The teams that will be playing qualifying games to Eurobasket 2009 were seeded.
1. France (8th Place in Eurobasket 2007)
2. Italy (9th Place in EuroBasket 2007)
3. Portugal (9th Place in EuroBasket 2007)
4. Israel (11th Place in EuroBasket 2007)
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5. Turkey (11th Place in EuroBasket 2007)
6. Latvia (13th Place in EuroBasket 2007)
7. Serbia (13th Place in EuroBasket 2007)
8. Czech (Republic 13th Place in EuroBasket 2007)
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9. FYROM (2nd in AQT)
10. Bosnia & Herzegovina (3rd in AQT)
11. Ukraine (AQR)
12. Bulgaria (AQR)
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13. Estonia (AQR)
14. Belgium (AQR)
15. Hungary (Winner of RT)
16. Finland (Promoted from Division B )
17. Great Britain (Promoted from Division B )
The draw will be held tomorrow in Venice.
Here's hoping Gb get a good draw tommorow. Hopefully they will show the rest of europe they can be a force in the next couple of years. i will post news on the team as & when i get it
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The winners of each group, plus the three best placed runners-up will go to EuroBasket 2009. The games of the qualifying round will be played in August and September 2008. The last place will be up for grabs through an Additional Qualifying Round in the summer of 2009. Draw results:
Group A________Group B________Group C________Group D
Finland__________Latvia__________Turkey_________Czech Republic
Italy____________Portugal_________France_________Israel
Hungary_________Estonia_________Belgium________Great Britain
Bulgaria_________FYROM_______Ukraine________Bosnia & Herzegovina
Serbia
Great Britain have to do well, now we got Deng its time to step up and put us on the basketball map in time for the Olympics in 2012
Quote:New France coach Michel Gomez will not have starting point guard Tony Parker for the EuroBasket 2009 qualifying games later this year and both Boris Diaw and Ronny Turiaf are big uncertainties.
Parker, last year's NBA Finals MVP with San Antonio, just missed several games with the Spurs due to an ankle injury. He skipped the qualifying campaign for EuroBasket 2005 as well so his absence is not that surprising.
Jean-Pierre De Vincenzi, who is the technical director of the national team, said on the French Federation's website: "Tony Parker has confirmed to us his need to take a break but he will return to the French team for a new cycle the following campaign."
The status of France's versatile captain Diaw, who had back problems last year but still played at the EuroBasket in Madrid, is up in the air, while center Turiaf will be out of contract with the Los Angeles Lakers at the end of the season.
Gomez, recently appointed as coach, traveled to the United States and met all three players.
"At this point," Gomez said, "I can't say anything regarding the participation of Boris and Ronny. Regarding Boris, his franchise (Phoenix) wants to wait until the end of the season to take a decision and after, the player will decide.
"With regards to Ronny, he will become a free agent so his situation is simple. If he has a contract, he will be able to join the French national team. If he doesn't, he will not be able to join us."
Gomez, however, wanted to underline the commitment of each to the national team cause.
"At the time of our different discussions with Tony, Boris and Ronny, I came out with the understanding that these players are very attached to the national team, that they have engraved a rooster (symbol of France) on their chests and that they want to win something with the national team.
"This is very motivating."
Gomez will continue his travels to meet up with other stars based on the continent.
"In a couple of days I will go to Spain to meet Frederic Weis (Bilbao), Florent Pietrus (Estudiantes) and
"I also will see Tariq Kirksay (UNICS Kazan) and Mamoutou Diarra (PAOK)."
Gomez said he will then head back to America to hold talks with France national team players Johan Petro and Mickael Gelabale of Seattle, Yakhouba Diawara of Denver and Ian Mahinmi off San Antonio.
"I will return to the United States from March 21 to April 10 and I will go to Seattle, Austin (Texas), Chicago and Denver," he said.
Most coaches, especially in 2008 when surviving a qualifying campaign will be very difficult, would be cursing their luck if players the quality of Parker, and possibly Diaw and Turiaf, were unable to play.
But France still qualified for Serbia & Montenegro without Parker and they do have a very deep national squad.
They will, however, need to play very well after being drawn against Turkey, Ukraine and Belgium in Group C.
Only the four group winners, and the three best second-place teams will advance to Poland although there will also be one spot up for grabs at an additional qualifying round.
Source:
http://www.fibaeurope.com/coid_ORaq9kZmI...de_on.html
Quote:Italy coach Carlo Recalcati is no closer to knowing if his American-based trio of Andrea Bargnani, Marco Belinelli and Daniel Hackett will be able to play this summer after crossing the Atlantic to visit with each.
