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EuroBasket 2011 Logo
Wikipedia |
EuroBasket 2011 ended yesterday in Luthuania, the 37th ever tournament. The UEFA Euro Tournament of basketball places the top european nations against each other. Many people I bet didn't even know there was such a thing, let alone happening right now. Why, because it was not broadcasted on any major network, just ESPN3. You would think that NBA TV would broadcast it. Some of the NBA's best players were competing for gold. Anyway, EuroBasket 2011 was a great tournament. Here are the top storylines looking back at the tournament.
Spain Wins Second Championship in a Row
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MVP Juan Carlos Navarro
FIBA Europe/Castoria/Matthaois |
Spain came in to the tournament as a favorite to win. They had recent success in tournaments, such as the being the runner-up in the 2008 Olympics and 2010 FIBA World Championship (both times to USA) and winning the last EuroBasket in 2009. This year they had a team that looked like a champion. NBA players on the team included Pau and Marc Gasol, Rudy Fernadez, Jose Calderon, and Serge Ibaka. Jose Carlos Navarro is a former NBA player and Ricky Rubio is going to play for the T-Wolves if we have a NBA season. Spain rolled to the championship game with only one loss, a first round loss to Turkey. In the final Spain beat France convincingly 95-83. Navarro won the EuroBasket MVP with an average of 18.7 ppg, 3.0 apg, and a 46.2 shooting percentage.
Macedonia's Surprise Run
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Bo McCalebb
FIBA Europe/Castoria/Matthaoi |
When you think of european basketball you think of Spain, Russia, France, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Greece, and Serbia. Who would ever think that Macedonia, a small Eastern European country with about 2 million people living in, could have a chance to win a medal? G Bo McCalebb and F/C Pero Antic led Macedonia's squad which featured no NBA players. They breezed through the first round going 4-1, only losing to Montenegro (Montenegro's only win). In the second round they only lost to Russia, coming in second in the group. That meant they had made the knockout round. In the first knockout round game they beat Lithuania by 2. Then they faced Spain in the Semi-Finals and lost by 12. However, they still had the Bronze Medal game vs. Russia. Sadly, they lost by 4. Their performance showed how well they can play and that they are ready for the future.
+NBA Players in the Tournaments
Many NBA players participated in EuroBasket 2011. Tony Parker (San Antonio) played for France and led the tournament in scoring with 22.1. Joakim Noah, Nichalos Batum, Boris Diaw, and Kevin Seraphin also played on France. Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas) represented his home country of Germany and had 19.5 ppg and 6.6 rpg. Chris Kamen also played on Germany. Hedo Turkoglu (Orlando), Enes Kanter (Utah), and Omar Asik (Chicago) played on Turkey. NBA players on Italy were Danilo Gallinari (Denver), Andrea Bargnani (Toronto), and Marco Belinelli (New Orleans). Luol Dang (Chicago) played on Great Britain. Andrei Kirilenko (Utah) played for Russia. ZaZa Pachulia (Atlanta) played on Georgia. Goran Drajic (Houston) played on Slovenia. DJ Mbenga (New Orleans) played with Belgium. Kosta Koufos (Denver) played on Greece. Kyrylo Feresno (Utah) played on Ukraine. Also, check the Spain storyline for NBA players on Spain.
Other Notes
5th Place: Lithuania
6th Place: Greece
7th Place: Slovenia
8th Place: Serbia
