Basketball competition. Russian “Globtrotters” in Istanbul The Russian national team victoriously completed the EuroBasket group tournament. place - Slovenia

It was initially planned that the tournament would be hosted by Ukraine, which was unable to do so in 2015. However, ongoing instability in that country has forced FIBA ​​to reconsider its plans.

In December 2015, it became known that EuroBasket will be held in four countries at once. The preliminary round matches will take place in Finland, Israel, Romania And Turkey, and the playoff stage including the final will be organized by Türkiye in Istanbul.

It is noteworthy that in Istanbul there are two arenas - Sinan Erdem Daum with 16 thousand seats and Abdi Ipekci Arena with 12 thousand seats. The games will also take place in the capital of Finland Helsinki, in Israeli Tel Aviv and Romanian city Cluj-Napoca.

EuroBasket 2017 cities

Qualifying tournament

Türkiye, Romania, Finland And Israel got to the European Championship automatically, and for Romanian basketball players this will be the first participation in the continental championship in the last 30 years.

Spain, Lithuania, France, Serbia, Greece, Italy, Czech, Latvia And Croatia We successfully performed at the previous EuroBasket, so we also did not qualify, but received automatic tickets to the upcoming tournament.

They won in their qualifying groups Russia, Belgium, Hungary, Slovenia, Germany, Poland And Georgia.

Another four places went to the teams that took second place in their qualifying groups. This Montenegro, Iceland, Great Britain And Ukraine.

The Russian national team wins a ticket to EuroBasket 2017

Tournament format

The European Championship will begin with the group stage. The 24 teams are divided into four groups of six participants each. Based on the results of five rounds played, four teams from each group will receive tickets to the 1/16 finals. Starting from this stage, the traditional playoffs begin. The losers of the semi-finals will compete for bronze.

The group stage lineup is as follows:

Group A: Poland, Greece, France, Finland, Iceland, Slovenia.
Group B: Ukraine, Israel, Lithuania, Georgia, Italy, Germany.
Group C: Croatia, Czech Republic, Spain, Montenegro, Romania, Hungary.
Group D: Great Britain, Russia, Serbia, Latvia, Türkiye, Belgium.

All NBA players who will play at EuroBasket

De Colo and his NBA partners

The main favorite of Group A is the French team, which will be led by CSKA players Nando De Colo And Leo Westermann, as well as such NBA basketball players as Boris Diao, Evan Fournier, Geoffrey Lauvergne And Timothy Luwawu.

In addition, the French team is complemented by Barcelona players Kevin Serafin And Thomas Ertel, which will try to replace Tony Parker, who received a serious injury during last season.

The Greek team looks a little weaker, as it will not have Giannis Antetokounmpo from Milwaukee, but his older brother will be there Thanasis. Also for the Greeks we would highlight a young center Georgios Papayannis, the rights to which belong to Sacramento.

The top three strongest teams are completed by the Slovenian national team, in which the Miami defender is the undoubted leader. Goran Dragic, who has already announced that he will end his international career after EuroBasket.

The teams of Finland and Poland have approximately equal chances of clinging to the playoffs, although the Finns will have an advantage, because they will play with the support of their home crowd.

Well, the weakest squad here is the Icelanders, in whom no one believes except their fans, who are already flocking to the capital of Finland en masse.

Strong Lithuanians

In Group B, basketball players from Lithuania stand out, who became vice-champions at the last EuroBasket and, it seems, are determined to at least repeat their achievement this year.

The composition of the Lithuanian team has not undergone significant changes. Most of the players play in the strong Spanish championship, but there are also representatives of the NBA - Jonas Valanciunas, Donatas Motiejunas And Mindaugas Kuzminskas.

The German team also has a good chance of competing for medals, having experienced a separation from Dirk Nowitzki and began to build around promising Dennis Schroeder.

Italy is strong with its coach Ettore Messina and renowned advocate Marco Belinelli. What she will miss is the striker Danilo Gallinari, who broke his arm during a brawl with an opponent from the Dutch national team in a friendly match.

