BETTING TIPS (XXXIII) LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT (DAY THREE)

These are my tips for tomorrow´s basketball games. I may add some extra live picks tomorrow. Stay Tuned!

Brazil - Russia. Brazil +7 (1,917) Pinnacle. Stake 3

Russia NT have probably become one of the ´trendiest´ teams of the tournament after their first two convincing victories. Of course they have shown all their power mostly based on all-CSKA´s (2011-12) members starting five: Shved (absolutely inspired since signing with T´Wolves), Ponkrashov, Kirilenko, Khryapa and Kaun. A big, physical team with powerful centers as Kaun and Mozgov (coming from the bench) and the tenacious and unrelenting play of Kirilenko-Khryapa couple in the SF/PF positions.

Which teams can cope with all that physical strength? Undoubtedly, Brazil is one of them. They will accept this challenge today and play a tough battle in the paint with Nené, Splitter and Varejao. It will be such an interesting clash against russian centers. For sure, Magnano´s squad will give their best today and they can beat Russia if their backcourt weapons (Huertas, Barbosa, García and Machado) are inspired  beyond the arc.

IMO this spread is quite valuable. I think we´ll see a closer game than expected. We haven´t seen yet the classical offensive russian blackouts and Brazil can stop them. 

Player Performance:


David Andersen. Total Points Scored (Including OT): Over 11 (1,85) Unibet. Stake 3

This line was clearly created on David Andersen´s poor performance against Spain. It´s true that the boomer really struggled from the field (2/11) and committed quite early and stupid fouls on Gasol´s brothers. After that he didn´t have any impact at all in the game and coach Brett Anderson decided to give him a rest for today´s big game against China. 

I think he will step up today and lead his team. IMO the line is too short and Andersen will score 15 points or more. He should overpower either Yi or Wang on offense.
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Russia 75-74 Brazil & David Andersen scored 17 points (15 @ HT) +5,301 Units


What a thriller was the game between Russia and Brazil. Russia won at the buzzer with a stunning three-pointer from Vitaly Fridzon. The game was such a physical battle as expected.


David Andersen exploded on the first half scoring fifteen points leading boomers´offense. 

Picks	90
Won	64		71,11%
Lost	25		27,78%
Void	1		1,11%
Stake	303
Profit	141,825
Yield	46,81%
Av. Odd	1,925989

BETTING TIPS (XXXII): LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT (DAY TWO)

These are my picks for tomorrow. Not enough time to explain them properly. Basically, I expect much better deffensive performances and closer games. Stay Tuned for more picks on Twitter !

China - Russia. Under 155 points (1,943) Pinnacle. Stake 2


Australia - Spain. Under 155 points (1,926) Pinnacle. Stake 2


Great Britain - Brazil. Under 157,5 points (1,943) Pinnacle. Stake 2
Great Britain Under 73,5 points (1,90) Unibet. Stake 2


Argentina - France. France +5,5 (1,90) Pinnacle. Stake 2 

(LIVE BETTING PICKS) Lithuania - Nigeria. Nigeria +16,5 (1,90) Bet365 Stake 3 

(Bet placed at the end of the 3rdQ SCORE 56-40)

(LIVE BETTING PICKS) Lithuania - Nigeria. Over 135,5 points (1,90) Bet365 Stake 3 

(Bet placed at the end of the 3rdQ SCORE 56-40)

(LIVE BETTING PICKS) Lithuania - Nigeria. Nigeria +22,5 (1,90) Bet365 Stake 5 

(Bet placed with 6:24 remaining in the 4thQ SCORE 62-41 & TimeOut)

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+7,724 Units Won Today !

China 54-73 Russia

Russia worked really hard on deffensive pressure and broke the game since the first quarter. Kirilenko was impressive again on both sides stopping China´s offense.

Australia 70-82 Spain

The boomers really struggled beyond the arc except in the last quarter. Spain improved a lot on deffense and broke the game on the third quarter trashing Australia. 

