Sunday, May 20th, 2012
The Eurobasket odds have Spain as a short-priced favourite to take the European title.
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Lithuania are considered their nearest challengers for the championship, which will feature dozens of matches to decide the European elite.
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1/1 Spain, 4/1 Lithuania, 6/1 Serbia, 17/2 France, 14/1 Greece, 20/1 Russia
Spain go into this year’s European Championships as strong favourites. Their side includes some of the powerhouse individuals of the European game including Juan Carlos Navarro, Sergio Llull of Real Madrid and Fernando San Emeterio. They are the defending champions and a largely experiened and familiar unit, and thus deserve considerable respect. They have a tricky group though, with Turkey and Lithuania offering genuine and substantial threats. The Lithuanians are a traditional powerhouse and also include plenty of players used to fighting for trophies in European club competition. Poland, Portugal and Britain make up Group A.
Serbia are the favourites for Group B, they have similar features to Spain in being a familiar and competitive unit, while France are their main rivals who will put their faith in a physical and defensive game. Italy are also in this group, while NBA star Dirk Nowitzki will certainly up the competitieness of the German side, but they might just come up just a little short. Latvia and Israel complete the group.
Croatia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Bosnia are all together in Group C, which may upset the form book due to intense local rivalries. The qualifiers shoul come from these sides, with Greece and Finland the other contenders.
Group D has Russia and Slovenia as the main features, with Russia having good squad depth with players from CSKA Moscow and BC Khimki. Bozidar Maljkovic, one of the canny veternas of coaching, should get the best out of the Slovenians. Ukraine, Belgium, Georgia and Bulgaria round things off
Spain are short price favourites but have a tough group, so we suggest a nibble at Serbia @ 6/1 with Paddy Power. Use our link to claim a free bet of up to £50.