FIBA Basketball

Power Rankings: Can anybody stop the Spanish brothers?

MUNICH (FIBA EuroBasket 2017) - Here we go, one last time with the Power Rankings. Preparation games are almost over, FIBA EuroBasket 2017 is just days away!

RANK	NATION	MOVE
1			Ever since their loss to Belgium, Spain have been on fire. Their recent win over the Lions has shown that there are more brothers ready to take over, even when Gasols do retire one day. Hopefully, in about 10 or 20 years or so...the other brothers, los hermanos Hernangomez, had 34 points combined on 12-of-16 shooting. Willy is 23. Juancho is 21. Their biggest test is yet to come, on August 25 against Lithuania, but Spain will arrive strong in Cluj-Napoca and Istanbul.
2			Just a day after we put Greece ahead of Serbia in the last Power Rankings, Djordjevic's men showed us what they think of it with a 93-61 blowout against Hellas... They have lost Teodosic, but as of Aug 23 they are 7-0 in the preparation period. Without Teo, there will be more room for Bogdanovic to show us his creative side and take care of distribution, and with Raduljica out, Marjanovic will torture opposition defenses with his 2.21m frame. We could be hearing a lot of Igraj I Pobedi, even with all the absentees.
3			YOU KNOW HOW GOOD TEAM FRANCE WERE IN THEIR LAST THREE GAMES? SO GOOD, THAT THEY DESERVE CAPS LOCK IN THIS BOX. BECAUSE, THERE'S NO OTHER WAY TO EMPHASIZE HOW BIG WERE THEIR +25, +30 AND +25 WINS AGAINST THREE OTHER FIBA EUROBASKET 2017 PARTICIPANTS. Okay, done with the shouting. France are good. Really good. Fourth medal in a row at FIBA EuroBasket could be coming soon.
4			Just like their neighbors from Serbia, Croatia were also unbeaten in the preparation period when we posted this update - albeit in just four test games for Aco Petrovic and Co. Dario Saric's growth never ceases to amaze, with the rest of Group C struggling (other than Spain, of course), Croatia should get a high seed ahead of THE Round of 16. But elimination games are a problem for them, they are 2-8 in knockout games at all FIBA EuroBaskets since 1995.
5			Ugh...Greece are trying not to freak out, but with Greek Freak out, their chances of making the podium have taken a huge blow. Georgia shocked them in their own backyard, a big warning sign ahead of Group A duels in Helsinki. They should still be a lock for the Quarter-Finals, once they get there, their loads of big-game experience will have to guide them home. Home, as in "the podium", not back to Greece.
6			Latvia is yet to lose since The Unicorn joined training camp. They will have one of the most powerful starting fives (Dairis Bertans, Strelnieks, Timma, Smits, Porzingis - judging by their preparation games) at the tournament, but the bench looked solid as well, with Davis Bertans' 18 points against Lithuania. This team could be the story of FIBA EuroBasket 2017, they will be the one to avoid for all the other teams once we reach elimination phase in Istanbul.
7			Just as they were beginning to bounce back after some dismal performances in preparation games, Lithuania got the bad news. Lukas Lekavicius, the newly-signed Panathinaikos guard, has broken his foot and will not take part in FIBA EuroBasket 2017. Seems that Mantas Kalnietis will once again have to play 34 minutes per game.
8			Georgia are peaking at the right time. Hard to believe they lost to Austria in late July, they have since gone on and defeated the likes of Latvia, Lithuania, Czech Republic and Greece since. Their heartbreak loss in Round of 16 two years ago obviously gave them a lot of motivation for 2017, and a lot opposing teams will be kept quiet, with "shhh" coming from the shining duo of Shengelia and Shermadini. Make sure you shine bright in Israel and Turkey, too, Sakartvelo!
9			Slovenia have lost their footing a bit, having lost three of their last four friendly games. However, those defeats have come at the right time, coach Igor Kokoskov still has enough space to do all the fine-tuning, especially with Anthony Randolph getting better every day. (Shouldn't he change his name to Anže Randolfič?) BTW, Luka Doncic is 18, but he was their top scorer in five of seven outings...
10			Turkey have lost their matchup with Italy by 20, but have made some improvements recently. 12 Dev Adam have also built nerves of steel for their coach Ufuk Sarica and their fans, with three of their wins coming by a combined 4-points difference. That could come in handy, with the hands of some 15,000 people in Sinan Erdem Dome, once they reach the elimination phase, but they still need to catch a high seed in a group with Serbia, Porzingis Latvia, Russia, Belgium and Great Britain.
