Their biggest successes of the Polish team are the silver medal in the 1963 European Championships at home in Poland and fourth place at the 1936 Summer Olympics.
Early days and medals
The Poles debuted Eurobasket in 1937 and took fourth place with an overall record of 2-3 at the second European basketball championship. They took first place in their four-team preliminary group on a three-way tie-breaker after France and Latvia both matched the Polish team’s 2-1 record. They then lost to eventual champions Lithuania in the semifinals and were defeated a second time by France in the bronze medal game.
Poland won the bronze medal in their second Eurobasket competition in Kaunas, Lithuania in 1939. The competition format was a single round-robin without playoffs; Latvia and Lithuania both defeated Poland whereas the other five teams in the competition fell to the Poles. With Lithuania undefeated and Poland and Latvia tied at 5-2, the loss to Latvia was decisive in pushing Poland to third place.
Best years
The best Poland’s years at Eurobasket were in the 1960s when Polish won the silver in 1963 and then two consecutive bronze medals in 1965 and 1967. The same decade has seen the best Polish performance in Olympics (6th place in 1964 and 1968) and World championship (5th place in 1967).
In 1970s and 1980s Polish participated in most Eurobasket championships yet rather bleaky.
Return
After a 10-year break, Poland returned to Eurobasket in 2007. It was a quite unexpected achievement. The Poles advanced from eliminations defeated their group rivals: Ukraine, Bulgaria and Sweden. Because of the injury, many key players stayed at home including such players like Michał Ignerski and Maciej Lampe. Nevertheless, the Polish national basketball team was very close to win in at least one game. Eventually, as everyone predicted the Poles lost all 3 games. Despite the losses they showed a good basketball.
Eurobasket 2011
In Lithuania Polish will play in Group A in Panevėžys together with the teams of Spain, Great Britain, Lithuania, Turkey and Portugal.
Roster
| No | Name | Pos. | Height | Birth date | Place of birth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Dardan Berisha | SG | 1.93 | 15.11.1988 | Peje, Kosovo (SRB) |
| 5 | Adam Lapeta | C | 2.15 | 09.11.1987 | Puck (POL) |
| 6 | Robert Skibniewski | PG | 1.83 | 19.07.1983 | Bielawa (POL) |
| 7 | Adam Waczynski | G | 1.99 | 15.10.1989 | Torun (POL) |
| 8 | Piotr Pamula | G | 1.94 | 19.01.1990 | Stalowa Wola (POL) |
| 9 | Pawel Leonczyk | PF | 2.03 | 05.10.1986 | Starogard (POL) |
| 10 | Szymon Szewczyk | C | 2.09 | 21.12.1982 | Szczecin (POL) |
| 11 | Thomas Kelati | GF | 1.94 | 27.09.1982 | WA (USA) |
| 12 | Piotr Szczotka | F | 2.00 | 17.06.1981 | Jaroslaw (POL) |
| 13 | Lukasz Wisniewski | G | 1.86 | 07.12.1984 | Torun (POL) |
| 14 | Adam Hrycaniuk | PF | 2.06 | 15.03.1984 | Barlinek (POL) |
| 15 | Lukasz Koszarek | PG | 1.87 | 12.01.1984 | Wrzesnia (POL) |
Team facts
| FIBA Ranking | 55th | ||
| Joined FIBA | 1934 | ||
| Eurobasket appearances | 24 | ||
| Medals | Silver 1963 Bronze 1939, 1965,1967 |
||
| World championship appearances | 1 (1967) | ||
| Medals | none | ||
| Olympic Games appearances | 6 (1936, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1980) | ||
| Medals | none | ||
