EuroBasket

EuroBasket

Current season, competition or edition: EuroBasket 1959
Founded	1935
Inaugural season	1935
No. of teams	14
Countries	FIBA Europe member associations
Continent	FIBA Europe (Europe)
Most recent champion(s)	Soviet Union
Most titles	Soviet Union (6 titles)

EuroBasket, previously referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main basketball competition contested biennially by the men's national teams governed by FIBA Europe, the European zone within the International Basketball Federation. The championship was first held in 1935.

History

The first EuroBasket competition was held in Switzerland in 1935 which was held in Switzerland as FIBA was created in that country only three years earlier. In the first competition, Spain and Portugal had to play in a qualifier to see who would make it into the main draw. In the end, Switzerland would take out there only EuroBasket to date when they defeated Spain 24-22 in the final. The next two competitions would see Lithuania take out the trophy in an eight-team competition.

After the Second World War, the competition saw the rise of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia which first appeared in 1947 with the Soviet Union taking out the title in Czechoslovakia. The next edition saw the only edition that was played outside of Europe with Egypt hosting and coming runner-up to the French who would take out the title. 1951 would see the competition expand to an eighteen team competition with no less than four debuting in the competition. After two round of group stage matches, the final would see the Soviet Union take out the title as they defeated Czechoslovakia in the final by only three points. The Soviet Union would win the following tournament on their home court winning every single game in the progress. 1955 saw the competition introduce a 30 second clock which would change the way the game was played. After losing to Italy in the opening round, it paved the way for Hungary to take out the title for the first time finishing ahead of Bulgaria who also claimed their first medal.

1957 saw the format of the competition change with another round introduce in between the first and final round. This was mainly to reduce the final round to only four teams compared to the eight that had been played in the previous two editions. The Soviet Union in the end would take their fourth gold medal finishing on top in the final round ahead of Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria

Champions

Year	Host (Final phase/game)	Gold medal game			Bronze medal game			Number of teams
		Gold	Score	Silver	Bronze	Score	Fourth place
1935	Geneva	Switzerland	24–22	Spain	Czechoslovakia	22–16	Latvia	10
1937	Riga	Lithuania	27-18	France	Estonia	30–26	Poland	8
1939	Kaunas	Lithuania	No playoffs	Latvia	Estonia	No playoffs	Poland	8
1946	Geneva	Italy	35–28	Switzerland	Hungary	40–32	France	10
1947	Prague	Soviet Union	64-35	Belgium	Czechoslovakia	52–41	Egypt	14
1949	Cairo	France	No playoffs	Egypt	Greece	No playoffs	Turkey	7
1951	Paris	Soviet Union	45-42	Czechoslovakia	France	No playoffs	Bulgaria	18
1953	Moscow	Soviet Union	No playoffs	France	Hungary	No playoffs	Yugoslavia	17
1955	Budapest	Hungary	No playoffs	Bulgaria	Czechoslovakia	No playoffs	Soviet Union	18
1957	Sofia	Soviet Union	No playoffs	Czechoslovakia	Bulgaria	No playoffs	Romania	16
1959	Istanbul	Soviet Union	No playoffs	Czechoslovakia	Hungary	No playoffs	Yugoslavia	16
1961	Belgrade	Soviet Union	62-50	Yugoslavia	Romania	53-49	France	19

Medal Table

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Soviet Union	6	0	0	6
2	Lithuania	2	0	0	2
3	France	1	2	1	4
4	Switzerland	1	1	0	2
5	Hungary	1	0	3	4
6	Italy	1	0	0	1
7	Czechoslovakia	0	3	3	6
8	Bulgaria	0	1	1	2
9	Belgium	0	1	0	1
	Egypt	0	1	0	1
	Latvia	0	1	0	1
	Spain	0	1	0	1
	Yugoslavia	0	1	0	1
14	Estonia	0	0	2	2
15	Greece	0	0	1	1
	Romania	0	0	1	1
Totals (16 nations)		12	12	12	36