EuroBasket 1995 - Wikipedia
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| Ευρωμπάσκετ 1995 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Greece |
| Dates | 21 June – 2 July |
| Teams | 14 |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Yugoslavia (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Lithuania |
| Third place |  Croatia |
| Fourth place |  Greece |
| Tournament statistics | |
| MVP | Šarūnas Marčiulionis |
| Top scorer | Šarūnas Marčiulionis (22.5 points per game) |
← 1993 1997 → |
The 1995 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1995, was the 29th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 1996 Summer Olympics, giving a berth to each of the top four teams in the final standings. It was held in Greece between 21 June and 2 July 1995. Fourteen national teams entered the event under the auspices of FIBA Europe, the sport's regional governing body. The city of Athens hosted the tournament. Serbia and Montenegro (then under the name of FR Yugoslavia) won its first FIBA European title, by defeating Lithuania by the score of 96–90 in the final. Lithuania's Šarūnas Marčiulionis was voted the tournament's MVP. This edition of the FIBA EuroBasket tournament saw the successful return of the Lithuania national team to the competition, since its last triumph in 1939.
The tournament's official anthem was "Wings of Tomorrow" by Finnish band Stratovarius.
All games were played at the O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall in Athens.
| Competition | Date | Vacancies | Qualified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Host nation | – | 1 | Greece
|
| Champions from EuroBasket 1993 | 22 June – 4 July 1993 | 1 |  Germany
|
| Qualified through Qualifying Round | 21 June 1993 – 16 November 1994 | 10 | Croatia  Finland  France  Israel  Italy  Lithuania  Russia  Slovenia  Spain  Sweden
|
| Qualified through Additional Qualifying Round | 31 May – 4 June 1995 | 2 |  Turkey Yugoslavia
|
- The teams were split in two groups of seven teams each. The top four teams from each group advance to the knockout quarterfinals.
- The winners in the semifinals compete for the European Championship, while the losers from the semifinals play a consolation game for the third place.
- The losers in the quarterfinals compete in a separate bracket to define 5th through 8th place in the final standings.
- Times given below are in Eastern European Summer Time (UTC+3).
| Qualified for the quarterfinals |
| Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yugoslavia
|
6 | 6 | 0 | 490 | 411 | +79 | 12 |
| Lithuania
|
6 | 5 | 1 | 513 | 442 | +71 | 11 |
| Greece
|
6 | 4 | 2 | 448 | 430 | +18 | 10 |
| Italy
|
6 | 3 | 3 | 438 | 433 | +5 | 9 |
| Israel
|
6 | 2 | 4 | 419 | 417 | +2 | 8 |
| Germany
|
6 | 1 | 5 | 448 | 488 | −40 | 7 |
| Sweden
|
6 | 0 | 6 | 393 | 528 | −135 | 6 |
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Carl Jungebrand (FIN), Necip Kapanlı (TUR)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Alan Richardson (ENG), Vicente Sanchís (ESP)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Juan Antonio Figueroa (PUR), Mikhail Grigoriev (RUS)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Danko Radić (CRO), Carl Jungebrand (FIN)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Wiesław Zych (POL), Aleš Kamnikar (SLO)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Vicente Sanchís (ESP), Juan Antonio Figueroa (PUR)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Danko Radić (CRO), George Toliver (USA)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Wiesław Zych (POL), Mikhail Grigoriev (RUS)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Carl Jungebrand (FIN), George Toliver (USA)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Alan Richardson (ENG), Aleš Kamnikar (SLO)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Philippe Mailhabiau (FRA), Juan Antonio Figueroa (PUR)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Philippe Mailhabiau (FRA), Mikhail Grigoriev (RUS)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Alan Richardson (ENG), Carl Jungebrand (FIN)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Vicente Sanchís (ESP), Danko Radić (CRO)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: George Toliver (USA), Necip Kapanlı (TUR)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Carl Jungebrand (FIN), Necip Kapanlı (TUR)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Mikhail Grigoriev (RUS), Philippe Mailhabiau (FRA)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Danko Radić (CRO), Necip Kapanlı (TUR)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Reuven Virovnik (ISR), Carl Jungebrand (FIN)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Vicente Sanchís (ESP), Philippe Mailhabiau (FRA)
| Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Tie |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia
|
6 | 6 | 0 | 534 | 464 | +70 | 12 | |
| Spain
|
6 | 4 | 2 | 499 | 473 | +26 | 10 | 1-1, +5 |
| Russia
|
6 | 4 | 2 | 577 | 508 | +69 | 10 | 1-1, +4 |
| France
|
6 | 4 | 2 | 496 | 466 | +30 | 10 | 1-1, -9 |
| Slovenia
|
6 | 2 | 4 | 505 | 506 | −1 | 8 | |
| Turkey
|
6 | 1 | 5 | 462 | 539 | −77 | 7 | |
| Finland
|
6 | 0 | 6 | 457 | 574 | −117 | 6 |
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Reuven Virovnik (ISR), Lars Klaar (SWE)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Juan Antonio Figueroa (PUR), Romualdas Brazauskas (LTU)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Stefano Cazzaro (ITA), Peter George (GER)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Nikolaos Pitsilkas (GRE), George Toliver (USA)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Reuven Virovnik (ISR), Lars Klaar (SWE)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Alan Richardson (ENG), Romualdas Brazauskas (LTU)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Stefano Cazzaro (ITA), Tomislav Jovančić (YUG)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Reuven Virovnik (ISR), Nikolaos Pitsilkas (GRE)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Peter George (GER), Reuven Virovnik (ISR)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Stefano Cazzaro (ITA), Lars Klaar (SWE)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Wiesław Zych (POL), Romualdas Brazauskas (LTU)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Peter George (GER), Lars Klaar (SWE)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Tomislav Jovančić (YUG), Stefano Cazzaro (ITA)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Nikolaos Pitsilkas (GRE), George Toliver (USA)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Alan Richardson (ENG), Reuven Virovnik (ISR)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Vicente Sanchís (ESP), Romualdas Brazauskas (LTU)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Tomislav Jovančić (YUG), Juan Antonio Figueroa (PUR)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Peter George (GER), Juan Antonio Figueroa (PUR)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Stefano Cazzaro (ITA), Lars Klaar (SWE)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Nikolaos Pitsilkas (GRE), George Toliver (USA)
Championship bracket
[edit]
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 30 June – 22:00 | ||||||||||
| France | 86 | |||||||||
| 1 July – 20:00 | ||||||||||
| Yugoslavia | 104 | |||||||||
| Yugoslavia | 60 | |||||||||
| 30 June – 20:00 | ||||||||||
| Greece | 52 | |||||||||
| Greece | 66 | |||||||||
| 2 July – 22:00 | ||||||||||
| Spain | 64 | |||||||||
| Yugoslavia | 96 | |||||||||
| 30 June – 18:00 | ||||||||||
| Lithuania | 90 | |||||||||
| Italy | 61 | |||||||||
| 1 July – 22:00 | ||||||||||
| Croatia | 71 | |||||||||
| Croatia | 80 | |||||||||
| 30 June – 16:00 | ||||||||||
| Lithuania | 90 | Third place | ||||||||
| Russia | 71 | |||||||||
| 2 July – 20:00 | ||||||||||
| Lithuania | 82 | |||||||||
| Greece | 68 | |||||||||
| Croatia | 73 | |||||||||
Winners qualified for the 1996 Summer Olympics.
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Nikolaos Pitsilkas (GRE), Juan Antonio Figueroa (PUR)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Wiesław Zych (POL), Danko Radić (CRO)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Stefano Cazzaro (ITA), Romualdas Brazauskas (LTU)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Stefano Cazzaro (ITA), Philippe Mailhabiau (FRA)
One of the most intense matches in Eurobasket history, the finals match-up between Yugoslavia and Lithuania on Sunday, 2 July 1995 almost ended in scandal. Played in the boiling atmosphere of the Athens' OAKA, more than 20,000 people filled up the arena, most of them local Greeks vociferously cheering for Lithuania, or more specifically cheering against Yugoslavia because it eliminated Greece in the semifinals.[1]
From the start, the two teams matched up evenly, as Lithuania's Šarūnas Marčiulionis and Arvydas Sabonis and Yugoslavia's Aleksandar Đorđević and Predrag Danilović exchanged points. At halftime, the Lithuanians were ahead by a point, 49–48. Vlade Divac got a technical foul early in first half. In second half, an American referee George Toliver signaled Lithuanian center Arvydas Sabonis for a technical foul, which led to Lithuanian protestations.
After a few more fouls signaled by the referee, one offensive and one technical against Lithuania, the Lithuanian team refused to return to the court after timeout. After a few minutes, Aleksandar Đorđević, who was the leading scorer with 41 points (made 9 three-pointers out of 12 attempted), tried to convince Marčiulionis to continue playing.
