By Nikos Varlas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
Every FIBA tournament has its share of dissapointments for a lot of teams… After 60 games in the first round of Eurobasket, there are already some train wrecks that shocked every one and also some others that are waiting to happen. Eurohoops helps you follow the storylines from players, teams, coaches and national federation that didn’t or probably will not end with a happy end.
ΤURKEY: Deceitful silver
The silver medal in the 2010 Mundobasket despite being was achieved under the most favorable of conditions – the Serbs are still remembering the semifinal – was once more the spark for a basketball revolution in Turkey, however three years latter nothing in the national team reminds this success.
Let’s start from the basics. Eurobasket was only months away and Turkey was waiting coach Messina’s answer. A lot of time was spend with no real time frame or a plan B on what should happen if Messina denied the offer – like he did – and the end result was everything that happened in Koper.
Coach Tanjevic is already history and the next big target for the Turkish federation is getting the wild card for the upcoming World Cup. However what the Turkish national team needs most is a detailed programming, people with know how and personality in order to build a new team and help local talent – like Kenan Sipahi – flourish. Creating a team based on NBA stars no matter in which condition they are, doesn’t bring success.
RUSSIA: Starting from scratch
After the glory years of David Blatt – and the wish of the federation to bring him back again – it’s more than clear that the Russian national team was a victim of the latest elections and the “civil” war between different factions of Russian basketball. The players are experiencing all this mess, that’s why a roster with many absences was created and now everything will start again from zero as the federation needs programming and infrastructure.
ΙSRAEL: Lack of talent
There is an ongoing question in European sport scene about the Israeli presence, despite not being a geographical part of Europe. We have an other question: What Israel, a respected basketball country because of Maccabi Tel Aviv, presented in this tournament? The answer is nothing. Other teams from all around Europe are making progress, despite having limited tradition on the sport, while Israel is at best stangnant and with no new top class talent on the pipeline from the junior teams.
FYROM: One and done
FYROM in 2011 created a masterpiece of passion, fighting spirit and we will always remember the semifinal against Spain. They achieved something great. Two years latter, they can keep up with their achievement. They lost last summer’s Olympiacs, they missed the second round this year and everyone knows at this point what’s their game.
Who can replace in the near future veteran leaders like Pero Antic and Gecevski? Probably the next talented generation from FYROM will be ready when the kinds inspired from the 2011 feat will be adults.
POLAND: Unfulfilled dreams
Marcin Gortat has stated that he was tired of losing in Eurobasket, but until the last game against Slovenia – which made no difference – he didn’t do much in order to back up his words. The magnificent front line duo of him and Lampe never worked and what we will remember will be a team which wasn’t ready for something better thn usual, which didn’t took any risk on the court and didn’t prepared anything new.
JONAS KAZLAUSKAS: Does he control him team?
Lithuania qualified to the second round, but the basketball nation of Baltic sea and coach Kazlauskas personally played with fire when Bosnia was up by 14 points. On paper they have the talent, but in reality they don’t use it like they should.
Always a gentleman, Jonas Kazlauskas doesn’t seem to be in full control of his players. It’s funny how the maverick of the team, Linas Kleiza, saved the day against Teletovic, while the young NBA front line duo seems also displeased.
ANDREA TRINKIERI: Perque?
We – more than – like him, but in two crucial games for Greece against Italy and Finland his choice went from strange to tragic. He created a team with three guards, seven forwards and only one center. In the game against Finland, which may have already destroyed the next two years for the Greek national team, he managed to make some of the worst possible rotation so far in the tournament by any team.
He decided not to use in the second half his only experienced center (Bourouris), he kept on the bench Printezis, Papanikolaou and Perperoglou and he put on the floor the older veteran of the team, Antonis Fotsis, in the 35th minute.
Why when the game was on the line, the most stable player of the Greek national team with Zisis, Perperoglou and two players who have been instrumental in the Euroleague success of Olympiacos, weren’t present?
Why Kaimakoglou seems to be always on the court, no matter his condition, Bramos despite having an off night and Mavrokefalidis who is the least capable Greek defender in switching screens?
That’s why the risk of a roster with seven forwards is turning out to be a curse. Perque Andrea?
Greece is in danger of needing a wild card in order not to miss one more big tournament, after the Olympics. There are only four with Turkey, Russia, China and Brazil being also in need of them. So here’s where the influence of Greek federation president George Vasilakopoulos may came into play. After all he chose Trinkieri and also his unexpirienced coaching stuff.