Well, those that went on to Lodz were watching the second round Group F involving Spain, Slovenia, Serbia, Turkey, Poland and Lithuania. Top four to go through with some first rounds results counting towards this stage of the competition. Our old allies Slovenia certainly proved impressive, beating Lithuania 81-58, Poland 76-60 and Turkey 69-67. As for the biggest team in the group Spain, they stumbled yet again, losing 63-60 to Turkey before finally getting their act together and beating Lithuania 84-70 and Poland 90-68. Serbia amazingly also did the business, showing that their win over Spain in Warsaw was no fluke. They beat Poland 77-72 and though they were then beaten 69-64 by Turkey they got their act together to beat Lithuania 89-79. After that, Slovenia, Turkey, Serbia and Spain qualified for the quarter finals.

The quarter finals were in Katowice but by that point all the GB fans would have gone home. Some things never change though. Again, Serbia mugged one of the big guns, beating reigning champions Russia 79-68. Then came the tie of the round, Spain facing Tony Parker's France in an awesome advertisement for European basketball during which Spain finally hit top gear to win 86-66. Traditional power Greece then saw off Turkey 76-74. Last but definitely not least, full credit to Slovenia to see off Croatia 67-65. With the teams in GB's first round group all reaching the semis and with them the 2010 World Championships, the events in Warsaw didn't look so bad after all. France and Croatia also qualified for the world championships after winning playoffs.

The semis were always going to be interesting. First up was Spain vs Greece. The Greeks were competitive in the early stages of the match but this was the point where Spain started to look invincible. Greece were on the ropes in the 3rd quarter and the game was put to bed in the early stages of the 4th and Spain won 82-64. Then game a rematch of one of the Warsaw games. Slovenia vs Serbia. In Warsaw our old allies had things all their own way. This time round the Serbs were always giving them much more of a match but Slovenia did look like they were sorted only for a Serbian late surge to force overtime and then win 96-92. Gutting for Slovenia but Serbia were playing seriously good ball in that game.

So, Spain vs Serbia in the Eurobasket final. If you'd have told me back in Warsaw that these two teams would meet in the final then I probably wouldn't have believed you, not because I wasn't impressed with Serbia's win in the group stages but because I didn't think they could repeat that sort of performance in the latter stages. I was proven wrong. Spain however had blown off their first round dust and were blowing major teams to pieces. Surely the Serbs were nothing they couldn't handle? Surely they had now proven why they were pre-tournament favourites. Whatever happened, there was a trophy up for grabs and an awesome atmosphere in the arena.

Well the first minute was scoreless but it was Spain that opened the scoring and after leading 3-2 with 7:47 left in the first, Serbia seemed to have no response to them this time around. The anhiliation continued into the 2nd quarter with the Serbs being on the receiving end of payback for Warsaw with interest. The Serbs looked to go on a run midway through the 3rd but the Spaniards still ended the quarter strongly and we were now just watching a Spanish training session. The Serbs again nibbled into the Spanish lead in the 4th quarter but it was way too little too late. Spain cruised to win 85-63, led by Pau Gasol, back on form with 18 points.

Amazingly, this was Spain's first ever Eurobasket title and the tournament's been going in one form or another since 1935! Having seen this team struggle in Warsaw, watching them in full flow on a TV screen was nothing short of awesome. Pau Gasol picked up the tournament MVP award and I don't think anyone can argue with this. He is probably the biggest name European player in the NBA and again, when on form, no team this side of the Atlantic can stop him. Next stop for the Spaniards is Turkey for the 2010 World championships. We already know from the Olympics that they can give a full strength USA team a match, so surely they'll be in the mixer for that.

In the meantime, the Union Jack still flying over the court during the final had me flashing back to Warsaw. And reminded me that Great Britain, a team that two years ago had little credibility in basketball did indeed have a part to play in this tournament. And maybe, just maybe, they'll have a part to play in Turkey in 2010. To be honest it is being seriously optimistic but FIBA do reserve four spots for "wildcards" and on the grounds that they think GB has yet to peak, we might just get one. However a maximum of three wildcards can be given to any one continent and the likes of Russia, Lithuania and Germany are arguably safer bets, even assuming FIBA are willing to give Europe three extra spots.

Still, whatever happens, GB are on people's radars. If we get a wildcard, awesome! If not Division A qualifying holds no fears for us so we can be expected to be there for Eurobasket 2011 in Lithuania one way or another. This team is ready for anything.

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