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By Lefteris Moutis/ moutis@eurohoops.net
What are the power rankings for the teams that are taking part in this year’s EuroBasket? Eurohoops.net presents all the teams, based on the goal they’ve set for the tournament, and evaluates them, based on their dynamics, talent, expectations and cohesion.
The evaluation has been made strictly with basketball criteria, based on the roster and the tradition that each team has, on the experience that the players of each roster have and their performance during the friendly games.
Certainly, their presentation does not reflect our predictions for the final rankings, since the formulation of the groups and the intersections in the next stages were not taken into account in the compilation of the list.
Now it’s the turn of the teams whose aim is to advance to the group of eight and secure a place in the Olympic qualifying tournament, namely the ones that will finish from third to seventh place (16-9).
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[lptitle title=”16. Russia“]
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Russia’s power is called into question for a second EuroBasket in a row. In Slovenia, the “bear” finished in the 21st place and in this tournament they will try to avoid a similar blunder. The post-Blatt era with Evgeniy Pashutin as the head coach and without a range of stars on the roster makes the task of a dynamic return almost impossible. Kirilenko retired and is now the president of the Russian Basketball Federation. Along with him, Timofey Mozgov, Sasha Kaun, Sergey Karasev and Alexey Shved, who are players that could lead the way, are also missing. Aside from them, though, Egor Vyaltsev, Anton Ponkrashov and Evgeny Voronov are out as well and, as a result, Russia looks decimated, with the only worthy potential leaders being Ponkrashov, Andrey Vorontsevich and Sergei Monya.
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[lptitle title=”15. Belgium“]
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Belgium made a big step in order to return to the upper tier of European basketball two years ago, when they finished ninth and they seem like they can make some further progress in this tournament. They’ve never finished in the top eight after 1977, but the talented natives Sam Van Rossom, Axel Hervelle, Jonathan Tabu and Maxime De Zeeuw, along with the naturalised Matt Lojeski, can make the difference. Belgium has energy and a good perimeter, but they lack solutions and quality near the basket and this gap could prove decisive. In most of the preparation games, though, Belgium was in a very good condition, showing that they can go the extra mile.
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[lptitle title=”14. Poland“]
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Poland is one of the teams that have a clear leader in Marcin Gortat, who dominates the game and can add another dimension to their playing style, with almost everything depending on him. This time, though, the NBA star has several players with a substantial track record in European basketball on his side, showing that they can be the ideal complement to the great center. The naturalised A.J Slaughter can help a lot with his shooting ability, while Lukasz Koszarek, Mateusz Ponitka, Przemyslaw Zamojski and Damian Kulig can carry out the complementary role they’ve undertaken. Poland can advance from the first stage, but a tough knockout game awaits them right after.
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[lptitle title=”13. Georgia“]
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They’re one of the biggest underdogs of the tournament and they can make the surprise. Georgia is a very talented and deep team, which can make the big leap and get into the top eight for the first time in their history. In the friendly games they were somewhat inconsistent, but players like Zaza Pachulia, Tornike Shengelia, Manuchar Markoishvili, Giorgi Shermadini and Viktor Sanikidze guarantee that they will be ready in the beginning of the group stage. In theory, Georgia is unbalanced in the talent that they have along the perimeter and the front-line, but the experienced George Tsintsadze and the naturalised Jacob Pullen balance out the situation. Igor Kokoskov has all the talented players of the country at his disposal and they can win a knockout game for the first time in their history.
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[lptitle title=”12. Israel“]
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Since 2003, Israel has never managed to get into the top eight and claim a distinction. Then they had claimed seventh place, but that was without any further results. Now, they want to achieve something similar so they can bring off the… miracle of the Olympic qualifiers. Israel has several experienced players at the top level that can lead the way in this effort, with Omri Casspi, Lior Eliyahu and Dor Fischer standing out. The naturalised Shawn Dawson brings another dimension to their game, one that Erez Edelshtein’s players were missing. They have a talented squad, but the team, which hasn’t learned how to play and win games as if there were no tomorrow, will need to be determined and tough in the knockout games, if they want to make it any further than the first knockout stage.
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[lptitle title=”11. Czech Republic“]
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Many believe that the Czech Republic is the “dark horse” of the tournament. The Czechs have participated in only three EuroBasket competitions, finishing 12th in 1999, 13th in 2007 and 13th in 2013, but this time it seems as though their material and their talent are of a much higher quality. Jan Vesely and Tomas Satoransky offer quality, athleticism and energy that most teams in the tournament don’t have. However, apart from the naturalised Blake Schilb, who joined the team late, there is no other player with performances at the highest level that can be the leader. Nevertheless, the roles are clear and sometimes, in such tournaments, this is the most important aspect. The Czech Republic can easily qualify from their group to the knockout stage and also make the surprise and sneak into the top eight.
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