The 1951 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1951, was the seventh

FIBA EuroBasket EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the E ...

regional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

championship, held by FIBA. Eighteen national teams affiliated with the

International Basketball Federation The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its nam ...

(FIBA) entered the competition, a record number and more than twice the number that had competed two years earlier. The competition was hosted by France, who had taken second place at

EuroBasket 1949 The 1949 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1949, was the sixth FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA. Seven national teams affiliated with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) took par ...

, behind 1949 hosts

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

. The

Vélodrome d'hiver The Vélodrome d'Hiver (, ''Winter Velodrome''), colloquially Vel' d'Hiv', was an indoor bicycle racing cycle track and stadium (velodrome) on rue Nélaton, not far from the Eiffel Tower in Paris. As well as a cycling track, it was used for ice h ...

, Paris was the location of the event.EuroBasket History – The 50s
/ref> 72 matches were held over the course of the tournament, including the three walkovers caused by

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

withdrawing after the competition schedule had been set.

Results

First round

In the preliminary round, the 18 teams were split up into four groups. Two of the groups had five teams each, with the others having four each.

withdrew, leaving 2 groups of 5, 1 group of 4, and 1 group of 3. The top two teams in each group advanced to the quarterfinal round. The seven teams that had placed third and fourth moved into the classification rounds, leaving one more spot in that round two be contested in a head-to-head match between the two fifth-place teams.

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Elimination game

The two fifth-placed teams from the preliminary groups,

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

and

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

, played a single elimination game for the honor of being the eighth team in the consolation round. The game was perhaps the closest in Eurobasket history; it was tied at 45–45 with Peter Tatalls at the free throw line with 5 seconds left. Tatalls made the shot, putting Denmark ahead 46–45. Luxembourg moved the ball up to about half-court before attempting a shot just before time expired. The shot bounced off the rim, eliminating Luxembourg from the tournament and giving Denmark their first win of the tournament as they moved into the classification round to play for 9th–16th places.

Classification round 1

The first classification round was played in two round-robin groups. Teams advanced into the second classification round depending on their results in the first round—first and second place teams played in the 9–12 segment of classification round 2 while third and fourth place teams played for 13th to 16th places.

Group 1

Group 2

Classification Round 2

13th-16th place classification playoffs

9th-12th place classification playoffs

Quarterfinals

The quarterfinal round was played in two round-robin groups. Teams advanced into the final round depending on their results in the first round—the top two teams advanced to the medals round, while third and fourth ranked teams played for 5th to 8th places.

Group A

Group B

Final round

5th-8th place classification playoffs

Classification 5–8

=Classification 7/8

=Classification 5/6

Medal Round: Bracket

Semifinals

=Bronze medal match

=Championship

Final standings

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

Team rosters

1. Soviet Union:

Otar Korkia Otar Korkia ( Georgian: ოთარ ქორქია, russian: Отар Михайлович Коркия; May 10, 1923 – March 15, 2005) was a Georgian professional basketball player and coach. He was named one of FIBA's 50 Greatest Play ...

Stepas Butautas Stepas Butautas (alternate spellings: Stiepas, Butaustas) (25 August 1925 – 22 March 2001 in Kaunas) was a Soviet and Lithuanian professional basketball player and coach. He trained at the VSS Žalgiris, in Kaunas. He played with the Sov ...

Joann Lõssov Joann Lõssov (September 10, 1921 – August 3, 2000) was an Estonian basketball player. Lõssov trained at VSS Kalev, in Tallinn. He was named MVP of the 1947 EuroBasket. Member of the Soviet Union basketball team in 1947–52, from 1949, the ...

Anatoly Konev Anatoly Konstantinovich Konev (russian: Анатолий Константинович Конев; January 10, 1921 – November 9, 1965) was a Russian basketball player. He trained at the Armed Forces sports society, in Moscow. Club career Konev ...

, Ilmar Kullam,

Heino Kruus Heino Kruus (30 September 1926 in Tallinn – 24 June 2012) was an Estonian basketball player who competed for the Soviet Union in the 1952 Summer Olympics. He trained at VSS Kalev in Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and ...

, Alexander Moiseev, Justinas Lagunavičius, Anatoly Belov, Vasili Kolpakov,

Yuri Larionov Yuri Yuryevich Larionov (russian: link=no, Юрий Юрьевич Ларионов, born 19 August 1986) is a Russian pair skater. With former partner Vera Bazarova, he is the 2012–13 Grand Prix Final silver medalist, a three-time European m ...

, Evgeni Nikitin, Viktor Vlasov, Oleg Mamontov (Coach: Stepan Spandaryan) 2. Czechoslovakia:

Ivan Mrázek Ivo "Ivan" Mrázek (18 January 1926 – 4 April 2019) was a Czech professional basketball player and coach. At 5'7 " (1.71 m) tall, he was a point guard. He was named one of FIBA's 50 Greatest Players, in 1991. Playing career Club career In h ...

, Jiri Baumruk, Zdeněk Bobrovský, Miroslav Skerik, Jaroslav Šíp, Jan Kozák, Miroslav Baumruk, Karel Belohradsky, Miroslav Dostal, Jindrich Kinsky, Zoltan Krenicky, Jiri Matousek, Milos Nebuchla, Arnost Novak, Karel Sobota, Zdenek Rylich, Stanislav Vykydal (Coach: Josef Andrle) 3. France: André Buffiere,

René Chocat René Chocat (28 November 1920 – 18 July 2000) was a French basketball player. He was inducted into the French Basketball Hall of Fame, in 2012. French national team Chocat played the 1948 Summer Olympics, and at the 1952 Summer Olympics ...

, Jacques Dessemme,

Louis Devoti Louis Devoti (10 August 1926 – 6 August 2020) was a French basketball player. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1952 Summer Olympics. References External links

* 1926 births 2020 deaths French men's basketball players ...

, Jacques Freimuller,

Robert Guillin Robert Guillin (14 February 1926 – 25 November 2013) was a French basketball player. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 19 ...

, Robert Monclar, Marc Peironne,

Marc Quiblier Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system o ...

, Jean-Pierre Salignon, Pierre Thiolon, André Vacheresse, Jean Perniceni, Justy Specker (Coach:

Robert Busnel Robert Busnel (19 September 1914 – 15 March 1991) was a French professional basketball player, coach, and administrator. During his playing career, the 1.92 m (6'3 ") tall Busnel, played at the power forward position. He was made an Officer of ...

) 4. Bulgaria: Georgi Georgiev, Stefan Bankov, Nejcho Nejchev, Vladimir Slavov, Ilija Asenov, Petar Shishkov, Kiril Semov, Konstantin Totev, Anton Kuzov, Gencho Rashkov, Ivan Vladimirov, Dimitar Popov, Metodi Tomovski (Coach: Veselin Temkov)

References

External links

FIBA Europe EuroBasket 1951
{{Eurobasket

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

1951 in basketball 1951 in French sport E Basketball in Paris International sports competitions hosted by Paris 1951 in Paris May 1951 sports events in Europe