EuroBasket 2009, the European zone qualifying tournament to next year’s FIBA World Men’s Basketball Championship in Istanbul, Turkey, will be played from September 7-20 in Poland.

This will be the second time the biennial competitions are being held in Poland. The first was in 1963.

A total of 16 countries, divided into four groups of four teams each, will see action in EuroBasket’s 36th renewal.

Greece, Croatia, Macedonia and Israel are in Group A. Russia, Germany, Latvia and either Belgium or France (still to be determined) are in Group B.

Spain, Slovenia, Serbia and Great Britain are in Group C while Lithuania, Turkey, Poland and Bulgaria are in Group D.

Great Britain is entered in the tournament for the first time ever. In contrast, this marks the first time ever that the games won’t include Italy (which was eliminated in an additional qualifying round).

The top six finishers in EuroBasket 2009 will earn berths to next year’s World Championship. Should Turkey wind up among the top six, the seventh-placer would also secure a World ticket.

Russia is the reigning EuroBasket champion, having upset defending World titleholder Spain during the 2007 finals in Madrid behind naturalized American guard John Robert (JR) Holden of CSKA Moscow.

In the same event, Lithuania placed third, Greece, fourth, Germany, fifth, Croatia, sixth, and Slovenia, seventh. Together with 2010 World host Turkey, the top seven finishers from 2007 were automatically seeded into the EuroBasket 2009 and did not have to go through the qualifying phase.

Russia will be defending their EuroBasket crown starting this week without Utah Jazz star Andrei Kirilenko but it still has the services of former NBAers Sergei Monia and Viktor Khryapa. The 6-9, 28-year-old Kirilenko, the EuroBasket 2007 Most Valuable Player, was excused from national team duty for personal reasons.

American Kelly McCarty, who played for the 2009 Russian Superleague runner-up Khimki, has replaced Holden as the naturalized player in the Russian lineup.

Pau Gasol, the 7-foot star of the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, will spearhead Spain’s campaign. Other NBA personages on the Spanish unit are Pau’s 7-foot younger brother Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies, guard Rudy Fernandez of the Portland Trail Blazers and playmaker Ricky Rubio, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ No. 1 draft choice last June.

Serbia will bank on the 6-11 Nenad Krstic, who formerly suited up for the New Jersey Nets but recently inked a contract to play for the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2009-10.

Kirilenko’s Jazz teammate, 7-foot, 20-year-old Kosta Koufos, is on the Greece roster. The 20-year-old Koufas played one season (2007-08) at Ohio State University.

Lithuania will be bannered by hotshot Linas Kleiza, who saw action with the NBA’s Denver Nuggets during the 2008-09 wars but has since signed up to play for Olympiakos in the Greek League for the next two seasons.

Germany, however, will play without Dallas Mavericks superstar Dirk Nowitzki because Mavs owner Mark Cuban did not allow the one-time NBA MVP to suit up for his national team this time around. Previously, Cuban permitted Nowitzki to carry the German colors even though there were insurance issues with the FIBA over potential injuries.

Slovenia also won’t have Sasha Vujacic after the Lakers’ 6-7 substitute guard was cut from the national team for being out of shape following a knee injury.