Finland national basketball team
Encyclopedia
The Finnish national basketball team is the basketball side that represents Finland
in international competitions.
. In the round-robin there, they lost to each of the other seven teams in sequence, finishing with a 70–541 overall point differential.
in Paris. They split their four preliminary round games, finishing third place in the group at 2–2 to be eliminated from championship contention. They had success after that, winning all three of their classification round 1 games and both round 2 games to finish in 9th place of the 18 teams.
in Moscow. In the preliminary round, they finished with 1 win and 3 losses for 4th place of the 5 teams in the group. They fared significantly better in the first classification round, winning 3 and losing only 1 to finish in the middle of a three-way tie in the group. They lost both the 9–12 and 11/12 classification games, however, taking 12th place of 17 overall.
. They lost all three early games in Budapest
, being relegated to the classification round. Once again, faced with weaker opponents, the Fins shone in the classification round, winning all four of the pool play games. They won their classification 9–12 match as well, but lost to France
in the 9/10 final to finish 10th of 18 in the tournament.
for Eurobasket 1957
, the Finns finished third in their preliminary group after going 1–2. They moved to the 9–16 classification pool, winning five games there and losing only two to take 11th place overall in the tournament.
. The tournament berth was the first for Finland in 16 years. They made a remarkable performance and finished 3rd in EuroBasket 2011 Group C
beating Bosnia and Herzegovina
92–64 and Montenegro
71–65. Therefore they qualified for EuroBasket 2011 Group F
. In their first match they were easily defeated by Russia
but afterwards they defeated Georgia
and then lost to Slovenia
in their final match of the tournament.
Olympic Games
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Head coach
Assistant coaches
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Legend:
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Kalevi Ihalainen, Pauli Sarkkula, Erkki Linden, Ilkka Torronen, Erkki Saurala, Pentti Vuollekoski, Vladi Marmo, Martti Salminen, Reino Valtonen, Alo Suurna, Heinonen (Coach: Osmo Kupiainen)
1951 EuroBasket: finished 9th among 17 teams
Kalevi Heinanen, Pentti Laaksonen, Raimo Lindholm, Pertti Mutru, Tapio Poyhonen, Timo Suviranta, Kalevi Sylander, Oiva Virtanen, Olli Arppe, Kaj Gustafsson, Arto Koivisto, Juhani Kyostila, Raine Nuutinen, Allan Pietarinen (Coach: Eino Ojanen)
1952 Olympic Games: finished 15th among 23 teams
Kalevi Heinanen, Pentti Laaksonen, Juhani Kyostila, Raimo Lindholm, Pertti Mutru, Tapio Poyhonen, Eero Salonen, Timo Suviranta, Kalevi Sylander, Oiva Virtanen, Raine Nuutinen, Olavi Lahtinen, Tuomo Ristola, Esko Karhunen
1953 EuroBasket: finished 12th among 17 teams
Kalevi Heinanen, Pentti Laaksonen, Pertti Mutru, Allan Pietarinen, Raimo Lindholm, Timo Suviranta, Timo Lampen, Raine Nuutinen, Keijo Hynninen, Oiva Virtanen, Eero Salonen, Kaj Gustafsson (Coach: Eino Ojanen)
1955 EuroBasket: finished 10th among 18 teams
Kalevi Heinanen, Kalevi Sylander, Pertti Mutru, Oiva Virtanen, Timo Lampen, Taisto Ravantti, Seppo Kuusela, Timo Suviranta, Raine Nuutinen, Eero Salonen, Kalevi Tuominen, Asko Jokinen, Raimo Lindholm (Coach: Eino Ojanen)
1957 EuroBasket: finished 11th among 16 teams
Timo Lampen, Arto Koivisto, Pertti Mutru, Raine Nuutinen, Eero Salonen, Seppo Kuusela, Arvo Jantunen, Juhani Kala, Paavo Suhonen, Raimo Lindholm, Timo Suviranta, Kalevi Sylander (Coach: Kalevi Tuominen)
1959 EuroBasket: finished 13th among 17 teams
Timo Lampen, Raimo Lindholm, Seppo Kuusela, Arvo Jantunen, Juhani Kala, Matti Nenonen, Raine Nuutinen, Eero Salonen, Raimo Vartia, Matti Koli, Kyosti Rousti, Palko (Coach: Kalevi Tuominen)
1961 EuroBasket: finished 14th among 19 teams
