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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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[lptitle title=”2. Adam Waczynski (Poland)“]
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He deserves it, both for the qualification and his own extraordinary presence as well. He is 26 years old and seems to play at a higher level for good! He scored 17.2 points per game with an impressive 52% from the three-point range, despite taking many shots. He does all that while he also tries to play strong defence. Unexpectedly impressive.
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[lptitle title=”3. Danilo Gallinari (Italy)“]
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He is healthy and thrives. He is the second scorer behind Pau Gasol, first in fouls drawn, with the amazing 76.9% in two-point shots. His numbers? 21 points, 7,4 rebounds and 2,6 assists. He seems determined to lead Italy to a great distinction after many years.
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[lptitle title=”4. Jan Vesely (Czech)“]
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He functioned as a steamroller in the group stage! He averaged 16.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1,2 assists and one block per game. We were expecting him to be so high in rebounds and two- point shots, but not so productive in scoring, as the opponents focus their attention on him and Satoransky. He is in a great shape.
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[lptitle title=”5. Pau Gasol (Spain)“]
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What can you say? He is always there, always the greatest, even if he is 35 years old. He is the top scorer (21.6 points per game), with eight rebounds and 2.8 assists as well, but also the top blocker. He is the ultimate leader, with a consistency at the top level that makes you applaud him.
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