I think France can give Spain a run for this title.

I thought Turkey could have done better to date - maybe they will pick up some momentum going into the next phase.

Italian basketball has taken a big dive in recent years...

LC, how many go through to the Olympics?

Two. With four going to the Olympic qualifying tournament. Some real interesting results so far, and lots of teams taking the piss with import point guards! EJ Rowlandovic and Dontaye Draperski have both had pretty good tournaments so far, amongst a number of others.

Total number of spots for London 2012 = 12 teams in total.

Team who have qualified for London 2012 so far:

1. Great Britain (Host Country)
2. United States ( 2010 World Champion)
3. Tunisia (2011 FIBA Africa Champion)

9 spots left that are broken down as follows:

2 - FIBA Europe (30 Aug - 11 Sep)
2 - FIBA Americas (30 Aug - 11 Sep)
1 - FIBA Oceania (7 - 11 Sep)
1 - FIBA Asia (15 - 25 Sep)

3 - FIBA Olympic Qualification Tournament (2 - 8 Jul 2012)

Fierce Euro competition for just 2 spots!

Parker is apparently hurt for France...

Bo McCalleb is how Greece lost to Macedonia! He is the Gary Ervin of Europe, just lightning quick and very hard to stop, not to mention very Macedonian!! He had 27-odd to destroy Greece, who also really struggled to score.

Tunisia has a basketball team????

Overnight results - and there were some great games!:

- United Kingdom def Poland 88-81
- Spain lost to Turkey 57-65 (big upset)
- Portugal lost to Lithuania 69-98

Group B
- Israel defeated Italy 96-95 in OT
- Serbia lost to France 95-97 in OT
- Latvia lost to Germany 80-81

Group C
- FYR Macedonia defeated Bosnia 75-63
- Greece defeated Croatia 74-69
- Finland defeated Montenegro 71-65

Group D
- Georgia lost to Bulgaria 69-79
- Slovenia lost to Russia 64-65
- Ukraine defeated Belgium 74-61

Final Standings after Preliminary Phase

Group A
1. Spain (4-1)
2. Lithuania (4-1)
3. Turkey (3-2)
4. United Kingdom (2-3)
5. Poland (2-3)
6. Portugal (0-5)

Group B
1. France (5-0)
2. Serbia (4-1)
3. Germany (3-2)
4. Israel (2-3)
5. Italy (1-4)
6. Latvia (0-5)

Group C
1. FYR Macedonia (4-1)
2. Greece (4-1)
3. Finland (2-3)
4. Croatia (2-3)
5. Bosnia (2-3)
6. Montenegro (1-4)

Group D
1. Russia (5-0)
2. Slovenia (4-1)
3. Georgia (2-3)
4. Bulgaria (2-3)
5. Ukraine (2-3)
6. Belgium (0-5)

Points Per Game

1. Deng, ENG 24.6
2. Parker, FRA 23.2
3. Bargnani, ITA 22.8
4. Gasol, ESP 21.8
5. McCalebb, MKD 20.6
6. Nowitzki, GER 20.4
7. Rowland, BUL 18.0
8. Krstic, SRB 17.2
9. Tomic, CRO 16.6
10. Eliyahu, ISR 16.4

Next Round

Group E
- Germany vs Spain
- Turkey vs France
- Serbia vs Lithuania

Group F
- Georgia vs FYR Macedonia
- Finland vs Russia
- Slovenia vs Greece

Finland the big surprise packet getting through to the next round in Group C, at the expense of a disappointing Croatia. Maceondia also topping this group - one that contained Greece - was also a surprise.

Group A was arguably the toughest pool to be in. Poland are a tough team and they missed out progressing, behind an improved Great Britain who also missed out, but as one may have expected.

Thanks for the info paul and LC, I am shocked Europe only get 2 spots

They will likely get another 2 or 3 through the qualifiers though, and GB is the host, so it will end up being 5 or 6 of the 12 team field. Given Europe hasnt won an Olympic gold since 1988 that's not a bad ratio compared to the Americas with 3 or 4, who have won have won 4 of the last 6 Olympic medals and the last 5 gold.

