Having an NBA superstar on the roster is always an advantage for any team in international tournaments, but it is not a guarantee of victory. If not, ask the Serbs, who, led by Nikola Jokic, MVP of the American competition for the last two years, fell in the round of 16 of the Eurobasket against an Italy lacking in great individuals. It is not the only example of the equality of this championship, which is leaving the occasional surprise and several scares to the great favorites for the title. Greece and France have suffered more than necessary to close their pass to the quarterfinals and other powers such as Lithuania or Croatia have not been able to achieve it. Only Slovenia, with Luka Doncic's period performances, is making steady progress on the road to the final.
Seeing Jokic was one of the main attractions of this Eurobasket, and his mere presence made Serbia a clear candidate to take the gold. His impact on all dimensions of the attack, from the scoring to the organization of the game and dominance of the zone, is differential both in the NBA and in European basketball. In addition, he is surrounded by talents such as Vladimir Lucic, Nikola Kalinic or Vasilije Micic. Well, the MVP of the best league in the world and all this arsenal were not enough to overcome Italy in the round of 16, an Italy diminished by Danilo Gallinari's injury before the tournament and without great figures, with Simone Fontecchio (Utah Jazz) as sole representative of the NBA.
The Denver Nuggets center did his share of the work during the group stage and, above all, in the round of 16 game, his best individual performance. He 32 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists, a PIR of 41. Insufficient to knock down Italy, where Marcos Spissu's 22 points, Nicolò Melli's 21 and Fontecchio's 19 shone. With a very erratic Micic in the triple (1/8) and with the poor contribution of Lucic (8 points), Serbia says goodbye to a championship in which it had great aspirations.
They have also said goodbye earlier than perhaps expected other high-quality teams, such as Lithuania or Croatia. The pair of interiors formed by Domantas Sabonis and Jonas Valanciunas was not enough to stop a very choral Spanish team, with an imperial Willy Hernangómez (21 points, 8 rebounds and 63.6% shooting from the field) and a differential Lorenzo Brown, especially in overtime (28 points and 8 assists). The one that pointed to be a rival of Spain in the quarterfinals, Croatia, also fell surprisingly against Finland. The good performance of Bojan Bogdanovic (23 points) came to nothing next to the exhibition of Lauri Markkanen (43 points), who is being one of the prominent names in Eurobasket, with the third best scoring average in the championship.
Two other favorites are still in the fight to reach the final, but suffering more than expected. Against Turkey, France forced extra time almost at the buzzer, with a Rudy Gobert dunk. In overtime they gained distance on the scoreboard, but even then they did not stop suffering and ended up winning by the minimum, clinging to the dominance of the Minnesota Timberwolves center under the rim (20 points and 17 rebounds). Greece also had a bad time against the Czech Republic, in a close match that was resolved with a score of 94-88. Giannis Antetokounmpo, top scorer so far in the championship, continues to lead his team based on offensive actions of overwhelming power, but Tomas Satoransky's passing display (17 assists) kept the Czechs in the match at all times.
Some fell, others faltered and only Slovenia remains without an iota of doubt in its pursuit of the title. Doncic is reaching an almost unrivaled dimension of the game and, with the Dallas Mavericks point guard at this level, it will be very difficult to cough up the Slovenian team. Greece have a tough matchup against hosts Germany, who are bringing back a great version of Dennis Schröder. France will face the surprising Italy and Slovenia will play against Poland for a place in the semifinals of a Eurobasket where equality reigns.