Martti Liimo, Kari Liimo, Raimo Lindholm, Timo Lampen, Raimo Vartia, Pertti Laanti, Tony Barlund, Arvo Jantunen, Uolevi Manninen, Lauri Nurma, Seppo Kuusela, Rauno Ailus (Coach: Kalevi Tuominen)
1963 EuroBasket: finished 14th among 16 teams
Martti Liimo, Kari Liimo, Jorma Pilkevaara, Timo Lampen, Pertti Laanti, Raimo Vartia, Uolevi Manninen, Antero Siljola, Juha Harjula, Seppo Kuusela, Rauno Ailus, Kauko Kauppinen (Coach: Kalevi Tuominen)
1964 Olympic Games: finished 11th among 16 teams
Martti Liimo, Jorma Pilkevaara, Kari Liimo, Raimo Vartia, Pertti Laanti, Timo Lampen, Risto Kala, Kauko Kauppinen, Raimo Lindholm, Teijo Finneman, Uolevi Manninen
, Juha Harjula (Coach: Kalevi Tuominen)
1965 EuroBasket: finished 12th among 16 teams
Martti Liimo, Kari Liimo, Jorma Pilkevaara, Kari Lahti, Pertti Laanti, Timo Lampen, Uolevi Manninen, Jyrki Immonen, Hannu Paananen, Lars Karell, Kari Ronnholm, Teijo Finneman (Coach: Kalevi Tuominen)
1967 EuroBasket: finished 6th among 16 teams
Veikko Vainio, Jorma Pilkevaara, Martti Liimo, Kari Liimo, Pertti Laanti, Kari Lahti, Uolevi Manninen, Teijo Finneman, Jyrki Immonen, Lars Karell, Olavi Ahonen, Kari Ronnholm (Coach: Kalevi Tuominen)
1977 EuroBasket: finished 10th among 12 teams
Heikki Taponen, Tapio Sten, Jarmo Laitinen, Erkki Saaristo, Antti Zitting, Mikko Koskinen, Klaus Mahlamaki, Risto Lignell, Raimo Mantynen, Anssi Rauramo, Kalevi Sarkalahti, Heikki Kasko (Coach: Robert Petersen)
1995 EuroBasket: finished 13th among 14 teams
Hanno Möttölä
, Martti Kuisma, Kari-Pekka Klinga, Petri-Mikael Niiranen, Juha Luhtanen, Jyri Lehtonen, Pekka Markkanen, Sakari Pehkonen, Markku Larkio, Mika-Matti Tahvanainen, Riku Marttinen, Jarkko Tuomala (Coach: Henrik Dettmann)
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
in international competitions.
Eurobasket 1939
Finland first competed in the European championship in the third installment, at Eurobasket 1939Eurobasket 1939
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 took part in the competition...
. In the round-robin there, they lost to each of the other seven teams in sequence, finishing with a 70–541 overall point differential.
Eurobasket 1951
Finland's next European competition was 12 years later, at Eurobasket 1951Eurobasket 1951
The 1951 European Basketball Championship, commonly called Eurobasket 1951, was the seventh regional championship held by FIBA Europe. Eighteen national teams affiliated with the International Basketball Federation entered the competition, a record number and more than twice the number that had...
in Paris. They split their four preliminary round games, finishing third place in the group at 2–2 to be eliminated from championship contention. They had success after that, winning all three of their classification round 1 games and both round 2 games to finish in 9th place of the 18 teams.
Eurobasket 1953
Finland again competed at Eurobasket 1953Eurobasket 1953
The 1953 European Basketball Championship, commonly called Eurobasket 1953, was the eighth regional championship held by FIBA Europe. Seventeen national teams affiliated with the International Basketball Federation entered the competition. The competition was hosted by the Soviet Union,...
in Moscow. In the preliminary round, they finished with 1 win and 3 losses for 4th place of the 5 teams in the group. They fared significantly better in the first classification round, winning 3 and losing only 1 to finish in the middle of a three-way tie in the group. They lost both the 9–12 and 11/12 classification games, however, taking 12th place of 17 overall.
Eurobasket 1955
Finland had great difficulty in the preliminary round of Eurobasket 1955Eurobasket 1955
The 1955 European Basketball Championship, commonly called Eurobasket 1955, was the ninth regional championship held by FIBA Europe. Eighteen national teams affiliated with the International Basketball Federation entered the competition. The competition was hosted by Hungary, silver medal...