Turkey was saved by GB upsetting Poland or else the WC silver medallists would be out. EJ Rowland had a blinder with 25p to guide Bulgaria to victory Georgia but their shock loss to Ukraine (EJ's only bad game for the tournament) means they miss the second round.

Italy came from a mile down to force overtime and nearly pinch it from Israel. Havent had a chance to have a look at some of those other games but they look like absolute blinders.

here's how you can find out how everyone qualifies foor the olympics:

here's how you can find out how everyone qualifies foor the olympics:

http://london2012.fiba.com/pages/eng/fe/12/olym/p/index.html


OOps try again

Group E Results from overnight:

- Germany lost to Spain 68-77 (M Gasol 24, P Gasol 19, Nowitzki 19, Kaman 15)
- Turkey lost to France 64-68 (Parker 20, Batum 13, Turkoglu 13)
- Serbia lost to Lithuania 90-100 (Kalnietis 19, Valanciunas 18, Jasikevicius 14, Krstic 21, Teodosic Savanovic 16)

Group E Standings with 2 games left:
1. France (3-0)
2. Spain (2-1)
3. Lithuania (2-1)
4. Serbia (1-2)
5. Turkey (1-2)
6. Germany (0-3)

Group F games tonight are:

- Georgia vs FYR Macedonia
- Finland vs Russia
- Slovenia vs Greece

Slovenia vs Greece could be a good one tonight...

Group F results from overnight:

- Georgia lost to FYR Macedonia 63-65
- Finland lost to Russia 60-79
- Slovenia lost to Greece 60-69

Group F Standings with 2 games to go:

Group F
1. FYR Macedonia (3-0)
2. Russia (3-0)
3. Greece (2-1)
4. Slovenia (1-2)
5. Finland (0-3)
6. Georgia (0-3)

Tonight's Group E games:

- Spain vs Serbia
- Germany vs Turkey
- Lithuania vs France

Some cracker games tonight!!!

Group E results from overnight:

- Spain defeated Serbia 84-59 (P Gasol 26, M Gasol 20, Navarro 14, Krstic 12)
- Germany defeated Turkey 73-67 (Kaman 20, Nowitzki 19, Asik 19, Kanter 11)
- Lithuania lost to France 67-73 (De Colo 21, Parker 19, Jasaitis 13, Valanciunas 12)

Standings with 1 game left:

1. France (4-0)
2. Spain (3-1)
3. Lithuania (2-2)
4. Serbia (1-3)
5. Turkey (1-3)
6. Germany (1-3)

Group F games tonight:

- Georgia vs Finland
- FYR Macedonia vs Slovenia
- Greece vs Russia

And some stats to date:

Scoring
1. Deng, L. (GBR) 24.6ppg
2. Bargnani, A. (ITA) 22.8ppg
3. Parker, T. (FRA) 22.1ppg
4. Gasol, P. (ESP) 22.0ppg
5. McCalebb, B. (MKD) 21.7ppg

Assists
1. Draper, D. (CRO) 7.0apg
2. Teodosic, M. (SRB) 6.6apg
3. Khryapa, V. (RUS) 6.0apg
4. Vasiljevic, S. (BIH) 5.4apg
5. Jasikevicius, S. (LTU) 4.9apg

Rebounds
1. Kaman, C. (GER) 9.9rpg
2. Deng, L. (GBR) 9.4rpg
3. Antic, P. (MKD) 9.0rpg
4. Sanikidze, V. (GEO) 8.3rpg
5. Asik, Ö. (TUR) 8.3rpg

Steals
1. Kirilenko, A. (RUS) 3.0spg
2. Batum, N. (FRA) 2.7spg
3. McCalebb, B. (MKD) 2.3spg
4. Stojanovski, V. (MKD) 2.2spg
5. Kelati, T. (POL) 2.0spg

Group F results from overnight:

- Georgia lost to Finland 73-87
- FYR Macedonia defeated Slovenia 68-59
- Greece lost to Russia 67-83

Russia easily beating Greece is an interesting one, whilst Maceondia continue their great tourney in overcoming the dangerous Slovenians.

