Munich (Germany) – As the dust settles on the 2023 FIBA Women's Eurobasket Championship, it's time to see how each national team has exceeded expectations.
Each country's individual performance and results were reviewed and any mitigating circumstances were taken into account and the following grades were derived.
Belgium A+
Match record: 6-0
And they did. Dreams come true together. With great leaders Emma Meesseman and Tissot MVP, they always have great opportunities, but it's a collective effort to make history. Kyara Linskens' outburst in the final was typical. Julie Allemand, meanwhile, and Julie Vanloo excelled at the backcourt and deserved a Tissot All-Star five-man spot. Coach Rashid Meziane and his staff also deserve all the praise. Remember, it's not just great basketball played in Belgium. The Cats also have a strong defensive advantage. To be crowned champion, the most important thing is to get an A+ in our ranking, you need to do it at both ends!
Czech Republic A
Match record: 3-3
Sponsor J9 believes what a great game it is for this young team, who stayed at the "Sad Hotel" not once, but twice in dramatic circumstances. They missed the semifinals by just one goal, and they missed an OQT opportunity by a basket, after Germany were forced into extra time with that goal 0.4 seconds left. No other team has shown so much enthusiasm and character. Whenever you think that the Czechs are destitute, they make a comeback. The number of numerous fearless young players means that the future is bright and if there was a podium for a coach, Romana Putakova would be standing on it. It's an amazing job, there are no outstanding stars, and it's inexperienced.
France B+
Match record: 5-1
France may be unbeaten in the group stage, but it's a very tough game in terms of entertainment levels. Although they defended well, their offense was not performing well. Perhaps there aren't big names like Marlene Johannes and Gabby Williams, which is to be expected. But as the game unfolded, the team seemed to grow well, despite Iliana Rupert missing some playing time due to injury. Sandrine Gruda's lead was excellent and impressive, as was Janelle Salaun's breakthrough. With a brilliant victory over Hungary to take bronze, they achieved a high result, which is good work overall, but not remarkable, because their silver medal record is over.
German B+
Tournament record: 4-3
Germany are back in the quarter-finals after 12 years and then to the Olympic qualifiers, and you have to give it to Germany. But what team is so lucky? Can and probably should lose to the UK and Czech Republic to get into OQT? Excellent. But they say your luck is your own and no one can stop Leonie Fibić's shot with 0.4 seconds left in the regular season or Svenja Blenkholtz's "four-pointer" in overtime. They have a B+, and there will be more. Thanks to Marie Guelich and Fiebich, as well as Coach Tomedis for a good start to her first match.
UK B
Match record: 1-3
The British experience in Ljubljana has been one of ups and downs. They are very competitive, but arguably ill-prepared – especially with so many new faces coming together. Their lack of a pure point guard was a factor in their inability to reach the quarterfinals – even if young Holly Winterburn did a good job as a combination in trying to solve this headache. Captain and leader Temi Fagbenle is playing well and the future is bright if change is made in the right place and better prepared.
Greece B-
Match record: 1-3
Qualifying from the group is positive as they remain in 16th place in their pre-match strength rankings. A victory against Latvia, a loss to Montenegro and Spain was enough. But when faced with the Czech Republic for a great chance to reach the quarter-finals, they slipped through their fingers. This is frustrating because Mariela Fasura and Artemis Spanu have performed well and have improved their offensive output well. But sometimes they give up team basketball because of complicated things. Defensive pressure or lack of steals is also an issue.
Hungary A-
Match record: 3-3
Maybe the rating is generous and has no winning record, but the last time they finished in the top four was in 1997. They also have a young and ambitious team that can grow even more. The bronze medal game lost its luster and it was a big disappointment. But that's the brutal nature of higher-level boxing. Kill or be killed. Collecting OQT tickets is considered successful. Also, you can say that the young players learned a lot after a difficult season. Captain Debora Dubei has contributed a lot to the team, Virag Kiss has arguably made a breakthrough in the tournament, Cyesha Goree has performed well and now all eyes are on Paris 2024. There are so many exciting things ahead!
Israel D+
Match record: 0-3
How could a team perform so badly after beating Sweden twice in qualifiers, storming Latvia, and strengthening its squad? It's a bit of a disaster for co-hosts who have a chance to reach the quarter-finals, at least on paper. But whether stage-fright or overwhelmed by the mission, they didn't fire at all - except for Arden Garzón and Daniel Raber, their biggest player didn't show up at all, which was both a mystery and devastating for everyone involved. Israeli basketball.