The Israeli national team should not be discounted either, because it will play on its native soil. Its captain, by the way, will be the Golden State newcomer. Omri Kaspi.

Georgia and Ukraine are outsiders of the sextet, although let’s not forget that the Georgian team has an NBA champion Zaza Pachulia.

Current champions

The Spanish national team is the favorite not only of Group C, but also of the entire European Championship. The composition of the current continental champions is indeed very strong. Only from the NBA they will come Pow And Marc Gazoli, Ricky Rubio, Alex Abrines, Juan And Guillermo Hernangomeza.

Let's not forget the CSKA defender Sergio Rodriguez And Juan Carlos Navarro from Barcelona. Unfortunately, I was injured Sergio Llull from Real Madrid.

The Croatian national team will try to compete with the Spaniards, in which they stand out Boyan Bogdanovich And Dario Saric.

Montenegro and the Czech Republic also have good chances to compete for getting into the top four teams in this group.

But Hungary and Romania have not achieved success in basketball for a very long time, so we are unlikely to see them in the playoffs.

Russian hopes

The composition of the Russian national team for the current EuroBasket consists of players from the national championship with the exception of Timofey Mozgov, who arrived from the Brooklyn Nets. Last NBA season, the center received little game practice, so he will have a chance to prove himself at a major international tournament.

CSKA sent six players to the national team - Vitaly Fridzon, Semyon Antonov, Andrey Vorontsevich, Dmitry Kulagin, Mikhail Kulagin And Nikita Kurbanov. We would also note the defender Alexey Shved from Khimki, who has experience playing in the NBA.

Sergei Bazarevich's team has a chance to reach the playoffs, but they are not as high as we would like. Probably, for third or fourth places we will have to fight with the Belgians and Latvians, while Great Britain needs to be beaten in any case.

This month alone, the Russian national team played nine control games, but it is very difficult to judge the team’s form only from them, because they included victories over the Germans and Finns, as well as defeats from the Poles and Serbs.

Well, the favorites of this group will be Serbia with Bogdan Bogdanovich And Boban Marjanovic, and Türkiye, the backbone of which consists of basketball players from the local championship.

Broadcasts

Matches of the European Basketball Championship can be seen live on the TV channel "Match! A game".

At the same time, the games of the Russian national team are planned to be covered by a public television channel "Match TV".

Two years ago, due to the refusal of Ukraine, which had no time for basketball, the EuroBasket had to be hastily held according to a new formula. The group tournament games took place in four countries, one of which was assigned to the playoffs. European basketball officials liked the idea so much that they decided to hold EuroBasket 2017 in the same way.

Every year - a new stadium

They left another know-how from two years ago: the group owners were allowed to take one team without drawing lots, which could attract fans to the stands. Surprisingly, Turkey chose not neighboring Greece and Lithuania, which does not always send huge troops of fans to the EuroBaskets, but Russia. On the one hand, it’s good: you won’t have to fly to the playoffs. We still need to get into this playoffs.

The author of these notes comes to Istanbul for the third time and always ends up in the new sports palace. The decisive matches of EuroBasket 2001 took place in the arena named after the journalist Abdi Ipekchi. He wasn't a basketball commentator. He died defending democratic ideals. For the 2010 World Cup, a huge sports palace was built in the largest metropolis, named after local sports functionary Sinan Erdem. It will host the EuroBasket 2017 playoff matches, and the group stage was entrusted to be hosted by Fenerbahçe Arena. It is located in the Asian part of Istanbul, and it took an hour and a half to get there from the airport. By the start of the playoffs you will have to look for a hotel closer. After all, Sinan Erdem Arena is located in the European part.

