The qualifying rounds of Eurobasket 2015 are now complete and next year’s big event has a different feel to it with a returning team and a debutant.
Bosnia & Herzegovina, Belgium, Israel and Latvia were assured of qualification on the penultimate day of matches and finished top of their respective groups with Georgia, Poland and Italy the other group winners.
With six of the best runners-up out of seven to be determined there was joy for many teams but for one, there was heartbreak. That unfortunately fell to Romania, who missed out on qualification as the weakest second-placed team.
But with six of the best runners-up determined, two nations stand out in that list: Netherlands, who qualify for their first Eurobasket since 1989 and Iceland, who were classed as Group A’s minnows at the start of the qualifying campaign. The Nordic nation makes its first ever appearance at a European championship.
FYR of Macedonia, Russia, Germany and Czech Republic are the other sides that have qualified as runners-up.
The 10 European nations that will be competing in this weekend’s FIBA World Cup are automatically assured of a Eurobasket place, as are Estonia; who qualified in the 1st round of qualifiers.
EuroBasket 2015 field:
France (champions)
Lithuania
Spain
Croatia
Slovenia
Ukraine
Serbia
Greece
Turkey
Finland
Estonia
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Iceland
Belgium
FYR of Macedonia
Israel
Netherlands
Poland
Germany
Latvia
Czech Republic
Georgia
Italy
Russia