Group F Standings with 1 more game:

1. FYR Macedonia (4-0)
2. Russia (4-0)
3. Greece (2-2)
4. Finland (1-3)
5. Slovenia (1-3)
6. Georgia (0-4)

Tonight's final Group E games:

- Serbia vs Turkey
- France vs Spain
- Lithuania vs Germany

Some more great games! Spain vs France is for first place too...

Group E results from overnight:

- Serbia defeated Turkey 68-67
- France lost to Spain 69-96
- Lithuania defeated 84-75

Final Group E Standings:

1. Spain (4-1)
2. France (4-1)
3. Lithuania (3-2)
4. Serbia (2-3)
------------------
5. Turkey (1-4)
6. Germany (1-4)

Disappointing tourney for Turkey.

Tonight's Group F games:

- Slovenia vs Finland
- Greece vs Georgia
- Russia vs FYR Macedonia

Thanks for the updates LC. Spain put one hell of a dent in France's championship aspirations with that flogging! Russia and FYR Macedonia is another top of the table clash. Where has FYR Macedonia come from to have such great form?

Group F results from overnight:

- Slovenia defeated Finland 67-60
- Greece defeated Georgia 73-60
- Russia defeated FYR Macedonia 63-61

Russia fought back to come from behind to steal the win over Macedonia on the back of a buzzer beating shot by Monya. Bo McCalebb for Macedonia has been huge but couldn't get his team over the line.

Final Group F standings:

1. Russia (5-0)
2. FYR Macedonia (4-1)
3. Greece (3-2)
4. Slovenia (2-3)
5. Finland (1-4)
6. Georgia (0-5)

Quarter final match ups:
Day 1:
- Spain vs Slovenia
- FYR Macedonia vs Lithuania
Day 2:
- France vs Greece
- Russia vs Serbia

Although Russia are the only undefeated team, I really feel they have had the luck of the draw, being in the weakest pools so far in both stages of the competition. It will be interesting to see how they go against the greater competition of Serbia, and France or Greece if they beat Serbia.

Its quarter final time in the Eurobasket.

Eight teams remain! Of the eight, a maximum of five can possibly qualify for the London Olympics. The two finalists will automatically qualify, with the teams finishing 3rd-6th going to the Olympic Qualifying tournament to fight it out for the last three Olympic spots. Already qualified for that tournament are Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Angola, Nigeria and our good friends from across the ditch.

The Eurobasket quarter finals are a 'who's who' of European basketball powerhouses - Spain, Greece, Lithuania, Russia, France and Serbia, whilst Slovenia and F.Y.R. of Macedonia are chasing their first Olympic basketball berth.

The quarter final games are;

- Spain v Slovenia
- Macedonia v Lithuania
- France v Greece
- Russia v Serbia

Enjoy the action from what is undoubtedly the best qualification tournament, and the best of the FIBA zone championships.

Quarter final games played overnight:

- Spain defeated Slovenia 86-64
ESP: Navarro 26 & P Gasol 19
SLO: G Dragic 14 & Begic 10

- FYR Macedonia defeated Lithuania 67-65
MKD: McCalleb 23, Stojanovski 15 & Ilievski 12
LTU: Javtokas 13 & Songaila 12

Macedonia continue to play well and surprise a few people under the guidance of American born PG Bo McCalleb.

Tonights' remaining quarter final games, and they are both crackers!

- France vs Greece
- Russia vs Serbia

Amazing to think NZ lost to Macedonia by only 1 point in Macedonia with a foul count of 36-8!!

It's great to see Macedonia doing so well. I love Eurobasket.

LC, did you see John Hollinger's recent tweets about the Oceania 'tournament' as he referred to it, and how according to him it is a #%^&**& joke! Ha ha.

