The 2nd European Basketball Championship took place in the Latvian capital Riga from May 2 to May 7, 1937 . The tournament was attended by 8 national teams, initially divided into 2 groups. The Lithuanian team became the champion, having beaten the Italian national team 24:23 in the Final match.
| Eurobasket 1937 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2nd FIBA European Championship | ||
 | ||
| Tournament details | ||
| Location |  Latvia | |
| the date of the | May 2 - May 7 | |
| Teams | 8 (from 8 federations) | |
| Stadiums | 1 (in 1 city) | |
 Champion |  Lithuania (1st title) | |
| MVP | Pranas Talzunas Lithuania | |
| Tournament statistics | ||
| Players | Team | |
| Glasses | ||
| Rebounds | ||
| Gears | ||
← 1935 | 1939 → | |
Before the tournament
To participate in the championship managed to attract fewer participants than it was at the previous championship in Switzerland . Because of the civil war, the finalists of the previous championship did not come to the Spanish national team . Not arrived also teams of Switzerland , Hungary , Bulgaria . Of the new participants, the Polish national team , which became the fourth at the Berlin Olympics , was of interest, as well as the Egyptian national team , which FIBA allowed at their own request, since in Africa and Asia, Egypt had no worthy competitors at that time.
The favorites of the tournament were considered the Latvian national team - the winner of the previous European championship and the Italian national team, led by its leader and one of the best players of that time, Livio Franceschini . The Lithuanian team was considered an outsider due to low rates in international matches. So, in one of the friendly matches in 1935, the Lithuanians lost to Latvians with a score of 10: 123. Despite the great coaching work done by Konstantin Savickas , who returned from the United States in 1936, matches with Estonia and Latvia were also lost.
In 1937, at the invitation of compatriots, the children of Lithuanian émigrés Felixas Kriaučunas returned to their homeland from the USA and joined the team, becoming not only the captain, but also the playing coach, as well as Pranas Talzūnas . Basketball player, who became the best player of the championship. The arrival of Kryauchius and Talzunas transformed the game of the Lithuanian team.
Members
| Group A | Group B |
|---|---|
Lithuania | Poland |
Group stage
Group A
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Group B
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Thus, two semi-final pairs were formed, according to the formula in force in 1937:
Italy - France (A2-B1)
Lithuania - Poland (A1-B2)
For 5-8 places the struggle also continued. Couples formed as follows:
Latvia - Egypt (B3-A4)
Estonia - Czechoslovakia (A3-B4)
Final Stage
Fight for the Championship
| Semi final | The final | ||||||
| Italy | 36 | ||||||
| France | 22 | ||||||
| May 7 | |||||||
| Lithuania | 24 | ||||||
| Italy | 23 | ||||||
| 3rd place | |||||||
| Lithuania | 31 | France | 27 | ||||
| Poland | 25 | Poland | 24 | ||||
Fight for 5-8 places
| 5-8 places | 5th place | ||||||
| Estonia | thirty | ||||||
| Czechoslovakia | 20 | ||||||
| Estonia | 41 | ||||||
| Latvia | nineteen | ||||||
| 7th place | |||||||
| Latvia | 2 | Czechoslovakia | 2 | ||||
| Egypt (failure) | 0 | Egypt (failure) | 0 | ||||
Summary of Team Positions
| one. Lithuania |
| 2 Italy |
| 3 France |
| four. Poland |
| five. Estonia |
| 6 Latvia |
| 7 Czechoslovakia |
| eight. Egypt |
Champion
| European Basketball Champion 1937 |
|---|
| Lithuania First title |
After winning
The Lithuanian team at that time became the European Champion for the first time in its history. Without losing a single match in the tournament, she left no doubt about her superiority. After that, Lithuania had twice the title: in 1939 and 2003 .
The victory in Eurobasket-1937 spawned a basketball “boom” in Lithuania and became a serious milestone in the development of Lithuanian basketball.
Interesting Facts
The national team of Egypt is the first (but not the only) African country admitted to the European Championship. After that, the Egyptian team still three times participated in the European Championships ( 1947 , 1949 , 1953 ) and even became the European Champion (in 1949), as well as the bronze medalist (1947).