Eurobasket 1939
Encyclopedia
The 1939 European Basketball Championship, commonly called Eurobasket 1939, was the third regional championship held by FIBA Europe
. Eight national teams affiliated with the International Basketball Federation
(FIBA) took part in the competition. Defending champions Lithuania
hosted the tournament, held in Kaunas Sports Hall
.
The winning team was Lithuania
. In retrospect, the most important match was Lithuania vs Latvia in the first round. Lithuania won by 1 point, and this was the eventual winning margin of the championship. Relations between the two nations soured to such an extent that it led to the cancellation of the subsequent 1939 Baltic Cup
football tournament.
who had played for the gold medal
United States national basketball team
at the 1936 Summer Olympics
.
1.Lithuania: Pranas Lubinas
, Mykolas Ruzgys, Feliksas Kriaučiūnas, Leonas Baltrūnas, Zenonas Puzinauskas, Artūras Andrulis, Pranas Mažeika, Leonas Petrauskas, Eugenijus Nikolskis, Vytautas Norkus, Jurgis Jurgėla, Mindaugas Šliūpas, Vytautas Budriūnas, Vytautas Leščinskas (Coach: Pranas Lubinas
)
2.Latvia: Visvaldis Melderis, Kārlis Arents, Jānis Graudiņš, Teodors Grīnbergs, Maksis Kazāks, Alfrēds Krauklis, Voldemārs Šmits, Juris Solovjovs, Aleksandrs Vanags
, Kārlis Satiņš (Coach: Valdemārs Baumanis)
3.Poland: Paweł Stok, Bogdan Bartosiewicz, Jerzy Gregołajtis, Florian Grzechowiak
, Zdzisław Kasprzak, Ewaryst Łój, Stanisław Pawlowski, Zbigniew Resich, Jerzy Rossudowski, Jarosław Śmigielski (Coach: Walenty Kłyszejko)
4.France: Robert Busnel
, Vladimir Fabrikant, Henri Lesmayoux, Fernand Prudhomme, Jean Jeammes, Etienne Roland, Emile Frezot, Robert Cohu, Maurice Mertz, Abel Gravier, Andre Ambroise, Gaston Falleur, Gabriel Gonnet, Alexandre Katlama (Coach: Paul Geist)
5.Estonia: Heino Veskila, Evald Mahl, Oskar Erikson, Ralf Viksten, Georg Vinogradov, Erich Altosaar, Artur Amon, Hans Juurup, Valdeko Valdmäe, Herbert Tillemann (Coach: Herbert Niiler)
FIBA Europe
FIBA Europe is a zone within the International Basketball Federation which includes all 49 national European basketball federations.-Division A:-Division B: -Division C:...
. Eight national teams affiliated with the International Basketball Federation
International Basketball Federation
The International Basketball Federation, more commonly known as FIBA , from its French name Fédération Internationale de Basketball, is an association of national organizations which governs international competition in basketball...
(FIBA) took part in the competition. Defending champions Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
hosted the tournament, held in Kaunas Sports Hall
Kaunas Sports Hall
Kaunas Sports Hall , also known as the S. Darius and S. Girėnas Hall is the second largest arena of Kaunas, Lithuania. It is the first arena built in the residential Žaliakalnis neighbourhood of Kaunas specially for basketball in Europe and is referred to as a "Mecca of the Lithuanian basketball"....
.
Results
The 1939 competition was in a very simple format. Each team played each of the other teams once. A win was worth 2 standings points, a loss worth 1. The rankings were based on those standing points. Ties were broken by head-to-head results.The winning team was Lithuania
Lithuania national basketball team
The Lithuanian national basketball team is the representative for Lithuania in international men's basketball. Lithuania won bronze medals in three out of five Olympic tournaments it participated in....
. In retrospect, the most important match was Lithuania vs Latvia in the first round. Lithuania won by 1 point, and this was the eventual winning margin of the championship. Relations between the two nations soured to such an extent that it led to the cancellation of the subsequent 1939 Baltic Cup
Baltic Cup
The Baltic Cup is a biennial football competition contested between national teams from the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania every two years. During the Soviet era, Belarus also participated in some of the competitions...
football tournament.
