FIN – Koponen hits sidelines with stress fracture

BOLOGNA (EuroBasket Division A) – One of the best stories to come out of qualifying for EuroBasket 2009 was that of Finland.

Underdogs heading into their qualifying campaign, the Finns held their own in a difficult group that included Serbia, Italy, Bulgaria and Hungary and earned a trip to the Additional Qualifying Round.

The Finns, led by coach Henrik Dettmann, ultimately lost out to France in the AQR.

But they nevertheless gave hope to basketball fans in the country that good times were on the way.

Finland, who were drawn in a ‘group of death’ against Montenegro, Italy, Latvia and Israel for this summer’s Division A campaign, now have concerns about one of their leading players heading into their EuroBasket qualifiers.

Virtus have announced that their 22-year-old sharpshooter, Petteri Koponen, has a stress fracture in his left foot.

It’s expected that the injury will sideline the star, whose NBA Draft rights are held by the Portland Trail Blazers, for four months.

Koponen was shooting nearly 40% (35 of 88) from behind the arc and averaging almost 12 points per game for Virtus, who are fifth in the Lega A.

FIBA