The winner of the two-week tournament in the eastern Italian town of Chieti
will qualify directly for the 2008 Olympic Games, along with hosts China and
World Champion Australia.
The teams that come in second through fifth will advance to a 12-team pre-Olympic
Qualifying tournament planned for June 2008, when the final five Olympic
berths will be determined. That event will include teams from around the world, and should, for example, the United States not win the FIBA Americas tournament, the U.S. team would have a second chance next summer.
The Czechs won two years ago in Turkey when Eva Nemcova's three-pointer
with eight seconds left defeated Russia, 72-70 victory – which was a rematch
2003 final, which Russia won. Nemcova finished with 18 points in sparking a 14-point second half comeback, but the veteran will not be around in Italy to help Jan Bobrovsky's team. The Czechs instead will rely on the experience of eight players returning
from 2005's undefeated team, including Hana Machova plus
future star Katerina Elhotova. The 17-year-old wunderkind played
for USK Prague in the EuroLeague last season and comes to the EuroBasket
after leading the Czechs to a seventh-place showing at the Under-19 World
Championship with team highs of 16.1 ppg and 2.3 spg as well as 4.9
rpg and 2.7 apg.
The Czechs, however, do not have European history on their side. No team has
repeated as champs since the collapse of the Soviet Union, which won all 17
titles between 1960 and 1991, and 21 out of 22 from 1950. And the team most capable of dethroning the Czech Republic, and returning to the
zenith of Europe is Russia, which by far has the most talent in the
tournament.
Remember, Igor Grudin's women knocked off the United States in the semifinals of last
summer's World Championships in Brazil before losing to Lauren Jackson,
Penny Taylor and Australia in the gold medal game. Grudin's top gunners Mario Stepanova (her sixth EuroBasket Women), Ilona
Korstin, Oxana Rahmatulina, Tatiana Schegoleva and Svetlana Abrosimova of
the Minnesota Lynx are all back for another run -- this time for European
gold and an Olympic berth.
Eight of Russia's players come from European giants CSKA Samara and
EuroLeague Women and Russian Superleague champs Spartak Moscow Region (who
along with American stars Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Tina Thompson and Ticha Penicheiro beat Samara in the best of five Superleague final, and in the
semifinal of the EuroLeague Women).
The Russians also has a history of success: they have collected hardware from the past four Europe tournaments (2005
silver, 2003 gold, 2001 silver and 1999 bronze). But the European power has
been drawn into a tough Group C with France, Greece and host Ital,y which
will show early on how strong Russia is.
The defensive-minded French, meanwhile, should challenge for a podium finish
after knocking off Russia, the Czech Republic (twice) and Lithuania while
finishing fifth at last summer's World Championship.
Coach Jacques Commeres did see Nathalie Lesdema retire from the team but
Edwige Lawson, the CSKA Samara point guard who has played in three straight
EuroLeague Women Final Fours, will lead the squad. The French chances will also rely on good play from Celine Dumerc, Sandra Le Drean and
20-year-old post presence Sandrine Gruda, who was the FIBA Europe Young
Player of the Year and leads a new generation of players for Les Bleus,
who are trying to win a European title for the first time since 2001, when
they hosted the event.
Another team with high goals is Spain, which won bronze in 2001, 2003 and
2005. Los Angeles Sparks star Marta Fernandez will miss the tournament -- a
serious blow to Evaristo Perez's team -- but the Iberians are still stacked
with talent/ Amaya Valdemoro from CSKA Samara and Nuria Martinez of Dynamo
Moscow supply a veteran presence while up-and-comers such as Silvia Dominguez and Maria Pina (who
teamed to lead Spain to the 2007 Under-20 European crown) are hoping to break out on the international scene.
But the main issue for Perez's team is its lack of post players, with Anna
Montanana from Salamanca as the main option.
Another national team to watch will be Serbia. The Serbs have not won a
medal since Yugoslavia took silver back in 1991 and coach Jovica Antonic's
team is not among the favorites for a podium finish in Italy. But Serbia has a bright future after a tremendous summer in the youth ranks,
which saw the Balkan nation claim gold at the Under-18 European
Championships, silver at the Under-20 Euros and bronze at the Under-19 World
Championships.
For his 2007 senior side, Antonic has included Miljana Musovic, Tamara
Radocaj and Zorica Mitov from the U20 level and Sonja Petrovic from the U18
champions.
So not only will the 2007 EuroBasket say a great deal about the present state of European basketball – it also offers a glimpse into the future.