Great Britain 62-67 Brazil

The horrible offensive first quarter helped us to win both bets quite comfortably. Not a good game at all and GB was close to cause one of the bigger upsets of the tournament.

France 71-64 Argentina

Argentina was overrated after their big win against Lithuania. The baltic team´s attitude on Sunday was so poor and Argentina trashed them. Today, neither Delfino nor Nocioni were effective on offense and France really stepped up to clinch a very important win.

Lithuania 72-53 Nigeria

Kemzura´s squad attitude was so much better than two days ago and really deserved this clear win. They fought hard on deffense since the beginning and Nigeria absolutely disappeared and couldn´t even reduce the margin at the end.    

Picks	88
Won	62		70,45%
Lost	25		28,41%
Void	1		1,14%
Stake	297
Profit	136,524
Yield	45,97%
Av. Odd	1,926955

BETTING TIPS (XXVIII): LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT (DAY ONE)

These are my first picks for London 2012 Olympic Basketball Tournament. Stay Tuned !

Spain - China. Spain Total Points Over 85,5 (1,90) Unibet. Stake 2,5

Spain - China. Spain -19,5 (1,90) Unibet. Stake 2,5

Spain should win quite comfortably this game. It´s true that the first match in these competitions is weird and difficult but Scariolo´s squad should beat quite easily this chinese team. China is still missing Yao Ming and they just rely on their starting five (Wei-Yue-Wang-Yi Jianlian-Zhizhi Wang). IMO we´ll watch a fast game with Spain getting many easy baskets in transition.

Argentina - Lithuania. Under 164 points (1,94) Pinnacle. Stake 2,5

First game of the tournament for both teams that will clash after their big game on Turkey´s Worldcup semifinals. It´s true that none of them had shown good deffensive attitude in their roads to London. However I think it will be quite different in this game and I expect a lower scoring line than this. Lithuanian backcourt had been struggling beyond the arc and they will have to beat tough customers such as Ginobili, Delfino or Nocioni. In the paint it will be quite interesting to watch youngster Valanciunas facing lots of veterans as Scola, Gutiérrez or Leiva. We should watch a very physical game and the line should be around 158.

STAT BETS (Day One)

Nigeria - Tunisia: Al-Farouq Aminu Over 13,5 Points (1,85) Unibet. Stake 1

The young NBA SF-PF was one of the leaders of Nigeria NT, together with Ike Diogu, in Venezuela´s Olympic Qualifier. If he´s inspired he shouldn´t have any problems with tunisian deffenders. IMO the line should be around 16-17 points.

Brazil - Australia: Patty Mills Over 13,5 Points (1,85) Unibet. Stake 1

Mills have really felt the ball in Australia´s prep games. With excellent pct beyond the arc he will face Huertas and I think he´ll beat this scoring line.

Russia- Great Britain: Shved Over 10 Points (1,85) Unibet. Stake 1,5

Alexey Shved should destroy british PGS with his intense deffensive pressure and stealing skills. Probably without Mike Lenzley, either Nate Reinking or Andrew Lawrence won´t be able to stop him in open field so I expect many transitions and easy lay ups for the russian CG.

Spain - China: Marc Gasol        Under 14 points (1,85) Unibet. Stake 2

Spain - China: Juan C. Navarro Under 16 points (1,85) Unibet Stake 1


Marc Gasol has been sitting out with a shoulder injury for the last 10 days so if he finally plays against China he will see limited action. I think it´s the most valuable stat bet of the day.


Juan Carlos Navarro has been playing few minutes because of nagging foot and back injuries. I don´t think Coach Scariolo will risk at all so he won´t be playing more than 15-18 minutes.
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+0,925 Units Won.
Bitersweet day. The stat bets outcome was brilliant, though Aminu played such a bad game. Spain didn´t deffend well and a bad third quarter made impossible to win the spread bet against China. Lithuania was a total disaster and was trashed by Argentina since the very beginning. Frantic pace and crazy score.

