Favourites for the FIBA Men European Championships for small countries 2018

Each year, FIBA holds two tournaments for the FIBA European Championships for small countries. FIBA states that it conducts this tournament, both for the male and female divisions as part of its mission to develop basketball in Europe’s smaller nations. The first tournament of this year is going to run from June 26 to July 1 in Serravalle, San Marino. As part of its marketing strategy, FIBA states that the tournament will borrow some features from soccer such as live betting football in which punters can place bets as the matches are in play.

The FIBA Men European Championships for small countries 2018 will feature seven countries grouped into two groups.

Group A

Group A consists of the hosts San Marino, Gibraltar, Moldova, and Norway. Group favourites are the hosts, San Marino who are being tipped to have an extra player as provided for by the home support. In addition to taking part in the Games of the Small States of Europe, San Marino also competes in the EuroBasket Division 3. San Marino’s record in the Games for Small States of Europe is unsatisfactory, as it has won only 12 games from the 52 it has played since 1987. San Marino is ranked number 103 in the world by FIBA.

Another group favourite in the group is Norway. The Norwegian team has had some bad times when it comes to basketball as the team has failed to qualify for any major tournament such as the FIBA EuroBasket and the Olympic Games since it played its first game in 1966. Despite the team’s poor fortunes, many think that the team’s experience (Norway has the highest average age in the group) will count for something during the Games for Small States tournament this year. For an impact, the team will be banking on star player Torgeir Bryn to put in a 5-star performance in all matches. Norway is ranked 150 in the world.

Moldova joined FIBA in 1985 and has experienced some remarkable growth since. The team is currently ranked 114th in the world. Gibraltar also joined FIBA in 1985 but has not qualified for any major tournament since. It’s ranked 125 in the world.

Group B

Group B consists of Andorra, Malta, and Ireland. Ireland are the favourite to progress and reach the finals in this group. The team joined FIBA in 1947 and has one major tournament appearance that came way back in 1948. Key players to look out for include Paul Dick, Colin O'Reilly, and Kevin Lacay. Andorra is another hot favourite that joined FIBA in 1988 and has risen considerably to occupy the 98th position in the world. Andorra has won six of the past 12 Games for Small States tournaments.