What is the big thing about the European basketball championship that ended on Sunday?
even when the three icons, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo, were eliminated - it continued to be of very high quality.
Eurobasket continued to be fascinating, even if there was a standard deviation in the semi-finals where the runner-up France defeated Poland by 41 points.
And it's time for a summary of the biggest and highest quality championship of all, from a slightly different angle.
The conclusion - the heart of a champion
"Never underestimate the value of a champion's heart."
Rudy Tomjanovich's memorable sentence is the story of the championship.
Spain came with a lackluster lineup and got into several difficult situations during the tournament.
On the other hand, Yaba came as the world champion, and coach Sergio Scariolo came as a champion in everything possible with this selection.
And what happened in the end?
Spain is champion.
Rudy Fernandez on the shoulders.
Leadership, photo: I.P.I
The symbol - Rudy Fernandez
The symbol of the Spanish victory and the symbol of the entire championship.
At the age of 37 and being the only one of the golden generation left in the squad, Fernandez proved what leadership means, stepping up at the right time and loyalty to the flag and the team.
The pictures of him in tears on the podium wearing a Sergio Juey jersey as a tribute to his good friend who couldn't play in the tournament were the most moving.
Rudy was there for all the titles that Spain won including two world championships.
16 years passed between the first degree and the current degree.
A role model, a national hero.
The winning method - teamwork
Before the championship, the shiny side was emphasized with the superstars who will play in the factory.
At the end of the championship we will emphasize the team side.
The teams of the "Big 3" came to a halt in the quarterfinals and it must be noted: all three of them, Jokic, Doncic and Antetokounmpo, gave an excellent tournament and were committed.
But the one who took the whole pot is the one who played as a team.
This proved that not all that glitters is gold.
That's why the MVP this time is not a player but a coach, Scariolo, who did coaching work at the PhD level.
Brown prevails.
A decision worth its weight in gold, photo: Getty Images
The decision - to naturalize Brown
The choice of the chairman of the Spanish Basketball Association, Jorge Garbajosa, to add the American Lorenzo Brown to the team, was met with great opposition and caused an uproar. Nevertheless, he stood his ground, and his unpopular decision proved to be worth its weight in gold. Gold medal.
The sixth player - Alberto Dias
The red-haired and temperamental center back from Malaga was not supposed to be in the tournament.
He was added to the squad near the start of the championship due to the injury of Sergio Yui.
In the tournament itself he made a great contribution to Spain's great campaign when he came off the bench and changed games.
Spain this time was Alberto Diaz - less talented, but with a big soul and heart.
Punitka.
He upgraded his career, photo: IPA
The player who profited from the tournament - Matias Punitka
Punitka, who was a five player in the Euroleague (Zenit St. Petersburg), had no offers from the top factory before the tournament and signed temporarily with Barjo Emilia.
His big performance in EuroBasket (he signed the only triple-double) will mean that he will soon return to the EuroLeague.
Note: It is not clear how we were not selected for the top five of the tournament.
The coaches who earned - Lassi Tovi and Igor Milicic
Both are head coaches for the first time in a major tournament and both have recorded phenomenal successes.
Laci Tobi, the youngest of the championship coaches (35 years old), coach of Finland, led an impressive team to the quarter-finals.
Milicic, who failed with Poland in the Mundobasket qualifiers, succeeded in a big way in the Eurobasket with a surprising arrival in the semi-finals.
The career of both with an arrow up.
Entering Consciousness - Terry Tarfey
The unknown Tarpay also did not believe that he would be in France's squad for the tournament, certainly not in the top five.
He is the only one there who is not an NBA, Euroleague or Eurocup player.
National team coach Vincent Cola knew what he was doing and brought out the Le Mans guard/forward.
were blown up
Did the credit card survive the evening of the celebrations?, photo: AFP
Quote of the tournament - Gianmarco Potzko
"I gave my credit card to the players so they could celebrate," Italy coach Gianmarco Potzko said after his team stunned Serbia.
It wasn't just a quote he actually did it.
The counter was from Germany coach Gordy Herbert after he was asked if following the victory over Greece he would give the players the credit card.
He answered: "No.
I've been divorced three times and it has restrictions."
Weak score - judgement
The championship was big, but the judges came out small.
A light finger on the whistle for unsportsmanlike and technical fouls at decisive moments, many complaints from coaches, players and team managers are only part of the failure of the referees.
It should be remembered: the Euroleague referees, the top ones on the continent, do not referee the championship because of the conflict between FIBA and the Euroleague. Another reason to resolve it.
Markkanen.
entered everyone's heart with Finland, photo: Reuters
The exciting ones - Finland and Oori Markkanen
The Finnish team reached a record achievement, an appearance in the quarter-finals, but on the other hand, its road there made it into hearts.
Committed basketball, team bonding, a large crowd that follows, and one big star (Lauri Markkanen), who is part of the system and not raised from the people.
Sacrifice - Thomas Saturnski
When the Czech head coach seriously injured his ankle in a warm-up game against Germany, it was clear that he would watch the championship on TV.
He certainly wouldn't want to risk a multi-million contract he had previously signed in Barcelona.
But Nano Ginzburg's player brought a special specialist from the USA, went through intensive treatments and registered for the championship when he didn't know if he would be able to play. At first it didn't work out, but in the game against Israel he was excellent and brought the Czech Republic to the next level.
In the round of 16 against Greece, he did almost on one leg, including a EuroBasket record in assists (17) and the Czech Republic was a stone's throw away from a sensation.
It didn't happen, but the big star's huge sacrifice will not be forgotten.
Vozenkov.
His ascension was almost completely missed, photo: Reuters
They didn't notice - Sasha Vozenkov
The Bulgarian forward of Olympiacos made a rare championship but they didn't notice because he only plays for the Bulgarian national team and it didn't pass a stage.
Vozenkov did not drop in the championship from 26 points per game, in 4 out of 5 games he also had double figures in rebounds and his average index was almost 30.
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