Picks	77
Won	53		68,83%
Lost	23		29,87%
Void	1		1,30%
Stake	267
Profit	120,4
Yield	45,09%
Av. Odd	1,928052

BETTING TIPS (XXVII) INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY GAMES: LITHUANIA - ICELAND

Lithuania will play its last friendly game before the Olympics in front of its passionate fans in Vilnius. After being defeated by Russia on Sunday (101-79), Kemzura´s squad will host Iceland, such a weak opponent. 

I think we´ll see quite a comfortable win for the baltic side before heading to London. Lithuania should trash Iceland and get ready to face Argentina next Sunday.

Iceland's last EuroBasket Division B campaign was in 2009. Flash forward three years and the stakes are now considerably higher for Iceland. Starting 14 August, the national team is not embarking on a campaign to earn promotion, but to secure a place in the 24-team EuroBasket 2013. 

The Division A and B system is now defunct and everyone is given a fair chance of earning a ticket to the big stage. Such a great prize for Iceland NT that will have, once again, Jon Stefansson as the go-to player, just helped by Pavel Ermolinskij and the youngster Haukur Palsson.

Lithuania - Iceland. Lithuania -26,5 (1,83) Bet365. Stake 5

Lithuania - Iceland. Lithuania -14,5 HT (1,83) Bet365. Stake 3 (LIVEBETTING)

Lithuania - Iceland. Lithuania Over 94,5 points (1,86) Bet365. Stake 3 (LIVEBETTING)
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Lithuania 101-51 Iceland (47-31 HT) +9,22 Units


Lithuania easily cruise past Iceland since the very beginning. However they need to step up their offense and free throws percentage.

Picks	67
Won	47		70,15%
Lost	19		28,36%
Void	1		1,49%
Stake	245
Profit	117,625
Yield	48,01%
Av. Odd	1,93194

BETTING TIPS (XXVI) BELGIUM - GREAT BRITAIN

Belgium and Great Britain will clash this afternoon in Kortrijk. The British played yesterday in Belgium against Tunisia (losing 73-69) without Deng, Freeland and Lenzley. Neither Freeland nor Lenzley will play today as they got back to England to recover from their injuries. Deng is expected to play but he might see limited action as the british are quite worried about injuries as Daniel Clark picked up an ankle injury yesterday against Tunisia. So in these conditions, with all these sidelined players and the third game in four days, I think Great Britain won´t give their best today.


Belgium, on the other hand, is working for the Eurobasket 2013 qualifiers that will be starting in three weeks. The Belgian Lions managed to defeat France, Belarus and Tunisia last week by playing hard deffense. Led by PG Sam Van Rossom, they feel quite comfortable slowing down the pace.

Belgium - Great Britain. Belgium ML (2,22) Pinnacle. Stake 3 
Belgium - Great Britain. Under 144 points (1.93) Pinnacle. Stake 3
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Belgium 79-56 Great Britain & Argentina 81-86 USA (Check Our Twitter) +8,41 Units


Everything happened as expected. Chris Finch didn´t take anymore risks and decided to give a rest to some key players together with the major sidelines they had before the game. The Belgian Lions led the game since the beginning and got such a comfortable low-scoring win.

Picks	64
Won	44		68,75%
Lost	19		29,69%
Void	1		1,56%
Stake	234
Profit	108,405
Yield	46,33%
Av. Odd	1,93625

BETTING TIPS (XXV) INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES: AUSTRALIA WOMEN - BRAZIL WOMEN & FRANCE - BRAZIL

Australia - Brazil. Under 151.5 points (1.97) Pinnacle. Stake 3
Australia - Brazil. Australia -17 (1.95) Pinnacle. Stake 2

Australia and Brazil will clash this afternoon in Villeneuve D´Ascq (France) in a friendly tournament before the Olympics. The Jayco Opals trashed China yesterday (84-53) showing a great deffensive performance. 

