Swedish Basketball Team Faces Tough Challenges Ahead of EuroBasket 2025
Sweden's national basketball team prepares for EuroBasket 2025 amid consecutive losses and challenges.
Key Points
- • Sweden's national basketball team has lost four consecutive matches leading to EuroBasket 2025.
- • Head coach Mikko Riipinen emphasizes improvement in shooting and defensive rebounds.
- • Ludvig Håkanson rebounds with 11 points in a warm-up game against Estonia.
- • The team aims to advance despite being underdogs in the tournament.
The Swedish national basketball team is gearing up for the EuroBasket Championship amid challenging preparations, highlighted by four consecutive losses. Head coach Mikko Riipinen stressed the need for improvement, particularly in shooting and defensive rebounds, stating, "Results are what they are; I wouldn't have been very happy if we had won all our matches and thought we would win the EM for that."
In their most recent warm-up, Sweden narrowly lost to Estonia, 87-88, although Riipinen noted some positive progress. Player Ludvig Håkanson, who had struggled in previous games, made a comeback, scoring 11 points, including three three-pointers, and expressed confidence about his shooting, saying, "I know I shoot well, and the coaches want me to shoot. It has become a bit more my role to shoot threes."
Despite concerns over the team’s offensive passivity, especially after the addition of Pelle Larsson, which some believe has caused others to rely too heavily on him, Riipinen is optimistic about their potential. He emphasizes the importance of team chemistry and video analysis to improve their performance under pressure.
The team aims to advance from the group stage despite being underdogs due to their inexperience. Their matches will take place in Tampere, Finland, from August 27 to September 5, 2025. Riipinen encapsulated the team’s ethos by stating, “It’s our first EM in 12 years, so statistically we shouldn’t have a chance – but we are ambitious."