11			Even without Danilo Gallinari, Italy were still beating a lot of teams easily, but their games against Belgium (-20) and France (-25) were hard to watch for all the tifosi. The players must be saying, "ma che colpa abbiamo noi," and it really isn't all their fault. Ettore Messina is searching for a miracle, calling back previously-cut Marco Cusin to the team. That could heal the wounds on the inside and prevent blowouts.
12			Isreal are for real. Omri Casspi has warmed his shooting hand up with a couple of high-scoring games, against Slovenia and Turkey, and home-cooking could keep him warm in the Group Phase. However, they are about to face someone from Group A in the Round of 16, and looking at a duel with France or Greece without the Tel Aviv faithful behind them, Israel could be in for trouble.
13			Russia had powerful early showings against Hungary, Germany and Iceland, but even with more impressive games at the Basketball Supercup tournament in Germany, they couldn't get a single win to add to their tally. They will use the preparation-game-score-doesn't-matter-we-will-be-fine quote if you ask them about the losing streak. And they would be right. They seem to be on their way to the Round of 16, judging by their play, not scores.
14			Poland lost Maciej Lampe to injury, but are still one of the most fun teams of the preparation period. Slaughter has continued his onslaught from outside all summer long, Karnowski and Kulig are doing fine in the middle, and Ponitka can do it all for this team, even if it means hitting the stand-still three-pointers at the buzzer. They will have to be at their best day in, day out in Group A, with France, Greece, Slovenia, Finland and Iceland as their opponents.
15			Just a single win for Montenegro, going into their final test against Ukraine on Aug 25. Nikola Vucevic, Bojan Dubljevic and Tyrese Rice have been their leading scorers - no surprises there - but something is still missing in Bosa Tanjevic's squad to get them Ws. They should be safe against Romania, Hungary, even Czech Republic, but hard to see them doing any damage in Round of 16 if they keep their pre-tournament form.
16			Czech Republic should get to the Round of 16 from Group C, based on Tomas Satoransky's game-winning ability. And once they get to a rendezvous with Serbia/Latvia/Turkey/Russia/Belgium/Great Britain, seems that Satoransky would need an out-of-this-world performance to secure a second date in the elimination phase.
17			Belgium are still the team that defeated Spain, but they are also the only team that lost to Montenegro and a team that fell twice to the hands of Iceland. With their hot-and-cold form, they will have a hard time escaping a group with Serbia, Latvia, Turkey and Russia hanging around, hence - they could be the best team not to reach the Round of 16.
18			Just a single win for Group A hosts Finland in the preparation period. Read the second sentence of Belgium's profile above, and change "Serbia, Latvia, Turkey and Russia" to "France, Greece, Slovenia and Poland." Same thought applies, Round of 16 might be just a step too far...
19			Dennis Schroder scored 28 against Russia to lead Germany to their only win at the Basketball Supercup tournament in Hamburg. His 26 were not enough against Poland and 16 were way too low for Serbia. So, unless he averages 28 points per game at FIBA EuroBasket 2017, Germany could lose all their Group B games!? That would be a logical conclusion based on the premise, and Mannschaft will do their best to defy logic in Israel.
20			Good news for Hungary? They managed to win four games without their leading man Adam Hanga in the squad. Bad news for Hungary? They have only a few days left to work the newly-signed FC Barcelona swingman into the team. If all of them get on the same page by September 1, they could challenge Czech Republic for a place in the Round of 16.
21			Brace yourself. Hlinason is coming! Iceland's shooting star has scored a team-high 19 points against Lithuania, showing Valencia what they signed up for. But before he heads out to Spain, he will try to learn a lesson or two against NBA big guys from France, Greece and Slovenia. Might be a bit too soon for him to dominate, though...
22			Ukraine haven't had the best training camp in the world, and with Randle, Gladyr, Fesenko, Len unavailable this summer, their tournament might come to a fast end in Israel.
23			Great Britain's training camp has been a lot of things, but not that great. Seems like an early Brexit exit is on hands.
24			Romania had just a single win this summer, against Tunisia way back in July. They haven't defeated any European teams this summer, another try to end the drought will be in front of 10,000 fans in Cluj-Napoca. With Montenegro, Czech Republic and Hungary looking far from perfect, they could perhaps sneak in for an unlikely triumph - or even two.