The Netherlands have not won a basketball game since February of last year.
Finland has already redeemed its ticket to the quarterfinals of the European Championships. EPA / AOP
Susigengi will face Holland in the final match of the group stage of the European Championships on Thursday. Finland secured its place in the playoffs by defeating the home team Czech Republic on Tuesday with a score of 98–88.
Finland’s assistant coach Hanno Möttölän in my opinion, Holland is a team that defends hard and maintains the tempo. Skillfully, the Netherlands lags behind many top countries.
The country has not yet won a game in the European Championships, but Möttölä still considers the team dangerous.
The Netherlands made their way to the European Championship, which is being played now, by sensationally knocking out both Turkey and Croatia in the qualifying stage. The fact that the Netherlands fought evenly for victory in their matches in Prague against Poland, Israel and the Czech Republic speaks volumes about the team’s dangerousness.
– Holland has lost all twelve matches in the summer, but that gives a wrong picture. It led Spain well in the World Cup qualifiers, led Poland here in Prague by a dozen points and came from 20 points behind to equalize against the Czech Republic, Möttölä said in a press release of the Finnish Basketball Association.
Möttölä sees that Holland’s game is different compared to other countries in the bloc.
– They constantly have a quintet of three back men on the field, who are all ball handlers. The team plays with high energy and in waves. They might take a couple of minutes 15-2, after which they don’t get a shot in the next five minutes.
Susigengi has been in the position of a challenger in the last few games. Finland, which has earned its place in the quarterfinals, is the early favorite on Thursday. There is no room for underestimation.
– We have to rely on our own concept on the defensive end, force Holland into bad shots and trust that the odds are on our side during the forty minutes, Möttölä sums up.
The antidote to Holland’s creative attacking game is that Susijengi keeps a high pace in the game. According to Möttölä, the patterns shown on the Dutchmen’s pinball board may not be valid on the field at all.
The match starts on Thursday at 15:00. The game can be seen on the Yle tv2 channel.
Coach Möttölä’s turpits – follow them
Worthy De Jong (194/34); Mood player – might score nine points a minute and then go a period without taking a shot. An extremely fast and explosive first step.”
Charlon Kloof (185/32): “A bit like De Jong. A quick first step. A good, high throw both from the pass and directly from the transport. Scored 20 points in the first half yesterday.”
Jesse Edwards (211/22): “A world-class athlete who finishes close to the basket and blocks shots. Will start his senior year at Syracuse in the fall. The minutes have increased significantly during this time. The player of the future.”
Source: Bulletin of the Finnish Basketball Association