Whether it will be necessary depends on Sergei Bazarevich’s squad. No one can predict how the Russian national team will play at the EuroBasket. On the one hand, the roster includes seven proven fighters, led by NBA center Timofey Mozgov, Alexey Shved, who played in the overseas league, and Vitaly Fridzon, who made his debut with the national team back at EuroBasket 2005. On the other hand, there are certain problems with the imbalance between the “little ones” and the “big ones”. Bazarevich refused the services of Maxim Kolyushkin and Stanislav Ilnitsky, but took the Kulagin brothers to Turkey. Well, Dmitry at least had a blast with Vasily Karasev, first at Triumph and then at Zenit, before settling firmly on the bench at CSKA. Mikhail has only the same shop on his record.

Crimean Tatar with an altered passport

Most likely, Bazarevich wants to rely on variability in the attack with a light five. It will be difficult to resist the Serbs, who have three skilled centers with a height of 2.10. Although the Olympic vice-champions were also missing many stars. From the squad that played in Rio, only five people came to EuroBasket. Moreover, only Bogdan Bogdanovich can be considered the leader of the Olympic team.

The Russian team will meet with the Serbs on the second game day of the tournament. Bazarevich's EuroBasket team will begin with a battle with the hosts. If the competitions were not held in Turkey, the national team of this country could easily be considered an outsider. Local NBA stars led by Ersan Ilyasova did not come to the home championship. Although only local functionaries have the audacity to call a Crimean Tatar who grew up in Bukhara a Turk. The guy was persuaded to stay on the banks of the Bosphorus after a tour of the Uzbekistan youth team, which included the tall Arsen Ilyasov. His documents were changed, making him three years younger and indicating the city of Eskesehir as his place of birth. Surprisingly, FIBA ​​functionaries did not object to the eastern treachery.

They really counted on Ilyasova, but in the winter he changed his club to the NBA and said that he was neither physically nor mentally ready to help his native Turkish team. This was not the last trouble for the owners. Center Amer Oshik also did not arrive, and in the control game with the Montenegro national team, naturalized American Bobby Dixon, who first pulled Karsiyaka and then Fenerbahce to victories in the Turkish championship and European competition, received an unpleasant injury.

The American was naturalized before EuroBasket 2015, where he became one of the leaders of the Turkish team. They planned to enter the home championship under the name Ali Muhammad. Only the injury turned out to be so serious that until the last moment coach Ufuk Sarika could not make up his mind. All the other teams that came to Istanbul had already submitted applications, and the owners still doubted whether to include Ali Diksonovich Muhammad in it. Fierce support from the fans (fans of the basketball team Fenerbahçe stand out even against the general Turkish background) and “home” refereeing are guaranteed to the hosts, but with the current squad this may not be enough even to defeat the Russian team.

Rolling around Belgium?

The Latvian national team also seems to be a serious rival. NBA bigs Kristaps Porzingis and Davis Bertans can easily eat Mozgov alone. The potential of Janis Timma, who captained Zenit last season, is well known. The coaching staff of the Latvian national team, led by Ainars Bagatskis, even went as far as naturalizing the American “baby,” although previously the proud Baltic republic did not want to hear about it. Moreover, if the Turks took “one of their own”, Dixon, who has been playing in the national championship for a long time, then Roland Smith, who hardly even appeared in Riga, will play for the Latvian national team. He plays in the Spanish Championship for Fuenlabrada.

Belgium and Great Britain will also play in Group D. These teams have neither NBA players nor European basketball stars on their rosters. The British brought six debutants to EuroBasket. I just won’t risk saying that Bazarevich’s squad will crush these opponents like a steamroller.

The head coach of the Russian national team, Sergei Bazarevich, is not too happy about meeting the hosts. “The physical condition of the team is quite good,” TASS quotes Bazarevich. - I am not happy that we came across a team with the strongest support - the Turkish national team. I know this country firsthand, I coached and played there. Historically, they have placed highly in tournaments while playing at home. I don’t formulate a goal for the tournament for myself. You need to leave the group. From fourth place, of course, it won't be very good. In the playoffs, the Russian team is capable of beating anyone in a single game.”

The Russian team can do anything. And take any opponent to the playoffs, and lose to the nominal outsider in the group. That's the kind of team we have.

