International basketball and NBA players were not limited to the Beijing Olympics this summer.
European nations have just ended an intense three weeks of group play that determined places for the European finals of Eurobasket, which takes place in Poland in September 2009.
With eight nations -- participants from Beijing, plus host Poland -- already guaranteed places, 17 countries played for seven spots, with one place available next summer in a last-chance play-in.
....................
STAR MAN
Nenad Krstic, Serbia: Krstic suffered through a 2007-08 season to forget with injuries and a loss in confidence and form, forcing him to admit in his own blog that he had let down his employers, the
New Jersey Nets.
The consolation for the 7-footer came when he signed a two-year, $18 million contract with wealthy Russian club Triumph Lyubertsy this summer. His resurgence continued as he led the Serbs to Eurobasket.
On a balanced roster (the Serbs used 14 players, 10 of whom logged at least 100 minutes over the eight games), Krstic led the team in scoring (13.7 ppg) and rebounds (5.7 rpg).
