A new qualification scheme for EuroBasket comes into place as teams look to earn spots in the summer of 2017. As before, hosts qualify automatically, so the Czech Republic knows that it will be one of sixteen teams there. Unlike previous editions, all of the other countries who wish to join must go through the qualifying process. This is possible because qualification is held during the club season instead of the summer. Teams that were involved in global tournaments used to be given a break from qualifying to represent the continent on a wider scale. The teams have been divided into nine groups with three groups containing three teams and six groups containing four teams. Each winner of the group’s double round robin advances. The second place teams are then ranked with six of the nine taking the final places in the tournament. In order to ensure a fair comparison between groups of different sizes, results against fourth place teams are removed before comparing teams. The first two rounds of games will take place this Saturday and Wednesday. There will also be two rounds of games in February with the qualification process wrapping up with two more rounds in November.
With the changes, there are both benefits and drawbacks for the teams and players involved. The main benefit to the new system is player availability. All WNBA players can now participate without any negative effects on their WNBA careers. With teams increasingly naturalizing players with a more impressive pedigree, this allows teams to field their strongest lineups. Also, with the games taking place in the middle of the season, it will be more difficult for players to make excuses for not playing. If a player is supposedly injured for these games but manages to appear in club games right before and after the qualifiers, it will be viewed more suspiciously. Having the games at a time when all teams can participate is beneficial. Teams preparing for other international tournaments like the Olympics or World Championships will have more chances to play together as a team before the summer. The weaker countries get the chance to test themselves against stronger teams, not just playing against other teams that did not perform well at previous EuroBasket tournaments. The women’s basketball world will be able to focus on these games. During previous qualification tournaments, there were many other competitions taking place, including the WNBA and other international tournaments with more immediate implications.
On the other hand, the new format eliminates key training time. With domestic leagues only taking a break a week before the first game and with limited practice between games to accommodate travel, teams no longer have the option of holding lengthy training camps as some of them did in the past. Holding the games during the season also increases the chance of players missing out with minor injures accumulated over time. In the old format, players had time after the season to rest and recover, allowing them to be fully healthy by the time games started. While the domestic leagues around Europe are taking a break to support their national teams, several teams relying on players away from the continent will not be at full strength. Besides club teams in Asia, teams will generally be unable to bring in their NCAA-based players who are both in the middle of their seasons and their school year.
As with any dramatic format changes, the full effects will not be known until they are actually tried. With other international basketball format changes on the horizon, eyes will be on these games on both a competitive and logistical level.
Saturday’s Schedule:
Group A:
Latvia vs. Lithuania
Group B:
France vs. Estonia
Netherlands vs. Croatia
Group C:
Italy vs. Albania
Montenegro vs. Great Britain
Group D:
Ukraine vs. Luxembourg
Serbia vs. Germany
Group E:
Slovak Republic vs. Portugal
Hungary vs. Iceland
Group F:
Russia vs. Bulgaria
Greece vs. Switzerland
Group G:
Poland vs. Belarus
Group H:
Romania vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina
Turkey vs. Israel
Group I:
Sweden vs. Spain