After an interminable double group stage, the European basketball championships finally get underway with the knockout rounds. At the starting line of the quarter-finals, Spain is presented with the role of absolute favorite. All the others chase at sidereal distances. The holders have so far lost only one match against Turkey, but it was the last match of the first group and they already had qualification in their pocket. The Red Furies are led by the Gasol brothers, Pau and Marc, NBA stars and authentic matadors under the basket. They are joined by Rudy Fernandez, guard of the Dallas Mavericks, Josè Calderon, play assistman of the Toronto Raptors and the promise Ricky Rubio, fresh from his contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Leading a squad of this caliber is the Italian Sergio Scariolo, who from next season will be busy relaunching Olimpia Milano's ambitions. The strength of the Spaniards is also highlighted by the bookmakers' scoreboards, which quote the Iberian triumph at 1,50. In the quarter-finals, the Red Furies will face a Slovenia that has been disappointing up to now. It is always a difficult team because it can count on leading stars in the European field such as Lorbek, Smodis and Lakovic. However, the Slovenians are always inconsistent and got through by the skin of the cuff, defeating Finland in a real play-off match.
The other quarter that will be played today is the one between the hosts Lithuania (whose victory is paid 6,50) and Macedonia, absolute revelation of the tournament. On paper there would be no story, but the Lithuanians played well below expectations, despite the warmth of the crowd and the presence of aces like Kaukenas, Lavrinovic, Jasikevicius and Kalnieitis. The Macedonians, literally driven by McCalebb and Ilievski, instead won an iron first round by ousting Croatia and Bosnia and in the second phase they only lost against Russia in the last shot. Tomorrow the other two quarters promise show and balance. France, Spain's first antagonist according to the bookmakers (it is given at 6,00), will face Greece. The transalpines have in Tony Parker, three times winner of the NBA title with the San Antonio Spurs, an absolute leader and a guarantee in the key moments of the match. The cockerels can also count on Joakim Noah's strength under the basket, Boris Diaw's versatility and Nicolas Batum's shooting accuracy: all three boast an important number of appearances in the NBA. The Greeks have shown good solidity, but without excelling, and are focusing above all on point guard Zisis and power forward Fotsis, a new signing from Milan with a move to the NBA and a long experience in the best European teams. The Greeks are a tough opponent and will make life difficult for Parker and company. The last quarter will be characterized by the clash between Russia and Serbia. The Russians (whose victory is paid 12.00) are driven by Kirilenko, who has been in the NBA for ten years and is known as one of the best defenders in the American league. Behind him a group of good players among whom Monja stood out above all, a small forward who has always expressed a constant performance. David Blatt's men are the only team unbeaten so far in the tournament and are aiming directly for the final against Spain. On their way there are the Serbs (15.00), certainly not masters of constancy but able to show a good collective. The Balkans do not have famous stars, but they do have a generational turnover that always produces quality young people. The points of reference are the two new signings of CSKA Moscow: the play-sniper Teodosic and the center Krstic.
Out of the first eight teams of the caliber of Italy, Germany and Türkiye. Pianigiani's boys suffered above all from the absence of a top-level point guard and a valid alternative to Bargnani. Despite the three NBA aces, a good dose of personality was also lacking in the hot stages of the matches. The new project has just begun, but above all we need new blood from our championship. The Turks failed to repeat the feat of the 2010 World Cup (played on home soil), when they reached the final and only bowed to the United States. In the first round they even defeated Spain, but in the second phase they showed an unexpected collapse, losing all their matches despite the charisma of the usual Turkoglu. Turkey's fate was decided by the play-off match against Serbia, revenge of the world semi-final, which they escaped by just one point. Germany played a decent game, taking advantage of the deadly pairing of big Kaman-Nowitzki, but there was a lack of continuity. Once the elimination matured, the Dallas phenomenon launched into a sincere self-criticism: “The youngsters were great, Chris Kaman was great. I wasn't in the shape to dominate this European Championship. It's all my fault and I'm very sorry for that." Champion on and off the field.
