Kori Ellis
10-28-2005, 02:25 PM
28/10/2005
FRA - Parker in style
http://www.fiba.com/pages/en/news/latest_news_article.asp?r_act_news=9725
SAN ANTONIO (FIBA World Championship 2006) - Tony Parker is back in San Antonio focusing on winning a third NBA title in four seasons but rest assured, he has one eye on next year's FIBA World Championship in Japan where he will attempt to lead France to a gold medal - and play more pranks on his Les Bleus team-mates.
One of the enduring images of the recent EuroBasket was the sight of Parker sprinting off the Belgrade Arena court and into the stands after France's bronze-medal demolition of Spain to take pictures and sing with the fans who had made the long journey to Serbia & Montenegro to watch the team reach the podium.
Parker then ran down the tunnel, smiling and singing, and entered his team's changing room, only to re-emerge quickly, sneak up behind team-mate Mickael Gelabale and pour a bottle of water over the Real Madrid player's head while he conducted an interview with a reporter.
TP is one of the top point guards in the world, considering his success with the Spurs. His national team experiences - a fourth place finish at EuroBasket 2003 followed by a bronze last September - are not too bad, either.
Maybe his relaxed nature is the 23-year-old's biggest asset. He never gets fazed.
Claude Bergeaud's decision to start veteran Antoine Rigaudeau ahead of Parker at the EuroBasket surprised everyone, with some media reporting that Parker was struggling so much that he had been lowered in the pecking order.
All Parker did was come of the bench and play, arguably, the finest basketball of any guard in the competition.
Parker's sense of humour is evident on tonyparker.net, too. When teased about San Antonio's poor form - "Four pre-season games, four losses. Tony, this is what we call consistency…" - Parker laughs.
"It is a trick!" he answers. "We let everyone believe that we are not good while we are presented as the favourite to win the championships. Thus, we lose games on purpose so our opponents will not be too motivated to play us once the season starts.
"We do the same as the French national team; we start slow to finish strong."
One thing is certain. None of France's opponents will be laughing when they have to stop Parker and France in Japan.
FRA - Parker in style
http://www.fiba.com/pages/en/news/latest_news_article.asp?r_act_news=9725
SAN ANTONIO (FIBA World Championship 2006) - Tony Parker is back in San Antonio focusing on winning a third NBA title in four seasons but rest assured, he has one eye on next year's FIBA World Championship in Japan where he will attempt to lead France to a gold medal - and play more pranks on his Les Bleus team-mates.
One of the enduring images of the recent EuroBasket was the sight of Parker sprinting off the Belgrade Arena court and into the stands after France's bronze-medal demolition of Spain to take pictures and sing with the fans who had made the long journey to Serbia & Montenegro to watch the team reach the podium.
Parker then ran down the tunnel, smiling and singing, and entered his team's changing room, only to re-emerge quickly, sneak up behind team-mate Mickael Gelabale and pour a bottle of water over the Real Madrid player's head while he conducted an interview with a reporter.
TP is one of the top point guards in the world, considering his success with the Spurs. His national team experiences - a fourth place finish at EuroBasket 2003 followed by a bronze last September - are not too bad, either.
Maybe his relaxed nature is the 23-year-old's biggest asset. He never gets fazed.
Claude Bergeaud's decision to start veteran Antoine Rigaudeau ahead of Parker at the EuroBasket surprised everyone, with some media reporting that Parker was struggling so much that he had been lowered in the pecking order.
All Parker did was come of the bench and play, arguably, the finest basketball of any guard in the competition.
Parker's sense of humour is evident on tonyparker.net, too. When teased about San Antonio's poor form - "Four pre-season games, four losses. Tony, this is what we call consistency…" - Parker laughs.
"It is a trick!" he answers. "We let everyone believe that we are not good while we are presented as the favourite to win the championships. Thus, we lose games on purpose so our opponents will not be too motivated to play us once the season starts.
"We do the same as the French national team; we start slow to finish strong."
One thing is certain. None of France's opponents will be laughing when they have to stop Parker and France in Japan.