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31 August, 2017
17 September
15 Timofey Mozgov (RUS)
19/09/2016
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New stars emerge, old faces return. Our Qualifiers highlights

MUNICH (FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers) - The FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers sprung any number of story-lines and plots. FIBA.com reached out to three of our men's writers to hear their personal takes. 

PERSONAL HIGHLIGHT

Dimitris Kontos: Belgium’s 5-1 record on the best defence of the Qualifiers (60.2 points per game) only tells half the story. They had to play without Axel Hervelle, Sam Van Rossom, Matt Lojeski, Pierre-Antoine Gillet and Quentin Serron, five players who combined for 47 points, 18.4 rebounds and 12.5 assists per game at FIBA EuroBasket 2015. Others would have thrown their hands up in despair, but instead veterans Jonathan Tabu, Maxime De Zeeuw and Lionel Bosco, together with coach Eddy Casteels, did a truly admirable job in incorporating the youngsters seamlessly. Belgium looked like the exact same team, playing the exact same basketball, as if the only thing that had changed was the jersey numbers on the back of the players.

Jeff Taylor: Iceland's second straight qualification. They had their backs against the wall heading into Saturday, needing a win to qualify. They fell behind by 14 points in the first half but kept plugging away and achieved the goal of making it back to European basketball's biggest party. Iceland are far from the biggest country in Europe. But their players have big hearts and they're tough. It bodes well that young players like shooting guard Martin Hermannsson and Kristofer Acox were not just a part of things this summer but also made important contributions. Hermannsson, 22, was their leading scorer in Saturday's win over Belgium with 18 points.

Igor Curkovic: Georgia and Montenegro duels in Group F were something out of a wild basketball dream. Especially the second game, the one in Montenegro. The game of the highest quality, big shot after big shot, Zaza Pachulia and Nikola Vucevic duels, the wild west fourth quarter shootout between Michael Dixon and Nemanja Vranjes, Viktor Sanikidze's clutch three-pointer from way beyond, the coaching of Bogdan Tanjevic and Ilias Zouros...Pure gold! And that was the last game of the Qualifiers, just the right thing to warm us up for FIBA EuroBasket 2017. 

BIGGEST SURPRISE OF THE QUALIFIERS

DK: It is a tie between the parity we saw throughout the competition and the cruel fate of the Netherlands. With the exception of Kosovo, who played internationally for the first time in history, and Sweden, who only played four games (rather than six) and lost three of them by an average margin of three points, there was no win-less team in the Qualifiers. The Dutch went on an impressive four-game winning streak only to lose their last game by 31 points at home and miss out at FIBA EuroBasket 2017 because their final points difference was 13 points worse than Ukraine’s. 

JT: The ease with which both Hungary and Belgium reached FIBA EuroBasket 2017. Hungary, who won all six of their games, have made it to Europe's showpiece event for the first time since 1999. Belgium were once minnows but now they are going to play at a fourth straight FIBA EuroBasket. Eddy Casteels' team already had first place locked up with a game to spare in Group G. They won without some very important players, too. Injuries deprived Belgium of point guard Sam Van Rossom and forward Pierre-Antoine Gillet so their return will help the cause.

IC: Hungary going 6-0. Adam Hanga and David Vojvoda proved to be the biggest one-two punch of the summer, providing more than 38 points per game for coach Stojan Ivkovic. Even without those two, Hungary still managed to keep their perfect record in the final match against the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, they will have something to say in their first FIBA EuroBasket since 1999. Loved the crowd at the home games, and the celebrations after their berth. Feels like the crowd and the team were a big family.  

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT  

DK: Bosnia and Herzegovina. They had more than enough talent, they had a players’ coach, they had the enthusiastic fans but yet all people will remember from their campaign is that they imploded in the home game against Russia and failed to qualify, although the result had in actual fact already been decided by the time the now infamous incident took place in the final minute. Worst of all, coach Mulaomerovic has now stepped down and it remains to be seen whether this group of players will ever play together again.

JT: While it's good to see Germany overcome their difficulties and make it back, I'm gutted with the Netherlands' near miss. A victory over the Germans on the last night would have seen them clinch first place in Group B. Everyone is going to remember their 82-51 beat-down against the Germans in Leiden over the weekend but the most costly defeat came on opening night at home to Austria when the Orange Lions fell, 75-72. The hope has to be that the setback will burn and make the players angry so they work hard and come out and have a strong qualifying campaign for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019. The loss hasn't killed Dutch basketball. It remains to be seen if it will make them stronger.


