[lptitle title=”Start the countdown”]
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By Nikos Varlas / varlas@eurohoops.net
The first stage of the Eurobasket is over! The 16 teams, that qualified, have already travelled to Lille and are getting ready for the knockout battles. The eight teams that didn’t make it to the next round have already returned to their home countries.
Eurohoops chose the top starting five, as it occurred from the group stage, based on their individual performance and the performance of their respective national teams.
Before introducing them, we want to make a special reference to three players, who didn’t make it to the Top 5, but they did an amazing job. One of them will not play again in the Eurobasket, the other two managed to see their teams among the top 16 in Europe.
Special reference
Dennis Schroder of the Atlanta Hawks deserves a big applause! Yes, Germany suffered a bitter elimination, yes he missed the last free throw and prevented his team from taking the game to overtime. On the other hand, he did everything he could and, with the legendary Dirk Nowitzki not playing on the top level that he used to play over the years, he was the leader and Germany’s most versatile player.
He scored 21 points, dished out six assists and grabbed 4,6 rebounds in every game. The only steady disadvantage was the big number of mistakes he made, averaging 4,8 per game.
The next player that should be mentioned is the versatile Tomas Satoransky! He ended the first stage with 13.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and the impressive 8.4 assists, being the greatest passer in the Eurobasket. At the end, Bobby Dixon deserves a big applause as well. Playing for the first time in a FIBA tournament, he had 16.2 points and 4.8 assists, but also rebounds.
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[lptitle title=”1. Milos Teodosic (Serbia)“]
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The recommendations are redundant! Every time he plays with Serbia, he wears the cape of Superman, making amazing performances. He had 13.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and seven assists. In the shots from the three-point range, he found his rhythm in the last two days. But, it’s not only about the numbers. He is the great leader, with Nemanja Bjelica on his side, and the best player of a team that played at the highest basketball level during the group stage.
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