Everything you need to know about EuroBasket 2009

Here are some basics regarding the preliminary round of EuroBasket 2009, the international basketball tournament that is underway in Poland. It concludes on Sept. 20.

Sixteen teams will compete in the preliminary round. Four groups of four teams will play in Poznan, Gdansk, Warsaw, and Wroclaw. Each team will face the other teams in the group once.

The top three teams from each group will move onto the next round, with a total of 12 teams divided into two groups of six. The three top teams from Group A and B will comprise one group (Group E), while the top three teams from Groups C and D will comprise the second group, (Group F). The Group E games will take place in Bydgoszcz, while the Group F games will take place in Lodz. Each team will play three games, all against opponents from the other group in the first round. For example, a team from group A will play all three of the qualifying teams from Group B.

The top four teams from Groups E and F will advance into the knockout round, which is a single-game format. The top seeded-team from Group E will play the fourth-seeded team from Group F and vice-versa, while the second and third-seeded teams from opposite groups will face each other.

The four winners will advance to the semifinals, with the two semifinal winners advancing to the championship game. The two losers of the semifinal games will play to determine third and fourth place.

The losers of the quarterfinal games will continue to play, with the quarterfinal loser who wins its next two games being awarded fifth place. The entire knockout stage will be played in Katowice.

Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs (France)
Ronny Turiaf, Golden State Warriors (France)
Nicolas Batum, Portland Trail Blazers (France)
Kosta Koufos, Utah Jazz (Greece)
Andris Biedrins, Golden State Warriors (Latvia)
Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Rockets (Great Britain)
Goran Dragic, Phoenix Suns (Slovenia)
Beno Udrih, Sacramento Kings (Slovenia)
Marcin Gortat, Orlando Magic (Poland)
Roko Ukic, Toronto Raptors (Croatia)
Nenad Krstic, Oklahoma City Thunder (Serbia)
Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Lakers (Spain)
Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies (Spain)
Rudy Fernandez, Portland Trail Blazers (Spain)
Mehmet Okur, Utah Jazz (Turkey)
Hedo Turkoglu, Toronto Raptors (Turkey)

The top six finishers from EuroBasket 2009 will qualify for the 2010 FIBA World Championships, to be held in Turkey next September. The four teams who reach the semifinals in Poland as well as the top two teams who lose in the quarterfinals will head to Turkey to compete against the best teams from around the world. Turkey is taking part in EuroBasket 2009 but is already qualified for the World Championship as the host nation. Because of that, the seventh place team will qualify for the World Championships if Turkey finishes within the top six at EuroBasket.

USA (Olympic champions)
Turkey (Host)
Angola (African champions)
Ivory Coast (African second place)
Tunisia (African third place)
Iran (Asian champions)
China (Asian second place)
Jordan (Asian third place)
New Zealand (Oceania champions)
Australia (Oceania second place)
Brazil (Americas champions)
Puerto Rico (Americas second place)
Argentina (Americas third place)
Canada (Americas fourth place)

FIBA has petitioned the IOC to allow 16 men's teams to compete in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, an increase from the 12 that competed in 2008. The host nation of Great Britain is currently the only team that is qualified. The winner of the 2010 World Championships will receive an automatic bid to the Olympics, as well as the top two teams from EuroBasket 2011 in Lithuania. Four teams from Europe will also compete in an Olympic qualifying tournament consisting of 16 teams. The top three teams from that tournament also will compete in the Olympics.