FIN - Dettmann: We can be as good as anybody

VILNIUS, (EuroBasket) – All good things sooner or later come to an end and that was the case for the feel-good story of EuroBasket 2011 on Monday evening.
 
After navigating their way through the extra qualifying tournament before claiming the scalps of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro to book an unexpected berth in the second round, Finland could not add a third Balkan scalp when they fell to Slovenia 67-60 on the final day of action in Vilnius.

Instead it will be Slovenia filling the last remaining quarterfinal berth with Spain now waiting for them in Wednesday’s first quarterfinal match up.
 
Having trailed by as much as 16, Finland fought back to within four points with 32 seconds remaining. But the Finns would prove to be their own worst enemy, missing two open lay-ups in the final minutes.
 
Despite the loss Finnish Head Coach Henrik Dettman was trying to remain positive. “If you look at the guys – the way they fought back…I am very proud of them.”
 
Although disappointed about missing out on what suddenly had seemed like an achievable Olympic Qualifying place, the idea of seeing an Finnish Olympic basketball team no longer sounds ridiculous.
 
Leading their prospects for a future bid are 20-year-old point guard Sasu Salin, 23-year-old Gerald Lee and 24-year-old Mikko Koivisto. All three players saw big minutes in Lithuania and will be better off from the experience.
 
However, future Olympic games are for now nothing more than a speck on the horizon. In the mean time they can turn their attention EuroBasket 2013 in Slovenia, and why not the top 10 finish that would earn them a FIBA World Championship place.
 
EuroBasket 2013 is a tournament that Dettmann will now be expecting to produce similar results in. “This [EuroBasket] is the best place to find out at what stage you are in your career and find out what you need do to improve your game. Our young guys can be better in the future if they are just willing to understand the work you need to do improve. We can be as good as anybody if we continue to work together.”

FIBA