Estonia (EST)
30/11/2014
Jeff Taylor's Eurovision
to read

Perseverance pays off for Estonia

VALENCIA (Jeff Taylor's Eurovision) - We all should have learned while growing up and playing sports about the need to be resilient and to never, ever give up.

I remember a former basketball coach trying to run us into the ground during tryouts and seeing which ones would quit, and which ones would survive.

"Never give up," he told us.

I remember other coaches talking about the need to work hard every day because eventually, it will pay off.

"Keep at it," one used to always tell me.

Well, such has been the case for Estonia's men's team.

The Baltic side, who last appeared at a EuroBasket in 2001, never gave up. They kept at it and they will be among the 24 teams at next year's Final Round.

Estonia will discover which of the four groups they are to play in when the EuroBasket draw is held at Disneyland Paris on 8 December.

The Baltic side made it to the tournament a long time ago, by winning the First Qualifying Round that was held from 1 August to 1 September 2013.

There were 13 teams that took part, including Iceland and Netherlands, two sides that would spring surprises in last summer’s 2nd Qualifying Round to also reach the EuroBasket.

In reality, Estonia's successful run to the EuroBasket began in 2012, when the team competed in a grueling, 10-game qualification campaign for EuroBasket 2013.

They won six of their games and beat both Israel and Serbia, yet missed out on the Final Round after losing a goal-differential tie-breaker to the Israelis and Serbians.

No, Estonia did not advance but did do something else.

The coaches and players grew in confidence.

"Very positive was this summer," Tiit Sokk told me at the time.

"The players' progress and motivation provided an excellent team spirit. 

"I believe that if we continue this work, we will be even stronger in the years to come. 

"As we didn’t manage to qualify to EuroBasket this year, we will work hard to make sure that next time we qualify."

And they did.

There was plenty of drama in the First Qualifying Round.

Estonia lost their first game at the Netherlands on 1 August, 74-71, but were later awarded a 20-0 victory when the Dutch team was discovered to have erroneously had a couple of naturalized players in the squad when they are allowed only one.

Sokk's team lost at home to Portugal, 72-66, in their second game but then rode their luck to a 64-63 win over the Netherlands in Tallinn, a game that saw the Netherlands' Joshua Duinker miss two free-throws just 10 seconds from the end.

Estonia improved to 3-1 and clinched first place in Group A with an 85-64 win at Portugal.

Next, they showed how mentally tough they had become.

In their two-legged Semi-Finals, Estonia lost their first game at Belarus, 76-70, but rolled to a 79-61 triumph at home to advance to the Final with a +12 goal differential.

Estonia again lost the first leg of the Final against Bulgaria in Sofia, 58-55, but in the second leg prevailed, 61-49 to win the tie with a +9 differential.

Coach Sokk had not been the only person to express enthusiasm about Estonian basketball back in 2012 after their tough qualifying campaign, when they finished just behind Israel and Serbia and missed out on the EuroBasket in Slovenia.

Estonia veteran Kristjan Kangur also spoke to me and said: "You never give up.

"It didn't turn out well for us this time, but maybe next time.

"We're never going to give up.

"We'll try again."

They persevered and in 2015, Estonia will get their reward. 

Jeff Taylor

FIBA

FIBA's columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

FIBA takes no responsibility and gives no guarantees, warranties or representations, implied or otherwise, for the content or accuracy of the content and opinion expressed in the above article.

Jeff Taylor

Jeff Taylor

Jeff Taylor, a North Carolina native and UNC Chapel Hill graduate, has been a journalist since 1990. He started covering international basketball after moving to Europe in 1996. Jeff provides insight and opinion every week about players and teams on the old continent that are causing a buzz.