. They lost all three early games in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, being relegated to the classification round. Once again, faced with weaker opponents, the Fins shone in the classification round, winning all four of the pool play games. They won their classification 9–12 match as well, but lost to France
France national basketball team
The French national basketball team is the national basketball team representing France. It is administrated by the Fédération Française de Basket-Ball . The team has been competitive, but has yet to win a major international tournament...
in the 9/10 final to finish 10th of 18 in the tournament.
Eurobasket 1957
In SofiaSofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
for Eurobasket 1957
Eurobasket 1957
The 1957 European Basketball Championship, commonly called Eurobasket 1957, was the tenth regional championship held by FIBA Europe. Sixteen national teams affiliated with the International Basketball Federation entered the competition. The competition was hosted by Bulgaria...
, the Finns finished third in their preliminary group after going 1–2. They moved to the 9–16 classification pool, winning five games there and losing only two to take 11th place overall in the tournament.
Eurobasket 2011
Finland qualified for Eurobasket 2011Eurobasket 2011
EuroBasket 2011 was the 37th men's European Basketball Championship, held by FIBA Europe. The competition was hosted by Lithuania. This was the second time Eurobasket had been held in Lithuania, the country having also hosted the 1939 championship. FIBA Europe asserted that Lithuania managed to...
. The tournament berth was the first for Finland in 16 years. They made a remarkable performance and finished 3rd in EuroBasket 2011 Group C
EuroBasket 2011 Group C
Group C of the EuroBasket 2011 took place between August 31 and September 5, 2011. The group played all of its games at Alytus Arena in Alytus, Lithuania....
beating Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
92–64 and Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
71–65. Therefore they qualified for EuroBasket 2011 Group F
EuroBasket 2011 Group F
Group F of the EuroBasket 2011 took place between September 8 and September 12, 2011. The group played all of its games at Siemens Arena in Vilnius, Lithuania....
. In their first match they were easily defeated by Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
but afterwards they defeated Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
and then lost to Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
in their final match of the tournament.
Olympic GamesBasketball at the Summer OlympicsBasketball has been a Summer Olympics sport for men consistently since 1936. Prior to its inclusion as a medal sport, it was held as demonstration event in 1904 and 1932, both in the United States. Women's basketball was played in the Olympics only since 1976....
record
- 1952Basketball at the 1952 Summer OlympicsBasketball at the 1952 Summer Olympics was the third appearance of the sport. 23 nations entered the competition.The top six teams at the 1948 Summer Olympics qualified automatically, as did the 1950 World Champion , the top two at the 1951 European championships , and the host country...
: 15th - 1964Basketball at the 1964 Summer OlympicsBasketball contests at the 1964 Summer Olympics took place at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan from October 11 to October 23. The United States defeated the Soviet Union to win their sixth straight gold medal at this event, while Brazil earned the bronze against Puerto...
: 11th
Roster
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Head coach
Assistant coaches
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Legend:
- (C) Team captain
- Club field describes current pro club
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Past rosters
1939 EuroBasket: finished 8th among 8 teamsKalevi Ihalainen, Pauli Sarkkula, Erkki Linden, Ilkka Torronen, Erkki Saurala, Pentti Vuollekoski, Vladi Marmo, Martti Salminen, Reino Valtonen, Alo Suurna, Heinonen (Coach: Osmo Kupiainen)