The persuasions were successful, and five Lithuanians returned to the court. Yugoslavia was leading 93–89 with 2 minutes remaining in the game. Players Arvydas Sabonis and Rimas Kurtinaitis could not return to the court, as they fouled out before the Lithuanian refusal to play. And although the Lithuanian team tried their hardest to catch up with the Yugoslavian team, they eventually lost 96–90.
After the Yugoslavs' victory, the Greek crowd that cheered against Yugoslavia throughout the final further showed their displeasure during the winners ceremony by chanting "Lithuania is the champion!".[2] Furthermore, there was controversy during the medal ceremony as right before the winning Yugoslav team were about to receive their gold medals, the third-placed Croatian team, in an unprecedented move, stepped down from the medal podium and walked off the court in an unprecedented display of bad sportsmanship, due to the civil war in former Yugoslavia.
| Classification round | Fifth place | |||||
| 1 July – 16:00 | ||||||
| Italy | 80 | |||||
| 2 July – 16:00 | ||||||
| Russia | 70 | |||||
| Italy | 82 | |||||
| 1 July – 18:00 | ||||||
| Spain | 75 | |||||
| France | 74 | |||||
| Spain | 75 | |||||
| Seventh place | ||||||
| 2 July – 18:00 | ||||||
| Russia | 108 | |||||
| France | 89 |
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Alan Richardson (ENG), Nikolaos Pitsilkas (GRE)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Wiesław Zych (POL), Danko Radić (CRO)
O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Referees: Juan Antonio Figueroa (PUR), Tomislav Jovančić (YUG)
Statistical leaders
[edit]
Individual Tournament Highs
[edit]
Individual Game Highs
[edit]
| Department | Name | Total | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points | Aleksandar Đorđević |
41 | Lithuania
|
| Rebounds | Arvydas Sabonis |
23 | Greece
|
| Assists | Toni Kukoč |
11 | Finland
|
| Steals | Panagiotis Fasoulas |
6 | Yugoslavia
|
| Turnovers | Šarūnas Marčiulionis Stéphane Ostrowski Stojko Vranković |
7 | Yugoslavia Turkey Greece
|
Team Tournament Highs
[edit]
| Department | Name | Total | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points | Russia |
126 | Finland
|
| Rebounds | Russia |
54 | Finland
|
| Assists | Croatia Yugoslavia |
23 | Turkey Germany
|
| Steals | France |
15 | Finland
|
| Field goal percentage | Spain |
66.7% (34/51) | Slovenia
|
| 3-point field goal percentage | Spain |
68.8% (11/16) | Russia
|
| Free throw percentage | Finland |
100% (7/7) | Croatia
|
| Turnovers | Yugoslavia |
26 | Israel
|
| 1995 FIBA EuroBasket champions |
|---|
 Yugoslavia 1st title |
| All-Tournament Team[12] |
|---|
| Šarūnas Marčiulionis (MVP)
|
| Toni Kukoč
|
| Fanis Christodoulou
|
| Vlade Divac
|
| Arvydas Sabonis
|
| Rank | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
|
Yugoslavia
|
9–0 |
|
Lithuania
|
7–2 |
|
Croatia
|
8–1 |
| 4 | Greece
|
5–4 |
| 5 | Italy
|
5–4 |
| 6 | Spain
|
5–4 |
| 7 | Russia
|
5–4 |
| 8 | France
|
4–5 |
| 9 | Israel
|
2–4 |
| 10 | Slovenia
|
2–4 |
| 11 | Germany
|
1–5 |
| 12 | Turkey
|
1–5 |
| 13 | Finland
|
0–6 |
| 14 | Sweden
|
0–6 |
- ^ The 1995 European Championship - An Interview with Sarunas Marciulionis
- ^ "BASKETBALL; Politics Take Center Court as Yugoslavs Win Title (Published 1995)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 22 April 2023.
- ^ PPG Leaders at FIBA.com
- ^ RPG Leaders at FIBA.com
- ^ APG Leaders at FIBA.com
- ^ SPG Leaders at FIBA.com
- ^ MPG Leaders at FIBA.com
- ^ Team Leaders – PPG
- ^ Team Leaders – RPG
- ^ Team Leaders – APG
- ^ Team Leaders – SPG
- ^ Linguasport.com Tournament Team.[usurped]
- 1995 European Championship for Men archive.FIBA.com