Confident Poland eager to tackle Helsinki challenge, says Taylor

ISTANBUL (FIBA EuroBasket 2017) – Poland head coach Mike Taylor did not pop open the champagne, but was visibly satisfied in the wake of the FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Draw on Tuesday that pitted his team against heavyweights France, Greece, Slovenia as well as Iceland and hosts Finland in Group A, which will be hosted in Helsinki. The American coach has the utmost respect for all five opponents, but also a great amount of confidence in his troops.

"We are a team on the rise and we've got the potential to be successful at FIBA EuroBasket 2017." - Mike Taylor

"We've played all these teams over the last few years, with the exception of Greece. So we know these teams well, we respect them but we're going to put all the focus on ourselves. After the last three years I have a lot of confidence and belief in our guys.

"We are a team on the rise and we've got the potential to be successful at FIBA EuroBasket 2017. We have a clear direction after the draw and we are looking forward to the challenges in Helsinki. We can take confidence from what we've done so far and we have good feelings about it but at the end of the day you have to prepare yourself to compete on the court in Helsinki."

Poland reached the Round of 16 last time around, at FIBA EuroBasket 2015, but they drew the short straw in Lille as they crossed paths with eventual champions Spain and their bid to advance to the Quarter-Finals came to an end. They followed up however with a strong showing in last summer's qualification campaign to top Group D on a 5-1 record.

"The credit goes to the players and to the coaching staff," Taylor said. "We've built up a good core during my tenure, I am really proud of them for this summer because we lost some guys but the rest of the team rallied together and we played well, we put ourselves in a position to finish in first place and finished really strong with a great performance in Estonia.

"We brought back Maciej Lampe after he was away for a few years and he fit in really well with the team. We hope to have some of the pieces back, we are in a very good place and we want to take the next step. We have a lot of hard work ahead but we are looking forward to the opportunities."

In addition to losing talisman center Marcin Gortat who decided to retire from international duty, Poland also played last summer without rising star Przemyslaw Karnowski and power forward Damian Kulig. Coach Taylor has left open the possibility that some of the absentees return in the mix for FIBA Eurobasket 2017.

"During the last three years we have continuously moved forward and all the credit goes to the players, I am really proud of them for their hard work and sacrifice. It is because of them that I have so much confidence going into EuroBasket 2017." - Mike Taylor

"So much can change over the course of the build-up to EuroBasket, that you try to give yourself options and want to keep as many options open as possible and make the right decisions at the right time," the Poland coach said.

"That time will be in July, when we come together for training camp, to make those decisions and put together the strongest team we can. You always want to welcome back your most experienced, your veteran players while at the same time you are on the look-out for when the next generation players can assert themselves.

"During the last three years we have continuously moved forward and all the credit goes to the players, I am really proud of them for their hard work and sacrifice. It is because of them that I have so much confidence going into EuroBasket 2017."

All teams that were drawn in the Helsinki group will of course get to face Finland in front of their famously enthusiastic fans, but Taylor believes the proximity to Poland could allow his team to count on a sizeable contingent of fans in red-and-white.

"The fans have been tremendous in my three years in Poland with the way they have supported the team," the American tactician said. "We hope it can be a short trip across the Baltic sea and we can get a great turnout. We know that Finnish fans are fantastic, we know that Iceland fans will travel in numbers, so we hope that we too will receive the same amount of support from our Polish fans. We will put our hearts into it and do everything we can to make them proud."

FIBA