FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers Smart Power Rankings: Volume 2

28/02/2024

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FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers Smart Power Rankings: Volume 2

MUNICH (Germany) - With the first window of the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers in the books, it's time to take stock how all 32 qualification hopefuls started their campaigns in Volume 2 of the Smart Power Rankings.

The teams were ranked taking into consideration their performances, competition system, opponent strength, and of course their previous rank in Volume 1 of the Power Rankings.

While it's still early days on the road to FIBA EuroBasket 2025, here is how the Power Rankings look after the February 2024 window.

#1 Serbia (+1)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 2-0

We have a new name at the top!

Serbia didn't mess around and finished the February window with a perfect 2-0 record and the best point differential (+28) among all 32 teams in the Qualifiers. Svetislav Pesic had a wealth of riches available to him with names such as Filip Petrusev, Marko Guduric, Luka Mitrovic, Aleksa Avramovic, Vanja Marinkovic, Dejan Davidovac, Ognjen Jaramaz, Dusan Beslac, young Nikola Djurisic, Dusan Ristic, Balsa Koprivica, Ognjen Dobric and Aleksa Radanov. They all showed up and they all balled out.

#2 France (-1)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 2-0

Unfair to bump France a spot in the Power Rankings after they just beat Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia by double figures? Maybe. But you can also read it as them being better than 30 other teams in the first window of the Qualifiers. Having been drawn to arguably the toughest group qualify from, Vincent Collet's group will feel good about themselves after creating a bit of separation between themselves and the rest of the pack in Group E.

In reality, Serbia and France could equally be #1A and #1B.

#3 Latvia (+5)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 2-0

Haven't you heard? Latvia are the hottest team in the world!

These aren't just words, these are facts. The Baltic side are 23-3 since Luca Banchi took over in March 2021 and that gives them the best record in the world. Yes, the whole world. The most impressive thing is that the list of teams they have beaten, including Spain twice.

#4 Greece (0)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 2-0

The Vassilis Spanoulis era in the national team got off to a good start. Greece had to work (extra) hard to avoid defeat in the Hague, but they managed to do so, unlike many of the traditional powerhouses in the Qualifiers.

The numbers for Greece in this window are as follows: two wins, zero defeats and one new star, Vassilis Toliopoulos.

#5 Italy (+1)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 2-0

What's your definition of a perfect window?

2-0? Check!
Avoid drama? Check!
Get some young guns on the court? Check!

Whatever the definition may be, looks like Gianmarco Pozzecco's men had just that - a perfect window.

#6 Slovenia (+4)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 2-0

Who needs Luka, when you have Klemen Prepelic balling out? The Basketball Champions League star scored 51 points in the two games against Ukraine and Israel to brush aside any talks that Slovenia might struggle to defend the top spot in Group A. All things considered, it was a solid window for Aleksander Sekulic's men, as they set a solid foundation for the rest of the qualifying campaign.

#7 Belgium (+10)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 2-0

If you ever need to make an international call to Madrid, ask Belgium. They have Spain's number. The Lions were the only team to defeat Sergio Scariolo's side when they went on to win FIBA EuroBasket 2022, and they've just only gone and done it again. Retin Obasohan added a few more ankle breakers into his collection, while Pierre-Antoine Gillet is probably checking his inbox, waiting for a sponsorship deal from a certain razor blade brand. All in all, that's an A+ window for Belgium.

#8 Lithuania (-3)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 1-1

Let that sink in: if the Qualifiers ended today, Lithuania would not make the cut.

The hype was up after Lithuania took care of business against Poland at home, but it was very short-lived, as Kazys Maksvytis' side lost the Baltic bragging rights to Estonia a few days later. Up next? Two games against North Macedonia in the November window, with Lithuania already transitioning to must-win mode. We've seen this story before, haven't we?

# 9 Germany (-2)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 1-1

Dominant in the opener against Montenegro, Germany were... less dominant against Bulgaria. Ranking the world champions JUST seventh in the first edition of the Power Rankings raised some eyebrows, but their stock took a further hit following the sensational defeat in Botevgrad. No one's ringing the alarm yet in the Germany camp, but it'll serve as good motivation before the double-header against Sweden in November.

