Æfingaverkefnum landsliðanna sem taka þátt í EuroBasket er lokið og FIBA Europe hefur gefið út Power-Rankings í síðasta sinn fyrir keppnina. Íslenska liðið er komið í neðsta sætið á nýjan leik, vísast hefur skellurinn gegn Belgum haft nokkuð með það að gera en Hollendingar hoppuðu upp í 21. sæti eftir tvíframlengdan leik sem þeir töpuðu gegn Tyrkjum.
Í umsögninni um Ísland þessa vikuna segir að íslenska liðið hafi sýnt nægan hjartastyrk til þessa en að vera okkar í dauðariðlinum/draumariðlinum (eftir því hvernig þú lesandi góður lítur á það) geri það að verkum að fátt annað en kraftaverk þurfi til að okkar menn finni svo mikið sem einn sigur í keppninni.
Barney Stinson hefur sitt um málið að segja:
Styrkleikalistinn í dag:
1
FRANCE
With two powerful outings against Dirk Nowitzki-led Germany on the weekend, the second with Tony Parker and Nicolas Batum barely utilised, shows France are in the best form possible to defend their title and become the first team to win on home soil since Germany in '93.
2
SERBIA
There were some tough calls for coach Djordjevic to make on his final roster, but when you have to leave out a FIBA Basketball World Cup silver medallist in Vladimir Stimac, it shows you have some serious depth. However, France pip them to top ranking, thanks to their slightly stronger finish to the preparation stage.
3
CROATIA
Nine games, nine wins for this year's co-hosts during the preparation phase. What was even more impressive was the quality of the opposition whom these wins came against and the calm they showed at the clutch with two games decided by three points or less, and a third decided in overtime.
4
SPAIN
Like the Croatians, the Spaniards also finished the warm-up period undefeated. However, one could argue that the calibre of teams they faced in this period was not quite as strong, seeing them overtaken by Croatia and dropping out of the top three for the first time.
5
SLOVENIA
The hosts of the previous edition of EuroBasket suffered two losses in their final two warm-up games, but it should be noted they both came against Serbia who occupy second spot on this table. They can be particularly proud of pushing the FIBA Basketball World Cup silver medallists to overtime in their second encounter on Saturday evening.
6
ITALY
Italy finally have the roster their fans have been yearning to see with all their big names on board. They capped their preparation phase with three wins over the weekend in a tournament they hosted in Trieste.
7
GREECE
Showing no signs of peaking too early, Greece now appear to be hitting their straps at just the right time with wins over Netherlands, and more impressively Lithuania and Turkey. A return to the Olympics is becoming a stronger reality by the day for the Greeks.
8
LITHUANIA
It is tough to know what to make of a Lithuanian squad who have arguably had the rockiest warm-up campaign of any of the top teams. Just how much coach Kazlauskas was experimenting versus how disjointed Lithuania may actually be will be revealed when they take on Ukraine in their Saturday opener.
9
LATVIA
2015 co-hosts Latvia had just one game in the past seven days, a convincing victory over The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Excitement is now at boiling point in the Latvian capital Riga and the Latvians will no doubt look to react positively from it.
10
GERMANY
Two losses to France over the weekend – the first by 24 points, does not bode well for Germany. One shining light is the fact that Dirk Nowitzki is growing in importance with every minute he spends on the court. They should still be able to do enough to make it to Lille.
11
POLAND
Following a one-point loss to Latvia on 23 August, the news on the court since has only been good for Poland who have all bought into coach Taylor's philosophy to win their final three warm-up games over Asian powerhouse Lebanon, Belgium and Iceland.
12
UKRAINE
Having surged up the rankings just one week ago, the Ukrainians slip back down a notch this week after being convincingly defeated by Finland on Friday night. However, the team appears settled with Jerome Randle adjusting to the team nicely and a spot on the plane to Lille does not appear to be out of the question.
13
BELGIUM
Belgium hold their spot in 13th this week, despite not finishing their preparation campaign with the same bravado they began it with. Nonetheless, one can assume coach Eddy Casteels will be OK with his team arriving in Riga with their feet firmly on the ground.
14
GEORGIA
Georgia had a forgettable final weekend to preparations, losing to hosts Italy in a four-team tournament in Trieste, along with Russia. There was however the slight consolation of their win over Michigan State, which came in their final warm-up game on Sunday evening.
15
FINLAND
Finland bounced back from their earlier loss to Ukraine on 23 August in the most commanding of fashion, running past them 88-68 in their second encounter on Friday evening. Just the boost the 'Susijengi' and their ever-faithful band of followers need ahead of their trip to Montpellier.
16
TURKEY
A loss to Greece on Friday night before needing double-overtime to defeat Netherlands on Saturday continues to raise questions of Turkey's abilities to perform outside of their own borders. Certainly worrying signs heading into the toughest of Group Phase groups.
17
RUSSIA
Following injury scares, Russia have named a settled-looking 12-man roster with no shortage of veteran know-how. They finished their preparations strongly, pushing Italy hard in their last hit out to take second-spot in a four-team tournament in Trieste behind the hosts.
18
ESTONIA
After pushing Croatia hard last Wednesday, Estonia failed to apply the same methodology in their final two warm-up games, losing by sizeable margins to Israel and Bosnia and Herzegovina. They will be hoping for a strong showing from their fans in Riga to spur them on.
19
CZECH REPUBLIC
The Czechs completed their preparations by taking on powerhouse Spain, so will likely not be too disappointed by finishing 13 points behind. However, just two wins from seven warm-up games does not read well for a team with Final Phase aspirations.
20
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Bosnia and Herzegovina will be ignoring their loss to medal contenders and co-hosts Croatia last Thursday and will instead be focusing on wins over Israel and Estonia a night either side of that loss. Despite missing some major players, Bosnia and Herzegovina can be quietly confident heading into the campaign.
21
NETHERLANDS
Netherlands finished preparation with a double-overtime loss to last year's FIBA Basketball World Cup participants Turkey. Sure, it was a loss, but the fact they are able to push a European powerhouse to the limit just days out from the tournament beginning will give them a huge boost of confidence.
22
THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA
You have to go back to 11 August to note the last time The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia recorded a victory. The loss of influential coach Aleksandar Dzikic was a massive blow to the nation's hopes and it appears they are yet to recover from this loss.
23
ISRAEL
Like Czech Republic, Israel will be another team advising people not to read too much into preparation results. With just one win to show from seven warm-up games, it is difficult to see them making the journey from the south of France to the north of the country for the Final Phase.
24
ICELAND
Iceland have shown plenty of heart through the warm-up period, even producing an upset or two along the way. However, being dumped in the 'group of death' in Berlin suggests Iceland need nothing short of a miracle to pick up a win next week.
