By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Yes, we got Turkey against Serbia, but the consensus is that the group phase of the Eurobasket 2025 wasn’t as competitive as expected. There are even people suggesting that the Eurobasket should be more exclusive and cut down to 16 teams.
This is a totally wrong take.
Nothing is perfect, and yes, Cyprus feels much more at home at Eurovision than in Eurobasket, especially when on the European courts you have legends-in-the-making of the game playing like Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
However, everyone seems to forget that the last time the Eurobasket had just 16 teams was the year 2009, and rolling back to a smaller number of participating teams would drastically cut down opportunities for growth for the sport.
The counter-argument is simple: How, for example, can basketball grow in the UK when the national team is getting badly beaten in every game? The answer came from the team itself, which managed to beat Montenegro and decide the last qualification ticket to the Round of 16 in Group B, giving it to Sweden.
Depleted from injuries Czech Republic, Iceland, and Cyprus are the three teams that didn’t register a win in the tournament. Still, Iceland was really competitive; major absences are a good enough excuse for the Czech Republic and Cyprus, which got a participation spot by hosting a group, was the only team that didn’t really belong to this level.
In all major competitions of all major sports, there’s a disparity between the top-level teams and those who are considered a success by even being part of the tournament.
And even the Cyprus players put their heart and soul into the court. For their fans, that was enough for a country of less than a million, which made history just by being part of the Eurobasket.
So FIBA is providing enough opportunities for everyone, and the real question is how the local federations can improve and present good teams in major tournaments, in an day and age where Europeans are a vital part of the NBA and the level of play keeps improving.
That win by GB is for sure a vindication for the players and the coaching staff of the team. Can it turn into a spark for something more? That’s the job of the federation, and that’s the challenge for local basketball authorities all over Europe and all over the world.
Photo credit: FIBA