Istanbul

Calendar. Group stage

1st round. September 1. Russia - Turkey (21.00*), Belgium - Great Britain, Serbia - Latvia

2nd round. September 2. Russia - Serbia (17.00), Latvia - Belgium, UK - Turkey

3rd round. 4 September. Russia - Belgium (17.00), Latvia - Great Britain, Serbia - Türkiye

4th round. September 5. Russia - Latvia (14.15), Great Britain - Serbia, Türkiye - Belgium

5th round. September 7. Russia - Great Britain (14.30), Belgium - Serbia, Latvia - Turkey

Forecast "Sports Day by Day":

Serbia and Latvia will share the first two places, and Russia and Turkey will compete for third place. We must defeat Belgium and Great Britain. Moreover, at the group stage, Bazarevich’s team will have matches only with these opponents after a day of rest. For one of the oldest teams, such a bonus would not be out of place. It is very difficult to predict our team's performance in the playoffs. The main thing is not to get into the 1/8 finals against the Spaniards from cross-over group C. All the other representatives of this six of the Russian team are tough.

Poll: Can the sensational success of the Russian national team at the 2017 European Championship affect domestic basketball?

The victory of the Russian national team at EuroBasket 2007 will not be forgotten by any fan who watched Kirilenko, Holden and company in front of the TV. The Spaniards' golden shot in the basket overshadowed many Olympic impressions. It seemed that the next morning the country woke up sick with basketball. Alas, the virus passed without any special consequences for professional clubs. The choice of domestic basketball players is still scarce. Legionnaires still set the tone in the elite division, whatever it is called. Young Russians are going to the NBA longer than they are staying in American training camps. Don't victories really change anything? Here are the opinions of our regular experts.

Anton Ponkrashov, UNICS defender, European champion - 2007: After EuroBasket 2007, we also thought that everything would change...

Living in Russia, it is difficult to predict. After winning EuroBasket 2007 gold, the guys also discussed at one of the last team meetings that now a lot will change. We thought that after our victory it would be much better, but there were no changes as such. Of course, I want to believe in the best. I note that basketball is now broadcast on television much more. It is much easier to see the national team than in the old days, when the mass public only saw selected games. Now there is a positive trend in terms of basketball coverage. Perhaps this will help support the success of our guys at EuroBasket 2017. When parents see the broadcasts, they may have a real incentive to bring their child to a sports school and enroll them in basketball.

Andrey Fetisov, Zenit selector: They started playing more often on street courts

The victory at EuroBasket 2007 caused a surge of interest in basketball. I personally felt it while working at Sports School No. 1 of the Kalininsky District and in other basketball areas. Young people started playing basketball. They began to play more often on street venues. The great successes of the national team increase the popularity of this sport, but do not have an immediate impact on professional leagues. For modern Russian players, triumph with the national team, unfortunately, is not a dream, as it was in our days. And in any case, the game of leading Russian clubs is based on foreign players.

Stanislav Ryzhov, agent: Home World Cup is better than away victories

You asked a difficult question! It is more difficult to answer than to give a forecast for the performance of the Russian national team. I’m afraid that the specific result of EuroBasket 2017 has no direct connection with the popularity of basketball. Perhaps the gold will have some impact, but the first place for the Russian team will be a huge sensation. On the other hand, failure at the EuroBasket will not scare away those fans of Russian basketball who are available. Let me note another point. A strong performance at EuroBasket will increase Russia's chances of securing the right to host the 2023 Men's World Cup, a decision on which is due to be made in December. As far as I remember, the RFB, led by Andrei Kirilenko, is seriously interested in this project. A home World Cup would be a real breakthrough and an opportunity to popularize basketball. Such an event will undoubtedly cover the achievements of the national team somewhere on the road. Did I notice the impact of winning EuroBasket 2007? It’s better to ask outsiders about this. Are they interested in basketball? Such things are difficult to feel from the inside.

The 2017 European Women's Basketball Championship will take place in the Czech Republic. The best basketball players in Europe will compete in Prague and Hradec Kralove from June 16 to 25.

