The EuroBasket 2017 event is set to the 40th edition of the tournament and this edition ushers in a new format. From 2017, the event will take place every four years and there will be a new qualification system in place that will be similar to that used by the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
While Ukraine was offered the chance to host the tournament after the 2015 event was moved, they declined, stating that the unrest in the country made it impossible for them to host the event. In December of 2015, it was announced that the 2017 event would be held across four nations:
- Israel
- Romania
- Finland
- Turkey
The draw for the event took place on Tuesday the 22nd of November 2016 and the host nations, and all qualifying teams were placed into four separate groups for the event.
Group A
Group A will be held in Helsinki in Finland and the teams placed into Group A are:
- Poland
- Greece
- France
- Finland
- Iceland
- Slovenia
Group B
Group B will be held in Tel Aviv in Israel and the teams placed into Group B are:
- Ukraine
- Lithuania
- Israel
- Georgia
- Italy
- Germany
Group C
Group C will be held in Cluj-Napoca in Romania and the teams placed into Group C are:
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Spain
- Montenegro
- Romania
- Hungary
Group D
Group D will be held in Istanbul in Turkey and the teams placed into Group D are:
- Great Britain
- Russia
- Serbia
- Latvia
- Turkey
- Belgium
Groups A and B will begin on Thursday 31st August 2017 while Groups C and D will begin on Friday 1st September 2017. The group phase of the tournament concludes on Thursday 7th of September, with the top 4 teams of each group advancing to the next stage of the tournament.
The next stage of the tournament will be hosted in Istanbul, Turkey and builds towards the final match, which will be played on Sunday 17th of September.
Unveilings at the Draw ceremony
There were also two unveilings at the draw ceremony. The FIBA EuroBasket trophy has a new look. The trophy is still very similar to the trophy that teams have long played for, but this is the third incarnation of the trophy. The addition of a gold band adds a stylish flourish to the trophy and for the first time, the names of the nations who have won the tournament have been added to the trophy.
There was also a debut for Sam Dunk, the official mascot for the EuroBasket event. Sam is a boy who wants to be a basketball player and he has an alter ego that manages to compete with the very best players in the game. Sam is aided by his rocket boots, which ensures the small boy can match the biggest and best players for height and speed.
With the groups in place for the EuroBasket 2017 event, teams and fans can now start to look ahead to the summer of 2017 with more excitement and intent.
It may not have been a final that many people predicted in the build-up to the 2017 FIBA EuroBasket tournament but even with that in mind, there was a shock win. Slovenia have been crowned the Champions of Europe for the first time in their history and they were very much deserved winners on Sunday... 
With Spain falling short in the semi-final against Slovenia, who would eventually go on to take the title, this could have been a game that the Spaniards just wanted over and done with. Mind you, with Russia also involved in the third and fourth game for the Bronze medal, this would have been the Sunday... 
The 2017 EuroBasket tournament, the 40th EuroBasket tournament, begins on 31st of August 2017 and runs to the 17th of September. There are 24 teams taking part in the event which takes place across four different countries. This event is the first of the new cycle for EuroBasket tournaments, which sees the event taking place...