Russia "has joined the German Basketball Federation (DBB) as a candidate to host next year's Olympic basketball qualification tournament," according to the SID. DBB President Ingo Weiss: "They will do whatever they can to qualify for the Olympics and host a tournament." The Russian basketball team "failed to reach the final stages at EuroBasket 2015 and has therefore no chance to qualify athletically for the Games." The DBB "stated once again its willingness to host the event as well." It is not yet clear if Germany or Russia "will each host a qualification tournament or if there will only be one event in Europe." Weiss: "One event will probably be in Asia and two in Europe. However, it could change. No final decision has been made." Should Germany host one of the three tournaments, the German team "could still qualify for the Games as the host nations don't have to athletically qualify for the Olympics" (SID, 9/10).
BASKETBALL IN BERLIN: The SID also reported the organizers of the EuroBasket 2015 preliminary rounds in Berlin have "called the event a success." Event Dir Wolfgang Brenscheidt: "All goals that were set by the German Basketball Federation and Berlin have been fulfilled. Berlin has set a new bar, which was confirmed by all international guests." Ahead of Thursday's final Group B matchup between Germany and Spain -- Spain won 77-76 -- organizers said that 116,000 spectators have already attended the games. Organizers expect that in the end 120,000 fans will have attended the 15 preliminary round matchups over five days. In comparison, the total attendance at EuroBasket 2013 in Slovenia was 182,000 (SID, 9/10).
