Spain - Spain´s national women´s teams top the official FIBA Europe rankings, men´s teams ranked second

From feb.es
Download source here

Spain topped the European women´s ranking, and was second in the men´s ranking, after FIBA Europe tallied the numbers of the national training leagues (in the U16, U18, and U20 categories) of 2007.

In the girls´ categories, Spain was two points ahead of the Serbia, whose team tops the men´s ranking with a slight lead.

In the group classification, Spain is only 4 points behind Serbia, which confirms that Spanish basketball has one of the top two groups of junior players in Europe.

Only the fifth place result by the boys in the junior championship (after the controversial result of the Serbia-Lithuania game) prevented Spain from the indisputable highest ranking in both categories.

In the boys´ national teams, Serbia kept its first place lead in the ranking due to the three gold medals won at European tournaments in different categories. Spain, on the other hand, went up two places (leaving France and Turkey behind and improving on their 2006 fourth place ranking), and placed second due to the two silver medals won by the U16 and U20 teams.

In the girls´ ranking, Spanish basketball kept its first place position from 2006 due to the three medals won last summer (one gold medal by the U20, and two silver medals by the U16 and U18 teams). The Serbian national teams, who went up four places, are heading up towards first place.

Six national training league teams will try and win a spot along with the best teams on the continent in the European championship tournaments this summer in the various categories.

World leaders

The summer of 2007 was absolutely successful for Spain´s national teams, as seen with the silver medals won by both the men´s and women´s senior teams at EuroBasket. In the world rankings, Spain had the most successful teams on the European continent, when you include the national senior team results to those achieved by the six training leagues. Spain placed ahead of Serbia, Russia, France and Turkey.

Sáez: “Above all, an incentive”

FEB president José Luis Sáez was more than satisfied by the results yesterday as he returned from Malta, where a FIBA assembly was held over the weekend. “This is recognition of the work we are all involved in,¨ he assured. ¨Yet, above all there has to be an incentive to keep working along the same lines.¨ Sáez reminded that from these training categories big stars will be found, along the lines of Pau Gasol, José Manuel Calderón, and company. ¨In the Spanish Federation its very clear to us how important working in the present is to prepare for the future,¨ added Sáez, ¨Therefore we are proud to see our boys and girls among the best in Europe. We are going to keep making all possible tools that facilitate growth available to them.¨

Palmi: “With the same excitement and efficiency”

FEB athletics director Ángel Palmi emphasized the, ¨Teamwork on behalf of the coaches at the national level, since at these levels they work with different players every year, and they do so with the same excitement and efficiency.¨ The FIBA Europe ranking is indisputable international recognition of the FEB method.

RANKINGS

Men
1. Serbia 111
2. SPAIN 105
3. Lithuania 96
4. Turkey 95
5. Italy 93
6. France 93
7. Greece 92
8. Croatia 89
9. Latvia 88
10. Russia 86

Women
1. SPAIN 109
2. Serbia 107
3. France 103
4. Russia 98
5. Czech Republic 91
6. Turkey 85
7. Ukraine 85
8. Italy 84
9. Belarus 80
10. Poland 78