There were some high-flying moments for Bosnia and Herzegovina, but unfortunately enough to see them through to the Final Round

IC: Bosnia and Herzegovina. Not just because they failed to reach the Finals, but also because of all the off-the-court stories. Captain Mirza Teletovic leaving, the fight with Dzanan Musa, the different flight arrangement for Jusuf Nurkic, the resignation of coach Damir Mulaomerovic...it felt like that one cold summer day, but it lasted for a month in Bosnia. And this could have been a medal contender at the FIBA EuroBasket 2017, with Teletovic and Nurkic carrying the frontcourt, with steady play from veterans Nihad Djedovic and Nemanja Gordic, and the rising stars like Dzanan Musa, Njegos Sikiras, Nedim Buza...a huge opportunity wasted for B&H. 

BREAKTHROUGH PLAYER

DK: There were a lot of candidates, not least 17-year-old Dino Radoncic of Montenegro (and, crucially, of Real Madrid), but nobody can pry this unofficial award away from Luxembourg forward Alex Laurent. Because Laurent is 23 years old and averaged 19.5 points on 52.2% three-point shooting and 6.3 rebounds. And because he plays for Amicale in the Luxembourg league and these six games represented all the international action he has seen since 2014. 

JT: If the name of the game is putting the ball in the basket, Hungary's David Vojvoda did this as well as anyone. The 26-year-old shooting guard averaged 19 points per game so he gets the nod for me. Belgium had some candidates like Jean Salumu, who was 10-of-22 from the arc and played well overall, and Kevin Tumba, who was a beast down low.

IC: Klemen Prepelic and his big time plays in fourth quarters. Just when you close out the Dragic brothers, as well as Vidmar and Omic, up steps Prepelic and burns you with a triple or two. In double digits in five of his six games, and even that 6th one saw him score a couple of three-pointers and nine points. Klemen had a lot of responsibility on his shoulders once Zoran Dragic left the team, but showed that Slovenia can count on him in the future.

COMEBACK PLAYER

DK: Nikola Vucevic was every bit the big star Montenegro had missed in the last campaigns, Maciej Lampe rolled back the years and proved crucial to Poland, Timofey Mozgov was superb for Russia, but Goran Dragic gets this because he had to work harder and because he reminded everybody how when he is in the line-up Slovenia can walk the short but not easily accessible path that separates a good team from an elite team.

JT: I'm going with George Tsintsadze, not because he missed last year's EuroBasket or has been out of the national team. He gets the honour because he came back strong after last year's heartbreaking, 85-81 defeat to Lithuania in the EuroBasket Quarter-Finals. The thing is, Tsintsadze always comes back strong. He suffered a serious injury late in Georgia's EuroBasket 2011 campaign but recovered in time to help out at the next qualifying campaign. After Georgia's EuroBasket 2013 disappointment in Celje, Slovenia, when they failed to advance from the Group Phase, he helped the team reach the EuroBasket 2015. Tsintsadze's numbers were up on last summer, when he averaged 8 points, 4.3 assists, 1.2 rebounds and 0.7 steals per game. In qualifying this year, the point guard averaged 8.3 points, 6.8 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 2.2 steals.

IC: It sure is good to be Timofey Mozgov these days...winning an NBA Championship, signing the contract of a lifetime with the LA Lakers, and then leading Russia to a spot at FIBA EuroBasket 2017. These Qualifiers showed that the 30-year-old still has a lot to offer. His 12.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks came in less than 24 minutes per game.  

AT FIBA EUROBASKET 2017, LOOK OUT FOR:

DK: Russia and Slovenia. They both had a new coach this summer who managed to leave his imprint on the team and its style of play Also, their big stars showed that they are on board. Let’s not forget that Russia lost Aleksey Shed and Vitaly Fridzon to injury and still played great basketball while Slovenia played half the campaign without Zoran Dragic and still looked ruthless when it mattered.

JT: The intelligent pick is someone like Georgia, especially after they almost reached the Semi-Finals last year and finished top of their group. Belgium, Russia or even Poland would be easy picks. But thinking outside the box, what could Britain do if they were fully loaded with the return of Luol Deng and Joel Freeland, players that did not feature this summer? Add to that emerging talents like Gabriel Olesani and Teddy Okereafor and now Ben Gordon, who played for the first time this summer. If Britain can do the little things, like keep in touch with their star players and get them on board for next year and have a good preparation, why not them? They could at bare minimum advance from the Group Phase. 

IC: Would not be surprised to see Slovenia on the podium next summer. There is a lot of experience in the team, well coached by a mastermind at helm in Igor Kokoskov, and the chemistry is showing at each practice, whether they are playing the halfcourt shot challenge or perfecting a header-alley-oop to a team-mate. The same goes for Montenegro, just change the "Igor Kokoskov" part to "Bogdan Tanjevic" and read it all over again.

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