#10 Estonia (+12)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 2-0

New achievement unlocked for Estonia, as they registered their first-ever win over Baltic giants Lithuania and ended the first window as undisputed Group H leaders with a perfect 2-0 record, something only the most dedicated Estonian fans could have predicted. The sun is shining in Tallinn, even if just figuratively. They will have a chance to continue their momentum with back-to-back games against Poland, now bottom of the group, in the November window.

#11 Spain (-8)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 0-2

It was nice to see Ricky Rubio playing basketball again, but his return was overshadowed by the reigning EuroBasket champions dropping BOTH of their games in the February window. Losing to tough opponents like Latvia or Belgium is by no means the end of the world, but going 0-2 will surely send shockwaves in a country that has become so accustomed to winning. Don't hit the panic button yet, with two games against Slovakia next in November.

#12 Czechia (-3)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 1-1

Tomas Satoransky can't do it all by himself. Tomas Satoransky can do it all by himself, just maybe not against everyone. Czechs couldn't get the road upset against Greece, but a 21-point and 10-assist double-double from Satoransky got the job done against Team GB. A slight move down in the Power Ranking for Czechia, with Jan Vesely not available. His potential return would be a massive boost, both in real life and in our Power Rankings.

#13 Croatia (0)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 1-1

If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it's probably a duck.

Everyone painted the situation in Group E as a two-horse race between BIH and Croatia for the second qualification ticket and it's looking exactly like that, with France off to a flying start. The Balkan neighbors meet in November for what might be the most intense pair of back-to-back games in Qualifiers history.

#14 Turkiye (-3)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 1-1

Turkiye were seconds away from falling to 0-2, but national team debutant Tarik Biberovic took matters into his own hands and got the job done with an ice-cold game-winner. He has probably been the biggest revelation of the February window and his performances airbrush a less-than-convincing showing by Turkiye. The group with Italy, Iceland and Hungary looks like a minefield and coach Ergin Ataman's side cannot afford to relax, despite dodging a bullet against Iceland.

#15 Montenegro (+1)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 1-1

It has been a window of extremes for Montenegro: +25 versus Sweden; -24 versus Germany. The truth lies somewhere in between.

#16 Bosnia and Herzegovina (+2)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 1-1

If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it's probably a duck.

#17 Israel (-2)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 1-1

One might argue that a 1-1 record after the first window is roughly in line with the expectations for Israel, who have young Yam Madar growing into his role as the go-to man of the national team. But that doesn't fails to take into consideration that Israel were a whisker away from losing not only to group favorites Slovenia, but also to Portugal. Two hugely important games await against Ukraine in the next window.

#18 Finland (+1)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 1-1

They might be qualified directly, but they're certainly not making life easy for their group opponents. Finland went blow for blow with Serbia for three quarters and then completed a 21-point turnaround against Denmark to come away from the first window with a 1-1 record. Mikael Jantunen and Elias Valtonen will be the ones to watch for Finland throughout the Qualifiers.

#19 Iceland (+6)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 1-1

Iceland were seconds (and some Tarik Biberovic magic) away from a perfect start to the Qualifiers. Getting the win in the all-important clash with Hungary already made the February window a success, but coming close to beat Turkiye in front of over 13,000 spectators would have been the cherry on the top. Name a better trio than Martin Hermannsson, Tryggvi Hlinason and Elvar Fridriksson. We'll wait.

#20 Denmark (+1)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 1-1

To qualify for FIBA EuroBasket 2025, Denmark need to finish above one of Georgia and Serbia. They are currently above one of Georgia and Serbia in the standings. Topping Georgia in the opener even without Shavon Shields was massive. Blowing a 17-point lead against Finland is far from ideal and they would have much preferred to be 2-0 at this point in time, but Window 1 has still been a job well done for Iffe Lundberg and teammates. We already used up most of the Danish hype tokens in the first Power Rankings, hence only a modest jump in Volume 2.