Sixteen teams take part in the European Women's Basketball Championship, which are divided into four groups:

Group A: Hungary, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Spain

Group B: Belarus, Türkiye, Slovakia, Italy

Group C: Serbia, Slovenia, France, Greece

Group D: Latvia, Belgium, Montenegro, Russia

The winner of each group advances directly to the quarter-finals, while the second and third places in each group will play in the 1/8 finals.

2017 European Women's Basketball Championship schedule:

13:30 Belarus - Italy 60:80 (16:18, 12:20, 12:26, 20:16)

13:30 Belgium- Montenegro 66:64 (25:13, 15:18, 12:15, 14:18)

16:00 Latvia - Russia 59:71 (17:12, 7:22, 19:19, 16:18)

16:00 Türkiye- Slovakia 69:58 (26:18, 19:15, 11:12, 13:13)

19:00 Serbia - Greece 60:69 (11:19, 19:16,21:18, 9:16)

21:30 Hungary - Spain 48:62 (8:18, 13:12, 10:13, 17:19)

21:30 Slovenia - France 68:70 (9:18, 24:16, 15:14, 20:22)

13:30 Slovakia- Belarus 68:59 (15:16, 17:17, 19:11, 17:15)

13:30 Montenegro - Latvia 55:76 (23:15, 14:23, 12:14, 6:24)

16:00 Russia - Belgium 75:76 FROM (15:29, 17:17, 17:15, 19:7, 7:8)

19:00 Greece - Slovenia 56:59 (14:12, 19:11, 14:21, 9:15)

19:00 Czech Republic - Hungary 70:74 (20:24, 18:14, 12:17, 20:19)

21:30 Italy - Türkiye 53:54 (17:12, 13:18, 12:15, 11:9)

21:30 France - Serbia 73:57 (15:19, 18:15, 19:9, 21:14)

13:30 Latvia - Belgium 58:62 (10:16, 23:19, 18:9, 7:18)

16:00 Belarus - Türkiye 74:88 (14:20, 23:27, 11:19, 26:22)

16:00 Serbia- Slovenia 88:69 (21:30, 23:11, 18:17, 26:11)

19:00 Montenegro - Russia 54:78 (18:21, 16:17, 15:19, 5:21)

19:00 Czech- Spain 67:63 (17:17, 11:12, 17:15, 22:19)

21:30 Slovakia - Italy 61:68 (12:16, 18:17, 13:22, 18:13)

21:30 France- Greece 70:63 (14:19, 21:11, 14:22, 21:11)

Playoffs:

1/8 finals

(25) 19:00 Ukraine - Slovakia 68:82 (16:22, 13:12, 27:23, 12:25)

(26) 19:00 Serbia - Latvia 70:75 (12:24, 20:10, 19:19, 19:22)

(27) 21:30 Italy- Hungary 49:48 (12:14, 17:7, 5:19, 15:8)

(28) 21:30 Russia - Greece 58:62 (15:19, 17:9, 4:22, 22:12)

1/4 finals

(32) 13:30 Belgium- Italy 79:66 (27:13, 19:20, 11:22, 22:11)

(30) 16:00 Türkiye - Greece 55:84 (15:10, 15:26, 10:21, 15:27)

(29) 19:00 Spain- Latvia 67:47 (27:12, 11:10, 12:14, 17:11)

(31) 21:30 France- Slovakia 67:40 (21:6, 18:18, 11:8, 17:8)

1/2 finals

19:00 Spain- Belgium 68:52 (20:11, 16:10, 16:12, 16:19)

21:30 Greece - France 55:77 (17:23, 13:12, 17:17, 8:25)

19:00 Match for 3rd place. Belgium- Greece 78:45 (24:15, 16:14, 21:7, 17:9)

21:30 Final. Spain- France 71:55 (21:18, 18:12, 17:10, 15:15)

Results of the men's EuroBasket (European Basketball Championship) 2017. All results of the championship. Results of the tournament.