more intelligent than us(^O^;

    By Blogger erika, at 11:13 PM  

  • Hi Erika,
    That picture was taken during my graduation from a university. You are right that picture was taken during march 2005 when I was still a student. (^o^)/

    I see, I thought that Osaka Gaidai and Kansai Gaidai were the same university. I think that students from both universities are smart because learning about foreign language and culture is difficult but interesting and enjoyable.

    1:49 PM

    By Blogger Ernest, at 1:57 PM  

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