1951 EuroBasket: finished 9th among 17 teams
Kalevi Heinanen, Pentti Laaksonen, Raimo Lindholm, Pertti Mutru, Tapio Poyhonen, Timo Suviranta, Kalevi Sylander, Oiva Virtanen, Olli Arppe, Kaj Gustafsson, Arto Koivisto, Juhani Kyostila, Raine Nuutinen, Allan Pietarinen (Coach: Eino Ojanen)
1952 Olympic Games: finished 15th among 23 teams
Kalevi Heinanen, Pentti Laaksonen, Juhani Kyostila, Raimo Lindholm, Pertti Mutru, Tapio Poyhonen, Eero Salonen, Timo Suviranta, Kalevi Sylander, Oiva Virtanen, Raine Nuutinen, Olavi Lahtinen, Tuomo Ristola, Esko Karhunen
1953 EuroBasket: finished 12th among 17 teams
Kalevi Heinanen, Pentti Laaksonen, Pertti Mutru, Allan Pietarinen, Raimo Lindholm, Timo Suviranta, Timo Lampen, Raine Nuutinen, Keijo Hynninen, Oiva Virtanen, Eero Salonen, Kaj Gustafsson (Coach: Eino Ojanen)
1955 EuroBasket: finished 10th among 18 teams
Kalevi Heinanen, Kalevi Sylander, Pertti Mutru, Oiva Virtanen, Timo Lampen, Taisto Ravantti, Seppo Kuusela, Timo Suviranta, Raine Nuutinen, Eero Salonen, Kalevi Tuominen, Asko Jokinen, Raimo Lindholm (Coach: Eino Ojanen)
1957 EuroBasket: finished 11th among 16 teams
Timo Lampen, Arto Koivisto, Pertti Mutru, Raine Nuutinen, Eero Salonen, Seppo Kuusela, Arvo Jantunen, Juhani Kala, Paavo Suhonen, Raimo Lindholm, Timo Suviranta, Kalevi Sylander (Coach: Kalevi Tuominen)
1959 EuroBasket: finished 13th among 17 teams
Timo Lampen, Raimo Lindholm, Seppo Kuusela, Arvo Jantunen, Juhani Kala, Matti Nenonen, Raine Nuutinen, Eero Salonen, Raimo Vartia, Matti Koli, Kyosti Rousti, Palko (Coach: Kalevi Tuominen)
1961 EuroBasket: finished 14th among 19 teams
Martti Liimo, Kari Liimo, Raimo Lindholm, Timo Lampen, Raimo Vartia, Pertti Laanti, Tony Barlund, Arvo Jantunen, Uolevi Manninen, Lauri Nurma, Seppo Kuusela, Rauno Ailus (Coach: Kalevi Tuominen)
1963 EuroBasket: finished 14th among 16 teams
Martti Liimo, Kari Liimo, Jorma Pilkevaara, Timo Lampen, Pertti Laanti, Raimo Vartia, Uolevi Manninen, Antero Siljola, Juha Harjula, Seppo Kuusela, Rauno Ailus, Kauko Kauppinen (Coach: Kalevi Tuominen)
1964 Olympic Games: finished 11th among 16 teams
Martti Liimo, Jorma Pilkevaara, Kari Liimo, Raimo Vartia, Pertti Laanti, Timo Lampen, Risto Kala, Kauko Kauppinen, Raimo Lindholm, Teijo Finneman, Uolevi Manninen
Uolevi Manninen
Uolevi Manninen was a Finnish Olympic basketball player and businessman.Uolevi Manninen was involved in Finland's most successful basketball team, which participated in the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 and finished in 11th place, and Finland finished sixth place in the European Championships held in...
, Juha Harjula (Coach: Kalevi Tuominen)
1965 EuroBasket: finished 12th among 16 teams
Martti Liimo, Kari Liimo, Jorma Pilkevaara, Kari Lahti, Pertti Laanti, Timo Lampen, Uolevi Manninen, Jyrki Immonen, Hannu Paananen, Lars Karell, Kari Ronnholm, Teijo Finneman (Coach: Kalevi Tuominen)
1967 EuroBasket: finished 6th among 16 teams
Veikko Vainio, Jorma Pilkevaara, Martti Liimo, Kari Liimo, Pertti Laanti, Kari Lahti, Uolevi Manninen, Teijo Finneman, Jyrki Immonen, Lars Karell, Olavi Ahonen, Kari Ronnholm (Coach: Kalevi Tuominen)
1977 EuroBasket: finished 10th among 12 teams
Heikki Taponen, Tapio Sten, Jarmo Laitinen, Erkki Saaristo, Antti Zitting, Mikko Koskinen, Klaus Mahlamaki, Risto Lignell, Raimo Mantynen, Anssi Rauramo, Kalevi Sarkalahti, Heikki Kasko (Coach: Robert Petersen)
1995 EuroBasket: finished 13th among 14 teams
Hanno Möttölä
Hanno Möttölä
Hanno Aleksanteri Möttölä is a Finnish professional basketball player. Möttölä previously played for the Atlanta Hawks in the National Basketball Association , in the power forward position, where he became the first player from Finland to play in the NBA.Möttölä attended the University of Utah in...
, Martti Kuisma, Kari-Pekka Klinga, Petri-Mikael Niiranen, Juha Luhtanen, Jyri Lehtonen, Pekka Markkanen, Sakari Pehkonen, Markku Larkio, Mika-Matti Tahvanainen, Riku Marttinen, Jarkko Tuomala (Coach: Henrik Dettmann)