No suprises for Cyprus on road to EuroBasket 2009

THE draws for the EuroBasket 2009 Divisions A and B, EuroBasket Women 2009 Qualifying Rounds and the Youth European Championships 2008 took place over the weekend in Venice.
A total of 78 teams in six senior level divisions and 221 youth teams that entered the 14 youth championships this year were anxious to find out what opposition they would have to face.
The Cypriot national men’s basketball team will compete in the EuroBasket 2009 Division B Qualifying Round Group B against Romania, Switzerland, Albania and Belarus. The Cypriots open their European campaign against Romania away from home on the September 6th, while four days later they host Switzerland.

Cyprus already played both Romania and Switzerland in the qualifications for the last European championship and suffered four defeats. Romania won 79-64 in Cluj-Napoca, while in Strovolos they topped the hosts 68-65. Led by Thabo Sefolosha of the Chicago Bulls, Switzerland also beat Cyprus on both occasions 64-46 in Nicosia and 76-67 in Switzerland. The Cypriot national basketball team faced the other two teams in the group, Albania and England, in the qualifications for the EuroBasket 2005.

The U16 National Team will feature at the FIBA U16 European Championship Men’s Division B that will be held in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, from 15th to 24th of August. Cyprus was drawn into the Group C together with Romania, Switzerland, Slovenia, England and Bulgaria who will also be the first opponents for the Cypriot youngsters.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.