By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The center of European basketball this Sunday was Slovenia, where the draw for next year’s Eurobasket was held. However the real news came from the official reaction of FIBA Europe to the proposed four year competition cycle by FIBA.
According to the press release: “The FIBA Europe Board has expressed its dissatisfaction with certain aspects of the planned reform of the global calendar, decided by FIBA’s recent Central Board in Kuala Lumpur. In particular, the FIBA Europe Board, which convened in Ljubljana, Slovenia this weekend, reiterated its rejection of the FIBA proposal for a four-year cycle for EuroBasket, its flagship even and Europe’s premier basketball event. FIBA Europe believes that the two-year cycle should be maintained. The Board, in principle, agrees with the introduction of windows during the season for the National Teams competitions. FIBA Europe has decided to have a full analysis of the proposed changes, informally through a working group and seminars involving its member Federation, and formally by bringing the issue before the General Assembly next spring”.
This means that FIBA Europe doesn’t have any intention of organizing one Eurobasket every four years, meaning that European players will not get a free summer every four years. Of course, the main event of the day was the draw, which produced a very strong Group D and one of Russia, Greece, Italy or Turkey will not qualify to the second round. Here are the groups of the competition.
GROUP A
France, Great Britain, Germany, Ukraine, Belgium, Israel
GROUP B
FYROM, Lithuania, Montenegro, Bosnia, Latvia, Serbia
GROUP C
Spain, Slovenia, Croatia, Poland, Georgia Czech Republic
GROUP D
Russia, Greece, Italy, Finland, Turkey, Sweden