Italy C
Tournament record: 1-3
The confidence shown in the strength rankings to finish fifth is clearly wrong. Italian basketball is at its peak after Skio's historic entry into the Euroleague Women's Final Four, and Italy's lineup looks like it's locked in the quarterfinals or more, but Italy's balloon has burst. It is unforgivable not to break through 50 points in the quarter-finals against Montenegro. Without a "dog mentality" to take care of intangible assets, the defense disappears. Both the leaders and coaches of this team need to take responsibility. This is a serious underperformance. There is no hard attitude or answer when challenged. You can't expect to qualify just because you have Italy on your shirt.
Latvian C+
Match record: 1-2
Latvia missed the perfect opportunity to reach the quarterfinals and instead took an early flight home after the group stage. It is unforgivable to beat Spain at the top and then lose to Greece at the bottom, plus Montenegro. While people's reaction is to bounce back, the bitter pill to take is that they may be celebrating too much, too early. The joy scene after beating Spain may have subconsciously meant that they let their feet off the throttle. Anete Steinberga, Kitija Laksa and Aleksa Gulbe did their best, but the whole team shot so badly that it was a mess. Only seven players played in all three matches, which didn't help.
Montenegro B+
Match record: 3-3
How do they continue to do this? Well, it's already a small miracle that a sparsely populated and talent-starved fish like Montenegro has been able to advance seven times in a row and reach the quarterfinals for the third time. It was a remarkable achievement and they were not far from the OQT spot, only to be eliminated by the Serbian team. Jelena Skerovic showed why she is such a highly rated coach. Natasha Mack proved to be an invaluable and diligent naturalization selector, the still young Marija Lekovic showed that she could compete and deliver at this level, and in general, there was a lot to admire.
Serbia B-
Match record: 5-2
Both Alexandra Kvendakic and Marina Malikovic stressed the significance of "staying on the map" after they broke into Olympic qualifying. They are far from their best on both ends of the offensive and defensive ends. It's ugly stuff almost from start to finish. The signature defensive intensity seems too small, and the offense has no rhythm. The loss to Hungary was disappointing, and they suffered humiliation in the quarter-final against Belgium. But they bounced back. With the exception of Yvonne Anderson, few have reached their level. Overall, the Serbian team has the lowest results and has a record of 5 wins and 2 defeats on some major issues.
Slovakia B
Match record: 1-3
If feeling generous, then ask yourself – do you really predict that Slovakia will come out of the group of Serbia, Hungary and Turkey? Yes, they did not perform well in the first two races and lost miserably, but they found range, scored a brilliant victory against Turkey and then lost to Germany in the quarter-final qualifiers. So, it's not a huge negative or positive performance, probably as expected – hence B. The quartets of Barbora Wrzesinski, Alica Moravcikova, Ivana Jakubvcova and Terezia Palenikova are stable.
Slovenia B-
Match record: 0-3
Some would consider the pair too generous with their unwon record, especially since they ranked eighth in the third volume of the Power Leaderboard. However, this is more of hope than expectation. Things could get ugly, but despite some key absences, a very young team with not many options on the bench who could have beaten Germany and England. Teja Oblak went out of her way to inspire, Eva Lisec and Zala Friskovec contributed, and Ajsa Sivka showed that she would be a great player. It was a tough experience, but when you add all the factors together, at least they're in the game and at a level close to what they actually expected.
Spain A-
Match record: 4-2
They are very close to a fifth FIBA Women's UEBA Women's Championship, but they will regret losing their double-digit lead and failing to win the title. But it's also hard to be overly picky. They lost to Latvia and almost had the last laugh. Without Astor Endor, without Maria Comte, they had great relief as to why they couldn't quite do it. But after finishing seventh on home soil two years ago, bringing home the silver medal still seems to be something to celebrate. And what about Alba Torrens? Surpassing Amaya Valdemoro to now become the top scorer in the history of European basketball in Spain's women's basketball team. What a legend.
Turkey C
Match record: 1-2
Too harsh? Maybe. Turkey, in particular, lost Tilbe Senyurek to injury and defeated Hungary – although the victory was also a gift from their opponents. Something is wrong with their monitor. Not least because Tearira McCowan's way of doing things has been so up and down. Sometimes there's a sense of chaos and they never look like a team worthy of a top eight. The crushing defeat by Slovakia is a microcosm of Turkey's current situation. Worryingly, whatever the debate about their players, there is no doubt that their problems are deeper than that.