The Italians are in Group A of Division A with Serbia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Finland, and each of the four group winners and the best second-place teams will reach EuroBasket 2009 in Poland.
And Recalcati wants second-year Toronto Raptor Bargnani, Golden State Warrior Belinelli and USC Trojan Hackett to be in the mix.
"I am happy because of how I found them," Recalcati said.
"Beli is happy in the NBA even if he plays little. He knows that Golden State has refused to trade him, hence they want to invest in him.
"In fact, next summer he will be available for the summer league. Bargnani has a willingness to play for the national team, but at the end of the season he will have to face a personalized athletic and technical program.
"Bryan Colangelo, general manager of Toronto Raptors, has assured me that if Andrea had to say no to the national team, it would only be due to what the club needs or wishes."
Hackett did not play at last year's EuroBasket in Spain because of his commitments at USC, and he may not be able to play this summer for the same reason.
"The future of Hackett in the national team depends on the university programs," Recalcati said.
"His coach Tim Floyd, who has been happy with how Daniel has improved in the last year, has told me that for all the university students, August 25 is when their lessons begin.
"We will see what can be done but to have availability of players, it was already important."
http://www.fibaeurope.com/coid_P2DqIw5bH...de_on.html
I find the second paragraph of the bolded text simply unbelievable... and unacceptable.
Anyway, Portugal is in a good group imo, avoiding Serbia, Italy, Turkey and France. The chances are good. They beat Latvia in last year's Eurobasket and Estonia (although from the 2 games played until now against them they lost) and FYROM are teams that can be beaten. Groups A and C should be easy for the first 2 teams. Some uncertainty about group D (as well as B for that matter).
Quote:This year's EuroBasket 2009 qualifying round games will be hugely important for Turkey as they look to gain valuable experience before hosting the 2010 FIBA World Championship.
The country's rising star, Ersan Ilyasova, is desperate for his team to build some momentum ahead of that big event.
"We'll try to get there (Poland) next year," said Ilyasova, who turns 21 on May 15, to FIBA Europe.
"It's very important for us. I will play this summer. We'll have tough qualifying games against France and the other teams (Ukraine and Belgium)."
The Turks advanced to the quarter-final qualifying round of last year's EuroBasket under Bogdan Tanjevic but never hit their stride and made an early exit from the competition.
"The last EuroBasket wasn't successful for us," Ilyasova said. "We won just two of eight games.
"The World Championship will be in Turkey so we need to qualify (for the next EuroBasket) to get ready for that. We'll see."
Turkey have one of the youngest teams in Europe but one that has a lot of promise.
Ilyasova, who left the Milwaukee Bucks last summer to play for Barcelona, in Spain, is hoping to be a better player this summer after logging an average of 14 minutes per game in the ACB.
"I like my teammates in Spain," he said. "The organisation is unbelievable and it's very close to the NBA."
http://www.fibaeurope.com/coid_eCmWt5PrJ...de_on.html
Fixuters
20.08.2008
Italy vs. Serbia
Bulgaria vs. Hungary
23.08.2008
Finland vs. Bulgaria
Hungary vs. Italy
27.08.2008
Serbia vs. Hungary
Italy vs. Finland
30.08.2008
Bulgaria vs. Italy
Finland vs. Serbia
03.09.2008
Latvia vs. FYROM
Portugal vs. Estonia
Turkey vs. Ukraine
France vs. Belgium
Czech Republic vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina
Israel vs. Great Britain
Serbia vs. Bulgaria
Hungary vs. Finland
06.09.2008
Estonia vs.Latvia
FYROM vs. Portugal
Ukraine vs. France
Great Britain vs. Czech Republic
Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Israel
Serbia vs. Italy
Hungary vs. Bulgaria
Belgium vs. Turkey
10.09.2008
Latvia vs. Portugal
Estonia vs. FYROM
Turkey vs. France
Czech Republic vs. Israel
Great Britain vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria vs. Finland
Italy vs. Hungary
Belgium vs. Ukraine
13.09.2008
FYROM vs. Latvia
Estonia vs. Portugal
Ukraine vs. Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Czech Republic
Great Britain vs. Israel
Hungary vs. Serbia
Finland vs. Italy
Belgium vs. France
17.09.2008
Portugal vs. FYROM
Latvia vs. Estonia
France vs. Ukraine
Turkey vs. Belgium
Israel vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina
Czech Republic vs. Great Britain
Italy vs. Bulgaria
Serbia vs. Finland
20.09.2008
Portugal vs. Latvia
FYROM vs. Estonia
France vs. Turkey
Ukraine vs. Belgium
Israel vs. Czech Republic
Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Great Britain
Finland vs. Hungary
Bulgaria vs. Serbia