RIGA (Latvia) - In 2009, Finland did not qualify for FIBA EuroBasket in Poland. Turns out, it was the best possible thing for them, as it ignited a spark which has set them on an upwards trajectory since.
They made the sweet 16 phase in FIBA EuroBasket 2015, finishing 16th. Then, two years later, another improvement and an 11th place finish, with Lauri Markkanen introducing himself to the world.
In 2022, it was time for another step forward. First with 5,000 traveling fans for the Group Phase in Prague, then with a massive 43-point Markkanen outburst to defeat Croatia and reach the Quarter-Finals for the first time ever.
It's nice making history, but you want to continue making it.
Now, they are in the Semi-Finals. From not qualifying for EuroBasket to being a top four team in Europe in a span of 16 years.
"Basketball wasn't so big and people were not so interested," Finland coach Lassi Tuovi started explaining the backstory.
"So for those people who have been working all these years to build this, I'm very happy."
One of those certainly is Henrik Dettmann, the 67-year-old architect of all the changes that have taken place in modern Finnish basketball, who coached the team from 1992 to 1997, then again from 2004 to 2022.
"We invested so much of our efforts into coaches, their education and development. It paid off, even faster than I could've imagined it. We were also lucky that new young talented coaches showed up. That's what it's all about, finding people with qualities and attracting them into your sport," Dettmann said to MeridianSport after Finland defeated Serbia in the Round of 16.
The young coaches he's talking about?
Lassi Tuovi, of course, at 38 years and 251 days old, the youngest coach to reach the Semi-Finals since Moncho Lopez (34y 65d) did it with Spain in 2003.
The other youngster? A certain Tuomas Iisalo, current head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA.
To say they have some similarities would be an understatement. Three main areas of this revolution on the court: rhythm, offensive rebounding and three-point shooting.
The rhythm part is not only related to speed itself. It's also including the spike dribbles, the Corey Maggette cuts, basically no standing around in triple threats - just charge and catch the defense flat footed.
"We try to keep the game very fast," 34-year-old Sasu Salin said, then in true Sasu fashion, adding a joke.
"We have guys - I'm the slowest so I can say 'we' have guys - who are capable of doing that."
The offensive rebounding bit is related to their size, as coach Tuovi loves using Miikka Muurinen, Mikael Jantunen and Lauri Markkanen together on the floor.
But it's also about the mentality to go for every offensive rebound available, with three or even four guys at the same time.
No wonder Finland grab 14.6 offensive boards per game, second only to France (15.2) in the entire EuroBasket.
And no surprise, when you consider some other competitions, such as the Basketball Champions League in seasons 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23, or the EuroCup in 2023-24, when SIG Strasbourg, Telekom Baskets Bonn and Paris Basketball, respectively, were among the top three offensive rebounding teams.
Why are we mentioning this? Well, of course, because Lassi Tuovi (Strasbourg 2020-22) and Tuomas Iisalo (Bonn, Paris 2022-24) were at the helm. It's not a coincidence, it's an identity.
And an attitude of those big guys, too.
"These guys coming to the national team, Muurinen and Markkanen before him, they don't put any limits to their style, how they play, how our team is going to do," Salin was amazed with his younger teammates.
"Before the tournament they were saying we're going to the medal games. As an old guy who's been to five EuroBaskets, I told them it's not gonna be like that, it's not gonna be easy against all those great teams. At the moment, we are one of those great teams, as well."
Finally, it's the most obvious part of the revolution. Three-point shooting where everybody has the green light to fire away. But there's a method to it, too.
"That's actually the strength of the group," coach Tuovi offered.
"You don't make 10 threes in the first half just because we're good at shooting. It's because you know the guy will pass the ball, and the next time you'll pass it back. It's pretty simple, but it takes a lot of trust and time together to build it."
Rhythm, rebounding, shooting. Nothing easier than falling in love with that style of basketball.
Actually, scratch that. It's easier to fall in love when you see them off the court.
"I don't know about the screaming and slapping, but we got a crazy captain who thought it was a good idea. Apparently it works, so I'm not saying anything against it, but I don't know where that idea came from," Jantunen talked about the pre-game ritual.
"We played so late in the tournament in the Group Phase. That was just kinda to wake everybody up," Markkanen added.
The slapping is not done yet. Two more games.
"We really wanna do something big," Sasu Salin said.
"Everybody is happy, but we still can make more history. We've got the most important game of Finnish basketball on Friday. It's nice making history, but you wanna continue making it," Mikael Jantunen added.
"I'm extremely excited to play a do-or-die game with this group. It's been fun. It's going to be fun on Friday. Step by step," Lassi Tuovi finished.
FIBA