#21 Bulgaria (+8)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 1-1

Who had Bulgaria beating world champions Germany on their bingo cards?

One person who (probably) did was Codi Miller-McIntyre, who just went and made it happen. Rosen Barchovski's side has become a real boogeyman for some of the top European teams, having also punished Latvia in the last qualifying campaign. Beating the world champs is nice, losing to fellow qualification rivals Sweden is less nice.

#22 Poland (-10)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 0-2

They played one really solid half of basketball against Lithuania and then things fell apart. The fact that Mateusz Ponitka was unavailable for the second game should be mentioned. It's a good thing Poland are qualified as co-hosts, because if you checked out Group H standings, they're very much bottom of the group having lost both games with a combined point differential of -44.

#23 Georgia (-9)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 0-2

Realistically, Georgian hopes of qualifying for the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 rest on finishing ahead of Denmark in Group G. Those hopes didn't get off to a good start, as they lost to... you guessed it, Denmark. Down 0-2 after February, the only silver lining is a manageable six-point margin of defeat versus the Danes, and the fact that Denmark didn't pick up a win on the road in Finland.

#24 North Macedonia (+4)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 1-1

In the 80 minutes across the two February games, North Macedonia held a lead for over 54 minutes (20:16 vs Estonia; 33:52 vs Poland) and come away with a 1-1 record to show for it. They would have prefered the win to come against qualification rivals Estonia rather than the already qualified hosts Poland, but they'll surely take it. One thing that's for sure is that the one-two punch of Nenad Dimitrijevic and Ethan Happ will be a handful every time they step on the court together.

#25 Sweden (-1)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 1-1

The good: A convincing win over Bulgaria.
The bad: A resounding defeat against Montenegro.

You could say things are going somewhat expectedly for Sweden, except for the fact that Bulgaria actually played a joker in the qualification race by beating world champions Germany. Your move, Sweden!

#26 Great Britain (+1)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 1-1

They were one spot below the Netherlands in the FIBA World Ranking, presented by Nike and in our Power Rankings before the window. But they are now ahead where it matters - the Group F standings in the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers.

#27 Portugal (+3)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 1-1

Portugal just celebrated their first win in the EuroBasket Qualifiers in over seven years; 2,717 days to be specific. That's more than enough to mark this window as a success, especially considering they actually had a shot to win the first game against Israel too. They're moving on up!

#28 Ukraine (-8)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 0-2

Two disappointing defeats put Ukraine bottom of Group A, with the loss to Portugal particularly painful. While 0-2 is not where a team that finished 11th at FIBA EuroBasket 2022 would like to be, the situation isn't completely out of control yet, especially with the small margin of defeat in the second game. The one positive has been the eye-opening play of 21-year-old Oleksandr Kovliar, who averaged 23.0 points and 8.0 assists and made a mark as one of the top rising stars in the competition.

#29 Hungary (-6)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 0-2

Remember when we said Hungary must be nervous about facing Iceland in the opening game? Surely, they will be feeling even more nervous now after going 0-2 in the February window and perhaps most importantly dropping that first head-to-head game to the Icelanders. However, the five-point margin is manageable. Nothing a good window against Turkiye in November can't fix, but at this point Hungary are looking at the EuroBasket from the outside in.

#30 Netherlands (-4)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 0-2

They were one spot ahead of Great Britain in the FIBA World Ranking, presented by Nike and in our Power Rankings before the window. But they are now behind them where it matters - the Group F standings in the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers.

They do deserve credit for how they fought against Greece, but dropping the game to Great Britain sends them tumbling down the Power Rankings as well.

#31 Slovakia (0)

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers record: 0-2

The good: Slovakia have matched the record of EuroBasket champions Spain in the first two games.

The bad: Spain have lost both of their games.

One sneaky win over Sergio Scariolo's side in November could be seismic. On the flip side, and perhaps more realistically, losing twice to Spain could spell an early end of their campaign.