Brazil, on the other hand, lost against France (67-57). That poor offensive performance should be changed but it will quite difficult as Brazilian Basketball Federation has confirmed that wing Iziane Castro Marques has been cut from the team for actions off the court.

Castro Marques was cut for taking her boyfriend to sleep in her hotel room for a couple of nights. She apologized for that to the team and management and asked to be take back on the squad. There was no indication the decision will be overturned.

Decision to cut her was made by the manager Hortencia and the coaching staff.

Brazil will continue to play with 11 players, because the only substitutions right now that can be made are for injury reasons.

It’s not the first time Castro Marques has had issues with Brazilian coaching staff – she got in a conflict with coaches during 2008 Olympic Qualification Tournament and was left off the NT for Beijing Olympic games.

With this major absence, Brazil offense is really turned down. We have to remind, as well, that the Jayco Opals aren´t playing with SF Penny Taylor, injured in April so I expect a lower scoring line with Australia dominating the paint with Lauren Jackson and Elizabeth Cambage.
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Australia 78-75 Brazil -5 Units


Crappy Deffensive Performance from Australia and both picks lost. The Jayco Opals started as expected (25-9 in 1stQ) but they stop deffending and let Brazilians scoring easy baskets. Lauren Jackson did not play after HT and that was a massive factor for losing both tips as Erika De Souza became unstoppable.

(LIVE BETTING PICKS) France - Brazil. France +5,5 (1,83) Bet365 Stake 5 
(Bet placed at the beginning of the 3rdQ with 41-48 and France´s TO)


(LIVE BETTING PICKS) France - Brazil. France +9,5 (1,83) Bet365 Stake 5 
(Bet placed in the last two minutes of the 3rdQ with 54-65)
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France 78-74 Brazil +8,3 Units


France completed an incredible comeback in the fourth quarter to snatch a 78-74 victory against Brazil in Strasbourg. Lifted up by De Colo & Seraphin in offense & Bokolo stealing some key balls in half-court pressure, the french team managed to defeat Brazil after trailing by eleven points at the end of the third quarter. 


Stay Tuned to Twitter for My Live Betting Picks !

Picks	61
Won	41		67,21%
Lost	19		31,15%
Void	1		1,64%
Stake	226
Profit	99,995
Yield	44,25%
Av. Odd	1,930984

BETTING TIPS (XXIV) SPAIN VS ARGENTINA

Spain - Argentina. Under 156 points (1.96) Pinnacle. Stake 2.5
Spain - Argentina. Spain -7 (1.90) Pinnacle. Stake 2

Spain  and Argentina will be clashing in La Coruña in one hour. This is the first game in Europe for Argentina after arriving a couple of days ago and they will face USA Team in Barcelona on Sunday. Tough tests for Julio Lamas´squad after its good preparation in South America. Carlos Delfino will play his first game this summer with Argentina NT as he joined the team three days ago. Luis Scola is also expected to play tonight, but we´ll see if he´s fully fit after suffering a minor knee injury last week, against Brazil.

Neither Marc Gasol nor Sergio Rodríguez will play with Spain as they are recovering from  minor injuries. As it happenned against Australia, I expect both Serge Ibaka and Reyes playing more minutes, meaning more physical intensity in Spanish frontcourt. Spain must improve their deffensive performance and overpower their opponents in the paint. The big questions will take place on Spanish backcourt...Will Rudy and Navarro be able to stop Ginóbili and Nocioni? 

Taking for granted that both teams will give their best I expect a lower scoring line and Spain should step up tonight in both fields to win this game more comfortably than expected. 
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Spain 105-85 Argentina -0,7 Units


Crazy game since the beginning. Spain smashed Argentina in a stunning first half (61-36) and the game was completely broken. Poor deffensive effort in both sides so this game can´t be taken as a serious test regarding next week´s Olympic Games.