Final standings
| Rank | Team | Pts | W | L | PF | PA | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
14 | 7 | 0 | 396 | 137 | ||
 |
12 | 5 | 2 | 353 | 163 | ||
 |
12 | 5 | 2 | 242 | 216 | ||
| 4 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 265 | 216 | ||
| 5 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 286 | 167 | ||
| 6 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 225 | 216 | ||
| 7 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 162 | 343 | ||
| 8 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 70 | 541 | ||
Match results
| France | 76 - 11 | Finland |
| Poland | 35 - 31 | Estonia |
| Italy | 39 - 21 | Hungary |
| Lithuania | 37 - 36 | Latvia |
| Poland | 38 - 36 | France |
| Italy | 63 - 13 | Finland |
| Lithuania | 33 - 14 | Estonia |
| Latvia | 58 - 24 | Hungary |
| France | 31 - 24 | Italy |
| Lithuania | 46 - 18 | Poland |
| Latvia | 108 - 7 | Finland |
| Estonia | 64 - 18 | Hungary |
| Estonia | 91 - 1 | Finland |
| Poland | 42 - 20 | Hungary |
| Latvia | 38 - 23 | Italy |
| Lithuania | 48 - 18 | France |
| Latvia | 45 - 26 | France |
| Lithuania | 79 - 15 | Hungary |
| Estonia | 29 - 22 | Italy |
| Poland | 46 - 13 | Finland |
| Poland | 43 - 27 | Italy |
| France | 45 - 19 | Hungary |
| Lithuania | 112 - 9 | Finland |
| Estonia | 26 - 25 | Latvia |
| Lithuania | 41 - 27 | Italy |
| Hungary | 45 - 16 | Finland |
| France | 33 - 31 | Estonia |
| Latvia | 43 - 20 | Poland |
Team rosters
Lithuania's Lubinas was the same person as the Frank LubinFrank Lubin
Frank John Lubin was an American-Lithuanian basketball player.Lubin was born on the east side of Los Angeles, California to a family of Lithuanian immigrants and died in Glendale, California....
who had played for the gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
United States national basketball team
United States national basketball team
The United States men's national basketball team represents the United States of America in international men's basketball. The USA is the most successful team in international competition, winning medals in all sixteen Olympic tournaments it has entered, coming away with thirteen golds...
at the 1936 Summer Olympics
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...
.
1.Lithuania: Pranas Lubinas
Frank Lubin
Frank John Lubin was an American-Lithuanian basketball player.Lubin was born on the east side of Los Angeles, California to a family of Lithuanian immigrants and died in Glendale, California....
, Mykolas Ruzgys, Feliksas Kriaučiūnas, Leonas Baltrūnas, Zenonas Puzinauskas, Artūras Andrulis, Pranas Mažeika, Leonas Petrauskas, Eugenijus Nikolskis, Vytautas Norkus, Jurgis Jurgėla, Mindaugas Šliūpas, Vytautas Budriūnas, Vytautas Leščinskas (Coach: Pranas Lubinas
Frank Lubin
Frank John Lubin was an American-Lithuanian basketball player.Lubin was born on the east side of Los Angeles, California to a family of Lithuanian immigrants and died in Glendale, California....
)
2.Latvia: Visvaldis Melderis, Kārlis Arents, Jānis Graudiņš, Teodors Grīnbergs, Maksis Kazāks, Alfrēds Krauklis, Voldemārs Šmits, Juris Solovjovs, Aleksandrs Vanags
Aleksandrs Vanags
Aleksandrs Vanags , aka Alexandre Vanags, was a Latvian football and basketball player. At a young age he debuted in the Latvia national football team, after World War II he played football in France.-Biography:...
, Kārlis Satiņš (Coach: Valdemārs Baumanis)
3.Poland: Paweł Stok, Bogdan Bartosiewicz, Jerzy Gregołajtis, Florian Grzechowiak
Florian Grzechowiak
Florian Grzechowiak was a Polish basketball player who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics....
, Zdzisław Kasprzak, Ewaryst Łój, Stanisław Pawlowski, Zbigniew Resich, Jerzy Rossudowski, Jarosław Śmigielski (Coach: Walenty Kłyszejko)
4.France: Robert Busnel
Robert Busnel
Robert Busnel was a French basketball player, coach and administrator.-Career:...
, Vladimir Fabrikant, Henri Lesmayoux, Fernand Prudhomme, Jean Jeammes, Etienne Roland, Emile Frezot, Robert Cohu, Maurice Mertz, Abel Gravier, Andre Ambroise, Gaston Falleur, Gabriel Gonnet, Alexandre Katlama (Coach: Paul Geist)
5.Estonia: Heino Veskila, Evald Mahl, Oskar Erikson, Ralf Viksten, Georg Vinogradov, Erich Altosaar, Artur Amon, Hans Juurup, Valdeko Valdmäe, Herbert Tillemann (Coach: Herbert Niiler)