Six Teams Battle for Final Eurobasket 2009 Spot

A few years ago, when I began to get interested in European basketball, it was difficult to grok just how important a tournament Eurobasket is. In the United States, the only international competition we tend to care about is the Olympics, with the World Championships an event that usually registers as a blip instead a marquee. But it's really different in Europe.

The championship of Europe -- Eurobasket, a biannual tournament -- is as big as the Olympics or the Worlds for ballers in the Old World. Legends are made in the tournament, and reputations earned. This year's European Championship kicks off in September. But beginning today, six teams will battle to grab the last spot in the tournament.

The six teams are split into two groups of three: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Portugal and Belgium in Group A, and France, Italy and Finland in Group B. Each trio will play home-and-homes between each other, after which the winner of each group will face off in a single-game to name the final Eurobasket qualifier. (If there's a tie atop either group, whichever team has the better point differential will move on.) Games (France at Italy, Portugal at Bosnia and Herzegovina) begin today, with the final scheduled for the end of the month.

Here's a look at the teams.

France

NBA fans will feel the most familiarity with the Les Bleus, a team with all sorts of talent but little international success this decade. Tony Parker leads the way, though the Spur will miss today's opener against the Italians. Parker is actually still in Texas receiving treatment for a sprained ankle. But French coach Vincent Collett believes his point guard might be back and ready for a game against Finland on Saturday.

In place of Parker, the French will start Nando de Colo ... who also happens to work for the Spurs, the team which drafted him in June. But there's plenty more NBA talent here: Boris Diaw of the Bobcats, Ronny Turiaf of the Warriors, Nicolas Batum of the Blazers and free agent Johan Petro (late of the Nuggets). But despite all the talent, Les Bleus have never quite gotten over the hump: the French haven't qualified for an Olympic tournament since 2000 (where the team won silver), have qualified for only one World Championship tournament in the last three decades (2006, finishing fifth) and medaling in Europe only once this decade (bronze in 2005). Losing in this qualifying tournament will assuredly knock France out of contention for a spot in the 2010 Worlds in Turkey and the 2012 London Olympics.

Italy

The Italians can rival the French on talent, with Andrea Bargnani and Marco Belinelli of the Raptors, and Stefano Mancinelli, who flirted with the Lakers, Blazers and Raptors before deciding to continue to play pro ball in Italy. Mancinelli, you may recall, elbowed Canadian Aaron Doornekamp hard last weekend during a warm-up match between the nations; FIBA has not saw fit to suspend the Italian, however.

No doubt due to Parker's absence, Italy is a solid favorite over France in today's game in Cagliari. The teams last played in Eurobasket 2007, where the French won 69-62. Needless to say, these two teams are the favorites in the additional qualifying tournament, and today's game could go a long way toward deciding which squad will play next month in Poland.

Finland

The Fins feature Petteri Koponen, a long point guard drafted by Portland in 2007 who played for the incredibly named Honka Playboys before moving to Virtus Bologna. Apparently, Hanno Mottola, the first Fin to ever play in the NBA, a 33-year-old forward, still reps Finland in international play. It'd be hard for American fans to know this, as Finland hasn't qualified for a Eurobasket tournament since 1995, or the Olympics since 1964. But hey! maybe this dude Hans von Blumenstock will change things!

Belgium

The Belgians have been similarly unfortunate in terms of international success this decade. But like the Fins, Belgium does have one NBA player to its name: D.J. Mbenga of the champion Lakers. Mbenga was born and raised in Zaire, but political unrest resulted in Mbenga and his brother being imprisoned before the pair were able to escape to Belgium.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Despite burgeoning talent, none of the former Yugoslav states have really excelled in international competition during the second half of this decade. Bosnia and Herzegovina managed to convince Jazz draft pick (and Michigan State product) Goran Suton to play for its team rather than Croatia (who also made a bid for the forward), but it's unlikely that will help much this month. B&H's best shot is winning its group (Belgium, Portugal) and getting lucky against the survivor from the France/Italy/Finland group in the single-game finale.

Portgual

The Portugese have never qualified for an Olympic tournament or the FIBA World Championship. But in 2007 Portugal did qualify for Eurobasket for the second time, beating Bosnia and Herzegovina and Israel in the qualification round. Portugal did well in the tournament, all things considered, and finished 10th, ahead of more talent-ridden teams like Israel, Turkey and Serbia.