Picks	57
Won	39		68,42%
Lost	17		29,82%
Void	1		1,75%
Stake	211
Profit	96,695
Yield	45,83%
Av. Odd	1,933509

BETTING TIPS (XXI) SPAIN VS AUSTRALIA

Spain - Australia. Under 154.5 points (1.90) Pinnacle. Stake 3

Spain will be hosting Australia tonight in Granada. The Boomers arrived yesterday in Spain after quite a long journey and will face Spain again tomorrow in Málaga. This is the toughest test for the Aussies after its training camp on the Gold Coast. Brett Brown´s squad should struggle today after their arduous journey and with the high temperatures of Granada, a far cry from the wintery conditions they left behind in Australia.


Marc Gasol won´t be able to play tonight as he´s struggling with an ankle injury. I expect both Ibaka and Reyes playing more minutes and that should mean more physical intensity in Spanish frontcourt.


Regarding last summer´s preparatory games between these two teams I expect a lower scoring line with a  very physical game in the beginning. The hot and stuffy conditions inside the Arena should affect both teams and slow down the pace.
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Spain 75-69 Australia +2,7 Units

Picks	49
Won	34		69,39%
Lost	14		28,57%
Void	1		2,04%
Stake	183,5
Profit	86,745
Yield	47,27%
Av. Odd	1,92898

BETTING TIPS (XIX) : USA - BRAZIL

Tonight USA and Brazil will clash in Washington. This game will be the second and the last one in USA for Coach Krzyzewski´s squad. Regarding last Brazilian preparatory games I expect a physical game quite similar to the game they played in Turkey, two years ago. IMO the spread is too high (should be between 20-25 points), comparing both rosters and the experience of brazilian players. Paul, James and Bryant should step up in offense while USA´s frontcourt will struggle against powerful NBA Brazilian centers.

USA - Brazil. Brazil +31.5 (1,96) Pinnacle. Stake 5

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USA 80-69 Brazil +4,8 Units

BETTING TIPS (XVIII): FRANCE VS BELARUS & SPAIN VS TUNISIA

These are my picks for tonight´s friendly games. I have to hurry and I won´t be able to explain them as I´d like...

France - Belarus. France -22.5 points (2.00) Pinnacle. Stake 3

After their disappointing loss against Belgium yesterday, where they were outrebounded, France must step up tonight. Parker will see more action and french frontcourt should overpower their rivals. They will face Belarus NT, which have arrived in France without their top Cs (Veremeenko & Parakhouski). They will rely in long-range shots of their backcourt players, specially, PGs Kudryavtsev and naturalized american CG Dante Stiggers.

Andrei Krivonos named this roster for this trip to France: Nikolai Alekseev, George Kondrusiewicz, Korshuk Denis, Alexander Kudryavtsev, Lashkevich Alexey, Nikita Meshcheryakov, Meshcheryakov Yegor, Alexander Pugstovar, Dante Stiggers, Alex Trostinetsky, Pavel Ulyanka & Charikov Sergey. 

Spain - Tunisia. Spain -28.5 points (1.85) Unibet. Stake 3

Spain will be hosting tonight Afrobasket 2011 Champions in Salamanca. After their two first games vs Great Britain and France, Scariolo´s squad will face an easier test against Tunisia. The north-african roster will not count with Salah Mejrim, its best center and player. Without his rebounding and intimidation skills in the paint, Tunisia will have poor weapons to stop both Gasol´s brothers and Ibaka. IMO Spain should smash Tunisia and the spread should be between 35-40 points.
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France 84-64 Belarus & Spain 95-56 Tunisia -0,45 Units

Picks	46
Won	31		67,39%
Lost	14		30,43%
Void	1		2,17%
Stake	172,5
Profit	76,425
Yield	44,30%
Av. Odd	1,928696