Eurobasket

Fortress Europa. Often regarded as the Fortress of Football, could also be called a Bastion of Basketball. At least during the Eurobasket tournament and the buildup surrounding it.

Eurobasket, the International Basketball Federation’s (FIBA) European tournament, has been held bi-annually since 1935, and alternates between a qualifying tournament for the Olympics and the FIBA World Championship. The most winning team in the history of Eurobasket is the now defunct Soviet Union, and Spain, Italy, Greece, France and Britain have shown a particularly competitive streak of late.

The tournament starts with a 16 team round-robin qualifier that pairs the field down to four top teams to compete in Eurobasket. These four advance to the knockout stage, which is a single-elimination format, and includes a bronze medal game to determine third place.

Eurobasket fields some strong competitors, with foreign-born NBA stars often loyal to their home country’s teams.

Nothing like a little patriotism amongst close neighbors.