EuroBasket 2013: The Field is Set with 24 Teams

As the final games of the EuroBasket 2013 Qualification Round were getting ready to start, there no doubt were pencils being sharpened, calculator batteries being checked, spreadsheets getting fired up and for those old school mathematicians out there, most likely a slide rule or two getting dusted off in anticipation of the intense calculations that could be coming to determine which of the 10 teams that could qualify for the remaining six, actually did qualify for those spots. If this team wins and that team loses and their points for divided by their points against are higher or this team wins by this many points… It was enough to give anyone a headache just thinking about it.

On top of it, let’s face it, the results of this tournament have left more than one person scratching their head wondering what on earth is going on. Montenegro came into the final game undefeated, having beaten Serbia not just once on a fluke half-courter at the buzzer, but twice, the second time by 10 points. Serbia was looking at elimination if they lost to Israel and Estonia won. Turkey was looking at elimination if they lost. Four teams were undefeated coming into the final day and four teams hadn’t won a game. It’s been interesting that’s for sure.

To sit down and try to predict what would transpire on the final day of this competition should have been fairly easy for the games that matter. Serbia should have beaten Israel and probably by the 19 they needed to get second; Turkey should have beaten Czech Republic; Belgium should have beaten Albania; and we could go on and on. Funny thing is though, who thought that Georgia would have been beaten by the Netherlands; that Turkey would need a win in the last game to qualify; that Serbia would loss to not only Montenegro twice, but also to Estonia and Israel; and that the three teams that tied for second place in Group B at 4-4 all won their home games against each other, that’s right, all six home games between Sweden, Bulgaria and Azerbaijan were won by the home team giving them all 2-2 records. So, as the lights were being turned off at the gyms and the stat people were ready to start crunching, there was nothing left to crunch with the exception of tie-breakers in Groups A and B. All the teams that could finish 5-3 did, so they qualified and the 3rd place team in Group A was 6-4, which is a higher winning percentage than 5-3. Three teams at 5-3, one at 6-4 and the nerd party was over. Very anti-climatic to say the least…

On the positive side though, it’s been an incredible Qualifier and it should lead to an unbelievable Finals next September when the eight pre-qualifiers are tossed in the mix. Below are the final group standings, a brief explanation of how or why a particular team finished were they did if there was any calculations involved and then the list of the 24 teams that will compete in the EuroBasket 2013. The ticker on the EuroBasket2013.org website says that the ‘Tip-Off Countdown’ is at 357 days to go…

24 Teams Qualified for EuroBasket 2013 – Slovenia
Pre-Qualified:
F.Y.R. of Macedonia
France
Great Britian
Greece
Lithuania
Russia
Slovenia
Spain

Qualified from EuroBasket 2013 Qualification Round:
First Place Teams:
Montenegro – 1st Place Group A
Germany – 1st Place Group B
Croatia – 1st Place Group C
Bosnia and Herzegovina – 1st Place Group D
Poland – 1st Place Group E
Italy – 1st Place Group F
Second Place Teams:
Israel – 2nd Place Group A
Sweden – 2nd Place Group B
Ukraine  – 2nd Place Group C
Georgia – 2nd Place Group D
Finland – 2nd Place Group E
Turkey – 2nd Place Group F
Third Place Teams (with record and F/A):
Serbia (6-4) – 3rd Place Group A
Belgium (5-3 – 1.134) – 3rd Place Group E
Latvia (5-3 – 1.122)- 3rd Place Group D
Czech Republic (5-3 – 1.025) – 3rd Place Group F