In our FIBA Basketball World Cup 2014 preview, we highlighted hoops giants U.S.A. and Spain as the big favorites for this year’s tournament. However, injuries and withdrawals have greatly weakened the Americans, and after the Spaniards’ European reign ended last year, their golden generation could now be on the decline.
With the dominant teams showing their flaws, these three up-and-coming countries may have a decent chance to swoop in snatch the title from the previous two champions. Read on as we preview their odds for greatness.
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Three 2014 FIBA World Cup High Value Sleeper Picks
Greece
Greek basketball has been on a downturn since 2010. They finished a disappointing 11th in the 2010 FIBA World Championship after three consecutive semifinal appearances, and again finished 11th in last year’s EuroBasket, their worst showing since 1999.
[sc:Other240banner ]Their hopes of bouncing back from those poor results have taken a hit with new head coach Fotis Katsikaris unable to select stalwarts Vassilis Spanoulis, Nikos Zisis, and Sofoklis Schortsanitis for the tournament. But despite the absence of those big names, he will still have a pretty talented team at his disposal.
Memphis Grizzlies point guard Nick Calathes, who missed last year’s EuroBasket with injury, will lead the team in place of Spanoulis. Meanwhile, talented forward Kostas Papanikolaou has the ability to be a solid contributor on offense.
Veteran big man Giannis Bourousis is a steady force inside, while the “Greek Freak,” Giannis Antentokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, could be one of the wild cards of the tournament.
Even with a less than full-strength squad, Greece will have the added advantage of being drawn in Group B, which features an aging Argentina team without Manu Ginobili. This youthful Greece team will have a great opportunity to return to earn a higher seeding in the knockout round, which they will need to return to prominence in this year’s tournament.
Serbia
Serbia weren’t the basketball superpowers they once were when they won consecutive FIBA World Cup gold medals in 1998 and 2002 as Yugoslavia, but they are still a force to be reckoned with. Serbia placed fourth in their first World Championship as an independent nation back in 2010.
They haven’t fared so well since then, with disappointing eighth- and seventh-place finishes in the last two EuroBaskets, but two key members of that 2010 squad still remain in this year’s team.
Floor general Milos Teodosic, who missed last year’s EuroBasket, returns to orchestrate the Serbian offense at the World Cup. In Teodosic’s absence, veteran big man Nenad Krstic stepped up to lead the team in scoring with 15.4 points. The young NBA-calibre shooting guard combo of Bogdan Bogdanovic and Nemanja Nedovic will offer additional offensive support to the veteran duo.
Serbia has been drawn into the dreaded “Group of Death,” Group A alongside hosts Spain and reigning EuroBasket champions France. But with France’s star man Tony Parker opting to sit out the tournament, second place behind Spain is up for grabs. With their blend of youth and experience, the Serbs may be the surprise of the tournament.
Croatia
Croatia were the surprise package in last year’s EuroBasket as they made a stunning run to the semifinals. The Croats eventually finished fourth, their best finish since consecutive bronze medal efforts in the early 90’s with Dino Radja and Toni Kukoc.
Last year’s successful squad, led by the Brooklyn Nets’ Bojan Bogdanovic, remains relatively intact for the World Cup. The 25-year old forward had a monster tournament with 17.4 PPG and was named to the All-Tournament team.
Bogdanovic is just one member of Croatia’s incredibly talented frontcourt, which led EuroBasket in rebounding. Newly-signed Indiana Pacer Damjan Rudez offers decent outside shooting, while recent NBA Draft lottery pick Dario Saric provides some impressive interior scoring.
Similar to Greece, Croatia will be one of the teams vying for top spot in a wide open Group B. Croatia’s tremendous size will be a huge advantage when they go up against group favorites, Argentina, who have just one player taller than 6-9.
Prediction
All three teams safely finish in the top four of their respective groups to reach the knockout round. That’s as far as Greece will go, as they get knocked out in the Round of 16. Serbia go one game better, but they bow out in the quarterfinals. Finally, Croatia repeat their EuroBasket heroics to reach the semifinal, but once again fall short of the gold medal game. Create a betting account now and experience top class international basketball action.
