Eurobasket 2015

There is an expression that's popular in Croatia stating that football is the most important secondary thing in the world. Most of the people in Croatia agree with this one. If you walk down the streets when a big match is being played, you'll notice that it's most certainly true. Young and old, men and women, it seems that everyone is simply bedazzled with football. It's not just a game to them; it's larger than life, and the whole country sometimes looks just like a giant football. But, hidden among the buildings, deep in the shadows, there is a cult, a secretive society, once great in numbers, but now forgotten. People remember them just occasionally, and they are quickly forgotten, again. They are awake while others are sleeping, wearing their recognizable sleeveless cult robes of all colors. Enter the secret world of basketball lovers. This September, we rise.

Video credit: FIBA 

Fantasy references aside, we have a European basketball championship awaiting, ladies and gentlemen. Due to political crisis in Ukraine, Eurobasket 2015 primary organizer, FIBA decided to shake up things a little bit and moved each group to four different European cities - one of them being Zagreb (group C) and others being Montpellier (group A), Berlin (group B) and Riga (Group D). Anyway, if you like to spend your free time watching tall people throwing the orange ball around, like I do, pack your things and visit Zagreb because the Zagreb Arena is hosting the second most attractive group in the tournament.

Image credit: Marko Pačar

With Netherlands being the sole outsider in this group, there is no telling what the outcome will be. Georgia, as always, is deceptively strong, led by their giant NBA veteran Zaza Pachulia. One of the fan's favorites - Macedonia is, as always, ready to rumble. This small country, not being very known for its basketball successes, shocked the world in 2011, finishing fourth in the Eurobasket 2011 tournament. They will not go down without a fight so you can, as always, expect a lot of energy from this team. The Slovenian national team is somewhat of a mystery. The previous, successful, generation of Slovenian national team retired, and this is a relatively young team with a lot to prove. Unfortunately, their star NBA point guard, Goran Dragić, decided not to play, so that's going to hurt their chances quite a bit. Then we have Greece, a standard European powerhouse, armed with their bruising interior presence and sharpshooting backcourt. One of the favorites to win the championship. And lastly, we mustn't forget Croatia.

 Video credit: Matija96reventon

I honestly don't remember when was the last time when so many expectations were tied to a single Croatian national basketball team. This is understandable. They are playing in front of their crowd, and the Arena is going to be packed full for every game Croatia plays in front of this crowd. After years of rather disappointing results, the whole roster has been overhauled. First, there is a new coach - defensive minded Velimir Perasović. Led by NBA trio of Bojan Bogdanović, Dario Šarić, and Mario Hezonja, this team looks to be more suited for the modern-day small ball basketball than any of its previous iterations. Keep an eye on Barcelona's star center, Ante Tomić, as he will, without a doubt, be utilized better than ever before. This is a young (but experienced), athletic, sharpshooting team that has been hungry for medals for quite some time, so I expect them to go very deep into the knockout phase of the tournament. It's worth noting that this is still a young team, one that has been built for years to come. 


All in all, this is going to be one hell of a tournament. If you can't decide the games you'd like to see, here's my personal recommendation:

Croatia vs. Slovenia (05.09)
Macedonia vs. Greece (05.09.)
Greece vs. Croatia (06.09.)
Greece vs. Slovenia (09.09.)
Georgia vs. Croatia (10.09.)

This tournament is a can't miss for every basketball lover that finds him or herself in Zagreb during early September. Oh, and while you're in Zagreb, don't miss a game of pick-up basketball with the locals and absolutely make sure to visit Dražen Petrović museum for the piece of not just European, but world basketball history.

Header image credit: Zagreb Tourist Board, Marko Vrdoljak

Author: Marko Pačar