Hradec Kralove / Pardubice 2011
Link to full postMy debut tournament, and somehow I did enough for them to want me back, despite showcasing an extreme lack of knowledge!
Croatia won, Mario Hezonja (now with Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA) won MVP, and the hosts (my boys!) came second after a memorable win in the Semi-Final.
Varna 2013
Link to full postA really fun experience with some memorable moments, including seeing Czech Republic take silver again (behind Spain), and Italy's brilliant win over Russia in the Quarter-Final.
EuroBasket 2013
Link to full postI was incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to help cover the First Round group in Celje, Slovenia, with the Spanish celebrities, the hometown heroes, my Czech boys, plus Croatia, Georgia and Poland. Highlights included interviewing Lubos Barton after Czechia's last-second win over Poland, and abandoning my post to wait like a big fanboy for a selfie with Marc Gasol.
Debrecen 2014
Link to full postRussia steamrolled through this as Maria Vadeeva really started to show what a star she was destined to be, while Julia Reisingerova led the Czechs to a startling third consecutive silver in youth tournaments that I'd covered!
Celje 2015
Link to full postViva Espana, as the same teams that I'd seen in Bulgaria two years prior took to the floor again at U18 level. Angela Salvadores won MVP again and her performance in the Final was wonderful, but we had the pleasure of seeing all the games and Maria Conde (who went on to be a part of the senior gold-medal winning team in 2017) was the real star throughout the tournament - I still feel sad that she didn't even get nominated to the All-Star Five, although the decision wasn't made by us (coaches vote).
Sopron 2016
Link to full postMore old friends as Alexia Chartereau, who I interviewed first two years previously, happily talked to me again and then went on to win tournament MVP (before graduating to the full French squad and playing in the senior EuroBasket Women gold-medal match in 2017!).
EuroBasket Women 2017
Link to full postAfter building up a nice resume at youth level, I was immensely lucky that the senior tournament was staged in my hometown, giving me a chance to interview a couple of my sporting heroes in Sonja Petrovic and Laia Palau (who both played for USK Praha). Somehow they ended up letting me write the match report for the Final too.
Kaunas 2018
Link to full postA tournament that maybe didn't have the same obvious stars as some I've covered in the past (although that, to an extent, remains to be seen!), but it had a really good mix of teams who combined for an entertaining few days. My Czechs again took silver, the fourth I've seen in six youth tournaments, but Italy got their first-ever gold at this level. And I got a selfie with the wonderful Mr Sabonis.
