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The '''] of 2011''', universally referred to as '''EuroBasket 2011''', is the 37<sup>th</sup> continental championship held by ]. The competition is hosted by ]. This is the second time Lithuania has hosted Eurobasket, and the first since the ] in 1990. Lithuania originally hosted the ]. The top two teams are guaranteed spots at the ].
The '''] of 2011''', universally referred to as '''EuroBasket 2011''', is the 37<sup>th</sup> continental championship held by ]. The competition is hosted by ]. This is the second time Lithuania has hosted Eurobasket, and the first since the ] in 1990. Lithuania originally hosted the ]. The top two teams are guaranteed spots at the ].
Both by the number of national teams and spectators this is the largest sporting event ever held in ] and the ].
== Special events ==
== Special events ==
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*On August 29, 2011, Lithuania set a new record for simultaneous dribbling, previously held by ]. 60,000 Lithuanians from Vilnius, Kaunas, Panevėžys, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Alytus dribbled ] balls simultaneously, beating Poland's record of 30,000 people.
*On August 29, 2011, Lithuania set a new record for simultaneous dribbling, previously held by ]. 60,000 Lithuanians from Vilnius, Kaunas, Panevėžys, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Alytus dribbled ] balls simultaneously, beating Poland's record of 30,000 people.
*] observation deck was turned into a large basketball basket. It is made of lights that shine in the dark. The "basket" is 160 meters tall, higher than any other building in Lithuania.
*] observation deck was turned into a large basketball basket. It is made of lights that shine in the dark. The "basket" is 160 meters tall, higher than any other building in Lithuania.
*Composer ] wrote an ] for basketball called "That Space-like Feeling of Basketball" ("Tas kosminis krepšinio jausmas"). This oratorio, praising basketball and ] team, was performed during the opening of Kaunas Arena in August 16th of 2011.
Additionally, starting with the Spring of 2011, many of the TV and newspaper advertisements became basketball-oriented. Each of the cities where Eurobasket 2011 would take place received many minor details marking the championship: for example, the trash bins in Panevėžys were repainted to look like basketball balls, an abandoned building in Vilnius had its windows covered by flags of the participant nations while balls were drawn on street pavement in some places.
Many ordinary Lithuanians decorated their cars with small ] flying above side windows (like during every other basketball championship). Flags covering the opposite side of the car mirrors are also popular. Some foreign fans who visted Lithuania during the championship adopted this practice as well.
Additionally, starting with the Spring of 2011, many of the TV and newspaper advertisements became basketball-oriented. Each of the cities where Eurobasket 2011 would take place received many minor details marking the championship: for example, the trash bins in Panevėžys becamecoloured like basketball balls, an abandoned building in Vilnius had its windows covered by flags of the participant nations while balls were dran on streets in some places.
==Logo==
==Logo==
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The group matches are set to be played in four arenas, namely ], ], ] in ] and an arena in ]. The qualifying matches are to be played at the ] in the capital ] and the playoffs at the new ] in ].
The group matches are set to be played in four arenas, namely ], ], ] in ] and an arena in ]. The qualifying matches are to be played at the ] in the capital ] and the playoffs at the new ] in ].
All tickets were sold for matches where Lithuania plays in a matter of several hours. Other tickets were also sold in advance for all venues except for Alytus. However the FIBA policy of selling tickets for 3 games at once meant that in some cases the sold-out arenas were not full as some fans would choose to go only to a part of the games their ticket entitled them to. This FIBA policy was altered in Panevėžys where there were separate tickets for the games Lithuania played.
All tickets were sold for matches where Lithuania plays in a matter of several hours after the start of sale. Other tickets were also sold out in advance for all venues except for Alytus. However the FIBA policy of selling tickets for 3 games at once meant that in some cases the sold-out arenas were not full as some fans would choose to go only to a part of the games their ticket entitled them to. This FIBA policy was altered in Panevėžys where there were separate tickets for the games Lithuania played.
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==Squads==
==Squads==
{{Main|EuroBasket 2011 squads}}
{{Main|EuroBasket 2011 squads}}
Each team consists of 12 players. Only 1 among the 12 may be naturalized foreign player, while others must have been representing the same nation since childhood. Many of the teams used that permition for one naturalized player, for example ] (Congolese-born ]), ]. However ] is a notable exception with all its players having been born in Lithuania.
Some of the Eastern European national teams, such as ], are composed mainly or entirely from players playing abroad. This is primarily true for countries that have good basketball players but no powerful clubs or leagues to match that.
On the other hand, for countries with strong leagues, such as ], the National teams were primarilly composed of players playing in the local league. The same is true for countries weak in basketball (i.e. with both weak national team and local league) as their players are unable to get into strong foreign leagues. ] can be an example here.
Many ] players represented their national teams, with Spanish team having 6 NBA stars.
Both by the number of national teams and spectators this is the largest sporting event ever held in Lithuania and the Baltic States.