Anyway, he's really dirty about how Turkey and Germany have been eliminated from Olympic contention, but New Zealand remain alive despite having been defeated 3-0 and convincingly in every game. That's fair enough point I suppose.

I always thought it would be good it the Aussies could play in a long tournament like Eurobasket (purely from a spectators and fans point of view), and there have been suggestions in the past that Asia and Oceania should merge, with Asia getting two spots to the Olympics instead of their current one.

What do you think?

About Turkey, perhaps they should consider switching to the Asian zone considering that 97% of their country is on the Asian continent. It certainly would increase their chances of qualifying for the Olympics on a more regular basis.

I didn't catch Hollinger's comments, although by the sounds of it it actually makes sense.

I personally would like to see Australia and the FIBA Oceania region join forces with FIBA Asia for qualification too as I think it would only enhance the standing of basketball within Asia/Pacific. However unlike our soccer counterparts, Ocean gains an auto bid into World Champs and Olympics so I am nto sure it will happen in the short to medium term.

I think if we joined Asia, as it stands right now, both Australia and New Zealand would qualify easily.

Love to gauge Paul's thoughts on this too.

You're 100% right. It's totally different to the Socceroos scenario where they actually only had half a spot for the world cup.

As it stands now, Oceania have 1.5 spots for the Olympics, and two spots for the World Championships, so it doesnt really make sense for Australia to support and merge with Asia. I'm sure though New Zealand would support it, especially if the new merged Oceania-Asia zone were given two spots into the Olympics.

Whilst it definitely would enhance the profile of basketball in the Asia/Pacific region, it doesnt really provide the Boomers with any major benefit.

Even if NZL did support it, it is unlikely that any of the current FIBA Asia nations would. As it stands, at least one of their teams gets to the Olympics. In a merger situation, there is a high likelihood that both automatic spots would go to AUS and NZL, leaving the rest to duke it out in qualifying. That doesn't really benefit the Asia region any, at least in the short to medium term.

Hollinger is just spewing that Turkoglu and Nowitzki miss out, because he knows who they are. He spouts a lot of Americo-centric crap sometimes.

Ha ha! Well said aussieboomers4eva!

As much as I dont like to say negative things about people, I feel this time I have to make an exception.

Since I started reading some of the stuff that Hollinger puts on twitter, I must admit I've thought on more than one occassion that 'this bloke is a massive douche!'

Lasty of the quarter final results from overnight:

- France defeated Greece 64-56
FRA: Parker 18, De Colo 16 & Batum 15
GRE: Bourousis 17 & 11, Fotsis 9

- Russia defeated Serbia 77-67
RUS: Kirilenko 14, 11 & 6, Vorontsevich & Khryapa 11, Shved 10
SRB: Teodosic 20 & Krstic 13

The Semi Finals are set for tonight as follows:

- Spain vs FYR Macedonia
- Russia vs France

Spain are into the Eurobasket final and off to the London Olympics, beating Macedonia 92-80 after a super game that saw Spain gradually strangle Macedonia in the second half. Navarro was the match winner with 35p! Pau Gasol had 22p and 19r!

McCalebb was awesome as usual with 25.

Greece smashed Serbia to qualify for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, as did Lithuania who beat Slovenia 80-78 in their classification game.

Russia v France up next in the other semi.

France beat Russia 79-71 to qualify for London.

France comes back from the basketball doldrums!

Final:

- Spain vs France

Overnight classification results:

Playoff for 5th
Lithuania defeated Greece 73-69

Playoff for 7th
Solvenia defeated Serbia 72-68

Tonight:

Championship game: Spain vs France

Playoff for 3rd: Russia vs Macedonia

Spain are back-to-back Euro Champions!

Spain defeated France 98-85.
ESP: Navarro 27, P Gasol & Calderon 17
FRA: Parker 26 & Diaw 12

Russia defeated Macedonia 72-68 for 3rd place.

Spain got out early and never really let France back in. Navarro was especially damaging whenever things got interesting and at one point Ibaka (you know, that 'Spanish' bloke) blocked five shots in about five minutes!