Something I wrote for Ryerson

Euro Basketball Championships Preview

Throughout this decade if one were to talk about Greece and sports, they would most likely discuss their Cinderella run to the top of the soccer world by winning the Euro Cup in 2004, or the amazing show they put on for the world in the 2004 Summer Olympics (2004 was a Good year). What may slip peoples mind is that in this decade Greece had very successful basketball runs, both internationally and in the EuroLeague, and with the EuroBasket being the last major international competition for Greece this decade, they are poised for a strong showing.

The Past three showings at the Eurobasket have been great for Greece, in 2003 they finished 5th (Losing to eventual 3rd place Italy), in 2005 where they won it all in Serbia – Montenegro, and 2007 finishing 4th (Losing to European powerhouse Spain, winners that year), 2009 should be a great showing for the team as they have their starters back from the last tournament and added two young intriguing players, Kosta Koufos (Back – up centre for the Utah Jazz) and Giorgios Printezis (Toronto Raptors prospect). Throw all of this in together and Greece will be a force to be reckoned with at this tournament.

This year, Greece has Macedonia , Croatia, and Israel in their group. The games against Israel and Macedonia are very winnable games, provided that the Greeks play their gritty, hard nosed game against them. The most important game is against Croatia, who just came off winning the Gold Medal in the Mediterranean cup in late June, they will pose the toughest test for Greece getting into the 2nd Round.

All in all, Greece has once again brought a talented team into the Eurobasket and will likely make some head turns, and hopefully win a medal in order to make it one of Greece’s most successful decades not only in Basketball, but in sports in general.