POL - ‘Twin Towers’ Lampe, Gortat give Poland possibilities

ZARAGOZA (EuroBasket 2009) – Poland appear to have two clear advantages heading into the EuroBasket.

They will be the host nation for the event which gets underway on September 7.

The Poles will also have a very mean one-two punch under the basket.

Indeed, Maciej Lampe and Marcin Gortat could end up giving Poland one of the best frontcourts in the competition.

Former NBA big man Lampe has been in terrific form of late and he led the way with 24 points in Poland’s 82-67 triumph on Tuesday over the Israelis in Seville.

Gortat, just a couple of months removed from playing in the NBA Finals with the Orlando Magic, missed a few games while nursing a minor back injury suffered in the ´Game On at the O2´event in London, but he returned to the line-up on Tuesday and had 13 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots.

Poland coach Muli Katzurin said of his Polish big men: "These are our 'twin towers'. It's a great combination."

No one is going to disagree with that assessment and certainly not Gortat.

"Maciej is very dangerous on offense while I scare rivals on defense,” Gortat said. "We understand each other almost perfectly.”

In the immediate aftermath of Poland´s win over Great Britain on August 14, when Gortat hurt his back, Poland looked like a team that would be hard-pressed to win a game. Lampe was not yet in his rhythm and there were questions about the severity of Gortat’s injury,

Now, Group D opponents Turkey, Lithuania and Bulgaria will be on full alert when they go up against the Poles.

"In the minds of every one of us is the awareness that when Marcin is on the court, it's harder for our opponents to attack the basket," said Poland's Michal Ignerski.

"We feel more confident because it puts pressure on them. This makes our defense looks better."

The possibilities are endless for Poland next month.

Anything can happen at a EuroBasket, especially for a host nation.

If Poland do advance from the group stage, maybe then they can start to dream of claiming a top-six finish.

That’s what is needed to qualify for the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

FIBA