Finns not standing still this summer
HELSINKI (FIBA EuroBasket 2017) - The last thing Finland head coach Henrik Dettmann wants for the FIBA EuroBasket 2017 co-hosts is to remain idle and see opponents arriving at next year's show-piece event in Helsinki with a comparative advantage.
The Finnish capital will provide the stage for one of the four groups in the FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Group Phase, with Cluj-Napoca, Tel Aviv and Istanbul each playing host to the other three. Finland therefore do not have to go through this summer's Qualifiers or take part in any official competition in 2016 for that matter.
"Our future group opponents will spend this upcoming summer getting prepared for FIBA EuroBasket [2017]," Dettman explained. "Some of them play in the EuroBasket Qualifiers, some in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments or at the Olympic Games in Rio. So we will begin our preparations for 2017 this summer."
Dettmann has therefore invited 21 players to training camp in July and Finland have scheduled three friendly games at home. The Finns will take on Belgium in Tampere on 30 July, Germany in Helsinki on 6 August and will finally play against Sweden in Espoo, on 27 August.
| Finland 21-player squad for July training camp | |||
| Roope Ahonen | Joonas Caven | Shawn Hopkins | Shawn Huff |
| Antti Kanervo | Mikko Koivisto | Petteri Koponen | Tuukka Kotti |
| Gerald Lee | Carl Lindbom | Alexander Madsen | Lauri Markkanen |
| Oskar Michelsen | Alex Murphy | Erik Murphy | Juho Nenonen |
| Antto Nikkarinen | Matti Nuutinen | Anton Odabasi | Sasu Salin |
| Jamar Wilson | |||
Within this 21-strong list, star point guard Petteri Koponen along with wingers Sasu Salin and Shawn Huff headline an experienced core of players who participated at the last three FIBA EuroBasket tournaments, starting with the 2011 edition in Lithuania, as well as the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain.
Can't wait to play in front of our fans in Helsinki! #excited #Eurobasket2017 #susijengi #Bigthings 🏀🇫🇮
— Petteri Koponen (@KoponenPetteri) December 12, 2015
The two elder Murphy brothers, Erik and Alex, have also received the call-up with the latter leading a group of seven players who were born in or after 1993. Dettmann has left open the possibility of injecting even more young blood into the team at a latter stage, especially as he will be following closely the Finnish team at the FIBA U20 European Championship, which takes place in Helsinki in July.
"Young players becoming part of the team is part of a longer continuum. New, fresh faces coming in creates positive competition in the team," he said.
"Youth national team players are naturally focused on their respective team's FIBA European Championships and FIBA U17 World Championship games. We will evaluate their situation once their youth national team campaigns are over."
FIBA
_d088e077-15a0-448f-b143-4b4d97c09bc7.png "Junckers")
