By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
A 24 teams Eurobasket is a marathon and arguably the strongest international national teams’ tournament in the world. Despite two very notable exceptions, Team USA and Argentina, the strongest national teams in the world are European and in order to get even the ticket to next year’s world cup, there will be blood. So here are ten things that you have to know and watch for in the tournament.
1. Spain is the team to beat
Pau Gasol, Juan Carlos Navarro, Serge Ibaka and Felipe Reyes are missing, but despite their thin front line the defending champions are still the team to beat. Calderon, Rubio and Sergio Rodriguez create the best point guard trio of the tournament and the presence of Mark Gasol in the paint is regal.
2. France can do it
Tony Parker is the biggest star of the tournament and if one team can shock Spain, France has every possible tool to do it, despite also missing some key players, most notably Joakim Noah. “Les Bleus” are excepting the challenge of being Spain most important opponent and as Nicolas Batum said: “Maybe now it’s our time”,
3. Spanoulis seeking vengeance
Vasilis Spanoulis won two consecutive Euroleagues by being Olympiacos’ leader and now he has to do that with the national team. Last summer Greece failed to qualify in the Olympics by losing to Nigeria and that’s an extra motive for the team, but also for Kill Bill personally.
4. Proud hosts
Slovenia wants badly a medal and has the team to get it. However, here comes the tricky part. Specially since 2005 the rule which wanted the hosts being automatically among the favorites, or even winning Eurobasket despite improbable odds (remember Greece in 1987 and Germany in 1993), doesn’t apply. The hosts have to battle not only their opponents, but also the pressure of the home crowd, so coach Maljkovic and his players will not have an easy task.
5. Repeat
Despite getting just the fourth place in Eurobasket 2011, FYROM was the talk of the tournament. Bo McCalebb carried the team, Pero Antic signed to Olympiacos thanks to his games in Lithuania and the question is if the team can do something similar again, a.k.a. get to the quarterfinals and win a ticket to FIBA World Cup.
6. The absents
Since the middle of the summer it was evident that many top stars will skip this year’s tournament, something not unusual for a Eurobasket which doesn’t serve also a qualification tournament for Olympic games. Add Serbia’s inured Milos Teodosic to the long list of absences and you have a tournament that can’t be unpredicted, at least on the matter of World Cup qualification.
7. World Cup tickets
FIBA World championship – commonly known as Mundobasket – was revamped, it’s now called FIBA World Cup, it will be held next summer in Spain and that means that seven European teams will be present in the event, as the Spaniards already have a secured spot as the hosts. If Spain finish in the first six, then the top seven teams will reach next year’s tournament. It’s a good consolation prize for not getting a medal, or in same cases something as valuable as a medal.
8. Lietuva
Organized vibrant fans, fast paced basketball and players that are always ready to explode on the court. It’s a joy to see Lithuania play and don’t count this team out of the medals. They have two great young centers in Valanciunas and Motiejunas, a charismatic scorer in Kleiza and if their point guards do a decent job – which is not a given – they can suprise everyone.
9. Duda’s last stand
The last coach of the great Yugoslav team before the dismantle of the country, helped Serbia achieve a miracle second place in Eurobasket 2009, but since then many things have changed. Enough players decided to take the summer off, Teodosic was injured and Dusan Ivkovic said openly that he is ready to leave the team after the tournament. If he is really ready to go, he will go with a bang.
10. The surprise
If you like underdogs stories, you will love Eurobasket. There is always a team that gets to the quarterfinals while nobody expects it. So keep an eye open, specially for Bosnia (Teletovic), Georgia, Montenegro despite the absence of Nikola Pekovic, Poland and Sweden. They might surprise you.