Basketball Transactions

EuroBasket has used a number of different formats, ranging from the simple round-robin used in 1939 to the three-stage tournament currently in use.

The current format begins with a preliminary round. The twenty-four qualified teams are placed into four groups of six, and each group plays a round-robin tournament. The top three teams in each group (12 overall) advance to the qualifying round. The two groups of six in the qualifying round are each a combination of two preliminary round groups: Preliminary Groups A and B form Qualifying Group E, while Preliminary Groups C and D form Qualifying Group F. Results from the preliminary round carryover, and each team plays once against teams from the other Preliminary Group in its Qualifying Group.

The top four teams in each Qualifying Group advance to the knockout stage. The knockout stage is a single-elimination tournament, with a bronze medal game for semifinal losers and classification games for the quarterfinal losers to determine fifth to eighth places.