EUROBASKET - Teams can make Olympic status update

KAUNAS (EuroBasket) – Two European teams can already pack their bags for London and a further four can now begin planning for the Olympic Qualifying tournament. But for the remainder of Europe’s basketball teams it is a long four year wait before they can have a shot at qualifying for Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
 
By qualifying for their first EuroBasket final since 1949 France has earned one of the two direct tickets to London, where they will be joined by neighbors Spain who picked up the other spot in the final in Lithuania and subsequently a spot at the 2012 Olympics.
 
For Russia, F.Y.R. of Macedonia, Lithuania and Greece planning must now begin for July 2012, when they will begin fighting it out at the Olympic qualifying tournament alongside eight other teams from around the world desperate to claim one of the three remaining Olympic spots.
 
“The Olympics is the biggest competition in basketball. Everybody wants to make it and everybody wants to go so I am just really happy,” French captain Boris Diaw told FIBA the morning following his team’s 79-71 EuroBasket semifinal victory over Russia.
 
For team mate Nicolas Batum it is the chance of a lifetime. “That’s the dream of my life to play in the Olympics and now I am going to be 23 and I can say yeh I am a big athlete. I just feel great. Walking into the stadium and waving the French flag is going to be a great moment.”
 
The comments of French players were being mirrored by the Spanish players whom they will meet in Sunday’s EuroBasket gold medal match.

“This is very special. It was difficult for Spain to qualify but finally we have reached our objective but now we need to also win this championship”, Fernando San Emeterio said ahead of the impending final.
 
Out of the other four teams who have maintained a chance of qualifying, Russia, Greece and Lithuania were in Beijing in 2008 and their fans will be expecting them to be there again in London.

But arguably the biggest incentive lies with F.Y.R. of Macedonia who have never before been to the Olympics.
 
To have even made it just this far is already an amazing feat bearing in mind some of the teams they have beaten into the top six at EuroBasket; Croatia, Greece, Slovenia and Lithuania have all fallen at the hands of this edition's surprise package.

F.Y.R of Macedonia have done what World Championship silver medallists Turkey, last year’s World Championship Semi Finalists Serbia, a German side featuring Dirk Nowitzki and 2008 Olympic participants Croatia have failed to do: grab a EuroBasket top six finish.
 
Their fairytale run to the bronze medal game here in Lithuania has already captivated their country but the meaning of what they have achieved here would be incomparable to what it would mean to their small country of just over 2 million people, should they make it all the way to London.

FIBA