By Lefteris Moutis/ moutis@eurohoops.net
In the recent Eurobasket, several conclusions emerged and one of them will constitute a guide for every team in the future. Don’t win all the matches in the group stage!
In Lille’s final, it will be Lithuania, which lost to Belgium in the first phase and finished first thanks to their win against the Czech Republic n overtime in the last match of the group phase, and Spain which finished second, after being defeated by both Serbia and Italy! “La Furias Rohas” would have finished third in the group, if Turkey hadn’t beaten Iceland in overtime.
The three undefeated teams in the group stage were decimated, denying the expectations they had created before and in the beginning of the tournament. Greece finished the group stage with a 5-0 record (the same as last year’s Mundobasket) and was eliminated from Spain in the quarter-finals.
Serbia was undefeated in the “group of death” (Spain, Italy, Germany, Turkey, Iceland) and easily reached the semi-finals with victories against Finland and the Czech Republic, but lost to Lithuania in the first difficult knockout match. Respectively, France easily beat all their matches in the group stage, along with the knockout matches against Turkey and Israel, but they were defeated by Spain in the semi-final.
However, this phenomenon is not a unique one, but it’s the rule of the last five Eurobasket! In 2013, France lost to Germany in the opening game, in 2011 Spain were defeated by Turkey, in 2009 Spain lost to Serbia and finished third, in 2007 Russia lost to Spain in the second round of the group stage and in 2005 Greece were defeated by Slovenia.
All in all, the last undefeated European champion was Lithuania in 2003!
European coaches, let your players lose in the first phase!