Special events
In Lithuania basketball is immensely popular. As such, many events were organized to mark the championship, including:
In the summer of 2011 a drible marathon around whole Lithuania was organized. Groups of people would drible from one town to the next one, where they would give the balls to another set of people who would then drible to the next town and so on. Every town of Lithuania was visited with TV documenting the events every day. Among the people who took part in the event were the president of Lithuania, several ministers, mayors, sportsmen, opera and ballet stars and so on. In the end the 13 balls were given to the Lithuanian National Basketball team on August 29th of 2011.
On August 29, 2011, Lithuania set a new record for simultaneous dribbling, previously held by Poland. 60,000 Lithuanians from Vilnius, Kaunas, Panevėžys, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Alytus dribbled Molten balls simultaneously, beating Poland's record of 30,000 people.
Vilnius TV Tower observation deck was turned into a large basketball basket. It is made of lights that shine in the dark. The "basket" is 160 meters tall, higher than any other building in Lithuania.
Composer Gintaras Patackas wrote an oratorio for basketball called "That Space-like Feeling of Basketball" ("Tas kosminis krepšinio jausmas"). This oratorio, praising basketball and Kauno Žalgiris team, was performed during the opening of Kaunas Arena in August 16th of 2011.
Additionally, starting with the Spring of 2011, many of the TV and newspaper advertisements became basketball-oriented. Each of the cities where Eurobasket 2011 would take place received many minor details marking the championship: for example, the trash bins in Panevėžys were repainted to look like basketball balls, an abandoned building in Vilnius had its windows covered by flags of the participant nations while balls were drawn on street pavement in some places.
Many ordinary Lithuanians decorated their cars with small Lithuanian flags flying above side windows (like during every other basketball championship). Flags covering the opposite side of the car mirrors are also popular. Some foreign fans who visted Lithuania during the championship adopted this practice as well.
Logo
Public contest was introduced to create the logo for the competition. 49 designs were presented initially to the organizers and the best 3 were sent to FIBA Europe, which selected the winning design. The author of it is Kęstutis Koira. The EuroBasket 2011 logo was unveiled on the 24th of January, 2009 in Cido Arena, Panevėžys, during the final game of Lithuanian Basketball Federation Cup. It displays the Columns of Gediminas overlaid on a backboard.
Song
Lithuania is the first host country of EuroBasket to have an official EuroBasket song. A song Celebrate basketball by Mia, Marijonas Mikutavičius and Mantas Jankavičius was chosen by a televoting in Lithuania. There are two versions of the song - Lithuanian and English. Later, another version was added - "Nebetyli sirgaliai" (lit. The Fans are Quiet no Longer).
All tickets were sold for matches where Lithuania plays in a matter of several hours after the start of sale. Other tickets were also sold out in advance for all venues except for Alytus. However the FIBA policy of selling tickets for 3 games at once meant that in some cases the sold-out arenas were not full as some fans would choose to go only to a part of the games their ticket entitled them to. This FIBA policy was altered in Panevėžys where there were separate tickets for the games Lithuania played.
It was first decided that 16 teams will participate in Eurobasket 2011, however FIBA Europe decided on September 5, 2010, in a meeting in Istanbul, that there would be 24 teams in the tournament, after the Qualifying Round was concluded.
Lithuania automatically received a place as the hosts, nine other countries that competed in the 2010 FIBA world championship also received a place, 12 Countries were determined through qualifying matches played on August 2010 (five have initially qualified, and seven were added after the decision to expand the tournament to 24 teams), and two more qualifiers have been decided in an additional qualifying tournament that took place in August 2011. All but one of the 15 countries that participated in the Qualifying Round have qualified for the final tournament.
Each team consists of 12 players. Only 1 among the 12 may be naturalized foreign player, while others must have been representing the same nation since childhood. Many of the teams used that permition for one naturalized player, for example Spain (Congolese-born Serge Ibaka), Russia. However Lithuania is a notable exception with all its players having been born in Lithuania.
Some of the Eastern European national teams, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, are composed mainly or entirely from players playing abroad. This is primarily true for countries that have good basketball players but no powerful clubs or leagues to match that.
On the other hand, for countries with strong leagues, such as Italy, the National teams were primarilly composed of players playing in the local league. The same is true for countries weak in basketball (i.e. with both weak national team and local league) as their players are unable to get into strong foreign leagues. Portugal can be an example here.
Many NBA players represented their national teams, with Spanish team having 6 NBA stars.
Teams play each other once. The top three placed teams move on to the next round. In case of tie on points, direct matches between (points and goal average, i.e. points for/points against) are taken into acount, if still tied goal average in all matches will be used as tiebreaker and not point difference.
Kaunas
Lithuania
Croatia 
France 
Germany 
Greece 
Russia 
Serbia 
Slovenia 
Spain 
Turkey
Belgium 
Great Britain 
Israel 
North Macedonia 
Montenegro
Bosnia and Herzegovina 
Bulgaria 
Georgia 
Italy 
Latvia 
Poland 
Ukraine
Finland 
Portugal
France
