Russia's win at EuroBasket 2007 two years ago was to everyone's surprise. They had an incredible campaign thanks to their two leaders J.R. Holden and Andrei Kirilenko. This September repeating will be a daunting task, as both players are expected to be absent. Viktor Khryapa and his teammates will have to step up if they don't want to leave the European championship prematurely.

Head Coach David Blatt

From 1947 to 1985, the Soviet Union won 14 European Championships, but from 1985 to 2007, Russia had not managed to stand atop the podium once. The national team brought this bad period to an end two years ago to everyone's surprise. Indeed David Blatt's selection hadn't had a bright preparation as they had lost heavily against France, 92-56. That's why they started the competition without anything to lose. They went through both first rounds easily. During the whole final round, Russia was the outsider, especially in the final against the hosts Spain. Thanks to a clutch jumper by J.R. Holden with 2.1 seconds left gave the Russian Federation its first ever EuroBasket title over the reigning world champion. At the end of the game, Russian captain Andrei Kirilenko collected MVP honours for the tournament.

But two years later, the situation is totally different. This time, Russia will miss its two leaders Holden and Kirilenko. It will miss Holden's leadership, which was crucial in leading a Russian team which traditionally struggles to be consistent. The major contribution of Andrei Kirilenko will also be a huge hole in the roster as he was the essential member of the team, and David Blatt is aware of these losses.

"I must think how I can reorganize the team and replace the losses," he said in an interview for Sport-Express. "Evidently it is impossible to find a full replacement for them as there are no equal players. But probably the young players are ready to try the role of leaders that Andrei and Jon played before. And this is one of my main tasks to build a team not only of the present but also of the future.."

Victor Khryapa

However the players who will be capped will have to step up if they want to have a chance to repeat, starting with Viktor Khryapa. He's expected to be the new leader of the team. "I hope Viktor will become more of a ringleader in the team than he used to be before," Coach Blatt said. But Khryapa can't do everything alone. He will need the support of the other members of the national team like Sergey Monya, Aleksey Savrasenko or Sergey Bykov.

But the main addition to the team is Khimki's Kelly McCarty. In the absence of J.R. Holden, Blatt can select him to fill the naturalized player spot.

Holden's and Kirilenko's absences are undoubtedly a handicap but they can also be a booster for the team. It could force the other players and their coach to work harder. "Do you think the current situation makes my sleep calm?," Blatt asks. "Not at all. It motivates me, makes me work harder." Russia will need this extra motivation to be successful in the competition, but it will probably not be enough to repeat.