Ten teams divided into three groups make up the field of those countries still hopeful of making the Eurobasket tournament, where Olympic qualifying will be at stake. Competition began last week, and already we have seen some major upsets. Here is a group by group look at how we stand:

Group A
Bulgaria
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Hungary

What happened so far?
Bosnia beat Bulgaria in overtime in the group’s opening match. It was a thrilling, emotion-filled match where neither team deserved to lose. Alas, it wasn’t all that pretty. Even with the added time both teams managed to score only in the low seventies. A quick 5-0 spurt at the beginning of overtime made all the difference for Bosnia.

'The game between Israel and Belgium is going to be something to watch! It could go a long way into deciding who wins the group'


Then Hungary threw their game away against Bulgaria over the weekend. After getting to a seemingly convincing 72-66 lead with less than 3 minutes to go, Hungary squandered possessions to have the game tied at 74-74 with 17 seconds remaining. What ensued, was five missed free-throws from the Hungarians and a cool as cucumber finish from Bulgaria for the W.

Predictions:
The next match between Hungary and Bosnia will determine whether there is any suspense left in this group. If Bosnia wins they will take a major step towards winning the group.

On paper Bosnia is the favorite, with great leadership coming from Kenan Bajramovic, and with the scoring talent of Sasa Vasiljevic, they are a well coached tight unit. Plus they have boosted their morale earlier this summer when they scored a surprise win against the FYROM.

Bulgaria has to be confident that their guard-forward tandem of Dimitar Angelov and Todor Stoykov can do that voodoo that they did do in their two games thus far. Their win against Hungary has given new life to their Eurobasket hopes.

Hungary has the talent to even win this qualifying group, but with a recently appointed new coach, and a selection of players who have proven to be shaky in the final minute of close games, it is going to be an uphill climb. Keep an eye out on István Németh who has been tearing it up in his last few outings.

Group B:
Estonia
FYROM (Former Yugoslav  Republic  of Macedonia)
Sweden

What happened so far?
Estonia has beaten both of their adversaries once so far. Martin Muursepp (yes, the big fella with NBA credentials) led his team past both Sweden and the FYROM. The Swedes lost out 57-50, whilst a late comeback attempt was needed from the Macedonians to make the final score 72-66 in the group’s second game.

Predictions:
Whoever wins the Sweden vs. FYROM battle coming up next will be able to keep their slim hopes of qualifying alive. In all fairness this is a pretty strong group. FYROM needed an incredible performance from Bosnia to thwart them of an outright berth to Eurobasket 2007 in the preliminaries. They had group winner written all over them. A balanced team throughout with the added luxury of having a usable 2m 15cm center (Predrag Samardziski) who is able to control the boards when he is on the floor.

Estonia relies heavily on the brilliance of Martin Muursepp. I’ve had the privilege to see him live last year, and I must say he is truly a beast on the court. He scores in bunches, but unlike many other stars he is also willing to do the dirty work and all the little things that help a team to victory.

Sweden is dangerous mainly because they have no pressure to perform. By getting two such strong competitors in their group all pressure is off of them. Too bad we did not see any of that in their meeting against Estonia.

Group C
Belgium
Denmark
Israel
Ukraine

What happened so far?
Belgium and Israel both cruised to victories against Denmark and the Ukraine. Belgium has looked especially good in their two matches as they steamrolled past both their opponents. They left the Ukraine baffled after a 21-2 run in the final 8 minutes of a 70-45 win, after which they never gave Denmark a shot in an 80-66 victory.
Meanwhile Israel kept it close for three quarters and then blew by Denmark for a 72-60 triumph. They used similar tactics against the Ukraine as did the Belgians, and a 16-0 fourth quarter run sealed their 81-73 win.

Predictions:
Boy, is the game between Israel and Belgium going to be something to watch! It could go a long way into deciding who wins the group. Meanwhile the loser of the Denmark-Ukraine battle will lose all hope of advancing and not just the game.

Israel knows the additional qualifying option well, as it has grabbed a spot through it two years ago. It certainly does not hurt to have scorers like Yotam Halperin around, but their main focus has to be to get the ball to their prized forward Lior Eliyahu, he can hurt the opposition in so many ways.

Another multi-talented forward leads the Belgian squad. They are often referred to simply as Axel Hervelle and Co. and it is no wonder, since Hervelle leads his team in scoring and rebounding most of the time. Hervelle led all rebounders in the preliminary qualifying.

Denmark has to be fighting against relegation into Division B. Without top dog Christian Drejer to lead this team they have already dropped two games, and the strength of their opponents makes their task even harder.

Denmark’s main hope relies on just how rattled the team from Ukraine gets after their coach Viatly Lebedintsev has resigned following the humiliating loss to Belgium. Considering the way they lost to Israel the Danes have a lot more hope than ever before.