By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
In theory, at least all the teams that have made at this point should be happy – with the exception of Spain which is still considered to be above any competition in the tournament – however, ambition grows as you get closer to the goal.
And that’s the case in Istanbul in a tournament which seems pretty open at this point with two teams which in theory could have been medal contenders, France and Croatia, out of the way and everyone thinking that they can make it all the way.
Today, the two semi-finalists will be known. In one case there’s a clear favorite and in the other, we expect a real thriller.
Germany v Spain (17:45 CET/18:45 local time)
The marquee match up here is Dennis Schroder vs Ricky Rubio, but as Rubio already said, stopping Schroder is going to be a team effort. And Rubio is right. Spain is better than Germany on paper in every aspect of the game.
On the other hand, so far only Daniel Theis from the rest of the German roster has proven that he can be more than a role player supporting Dennis the menace. Spain has the Gasols, Sergio Rodriguez, the Hernangomez and remains the most battle tested unit on the court of this Eurobasket.
All the German players combined have a 130 Eurobasket games experience. For Spain, only the trio of Marc Gasol, Pau Gasol, and Juan Carlos Navarro has played so far 151 Eurobasket games, so you get the point. Leaving Spain out of the medal round will be the biggest upset in German basketball history, even bigger than winning the tournament at home back in 1993.
Basketball-wise, even if Schroder can’t be stopped, Germany doesn’t have the players to match up the Spanish front line and coach Chris Fleming, one of the best coaches in this Eurobasket, simply doesn’t have the tools to do so.
Slovenia v Latvia (20:30 CET/21:30 local time)
Slovenia is unbeaten so far, but this is going to be a real test for both teams. Latvia lost the first game of the tournament and since then remains the hottest team, playing the best basketball and emerging as a European powerhouse in the making.
The duo of Goran Dragic and Luka Doncic has to play great, but even if they do, this might not be enough against Kristaps Porzingis and company. While Slovenia is a team that needs Dragic, Doncic, and naturalized big man Anthony Randolph to be at their best in order to be effective against top opponents, Latvia’s starting five of Strelnieks, Timma, Bertans brothers and Porzingis is simply spectacular.
Every single one of those five players can shoot and run the floor. They know how to move when they don’t have the ball in their hands.
What makes things even more dramatic is the fact that this is going to be the last Eurobasket of Goran Dragic. He wants a medal with Slovenia and Latvia seems to be the biggest obstacle on his road so far. So, expect a great game with Latvia having on paper a slight edge.
(Photo credit: FIBA.basketball)