By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
There are still more than 20 days before the start of the upcoming Eurobasket, but we already know the final roster of the French national team. After the end of the Sunday’s game against Greece, coach Vincent Collet announced that his 12 players in Slovenia will be Parker, Heurtel, Diot, Batum, De Colo, Gelabale, Kahudi, Diaw, Pietrus, Ajinca, Petro and Lauvergne, a mix of young and old.
As for the game, Greece got the impressive 79-67 road win with Mavrokefalidis (photo) scoring 18 points despite its problems. As coach Andrea Trinchieri said: “We are still waiting on Spanoulis, Bourousis and Leonidas Kaimakoglou. I know his name is not Leonidas (ed.note: it’s Kostas) but he fights like Leonidas”. In the first game of the day at the tournament of Strasbourg, which was won by unbeaten (3-0) Greece, Germany surprised everyone and beat talented but inconsistent Croatia 73-63 as Heiko Schaffartzik scored 21 points.
In Belgrade, Turkey got its first win in preparation games by beating Ukraine 72-64 as Ersan Ilyasova had 17 points. In its home court, however, it was Serbia which got the spotlight with a 91-66 win. Nenad Krstic (16 p., 10 r.) and Nemanja Nedovic (20 p.) were the main attraction. Τhe hosts won the Belgrade tournament and Krstic was named the MVP. Also in London, Great Britain beat a version of Puerto Rico’s national team which didn’t include the marquee stars of the country by six points (61-55).