Euro Basket 2009…

Hi ! In today’s Post I want to share a very beautiful stamp issued by Poczta Polska on account of the Euro Basket 2009 championships on 7 September 2009. The stamp features a motif of a ball tossed into the basket. Probably it is the most beautiful stamp ever issued to depict the basket ball game. The stamp is brightly colored and highly appealing…The stamps were printed on sheets of 12 pieces, each sheet containing the title of the issue and an inscription reading "BASKETFIL International Philatelic Exhibition Poznań 2009". Poznan 2009 was held from 6-9 September. This is all for Today !…..Till Next Post….Have a Nice Time !

Date of Issue – 7 September 2009

Basket Ball

The foundations of basketball probably date back to the traditions of the ancient Mayas and their ritual game of tlaxtli, which involved tossing a rubber ball through a vertical stone ring. It is presently thought that the stake may have been the lives of prisoners. Basketball as we know it today was born in 1891. The rules were set by James Naismith from Canada, a doctor and physical education teacher. Initially, the baskets were made of wicker and the players, assigned to teams of nine, used a football to play the game. Basketball has been an official Olympic discipline since 1936. The European championships have been held since 1935, and the world cup dates back to 1950. For many years now the most outstanding achievements in all competitions have been the work of American teams. The NBA (American Basketball Association) has been the home of some of the brightest basketball stars like Michael Jordan or "Magic" Johnson. Marcin Gortat, a Polish basketball player, is the first Pole to play in the NBA finals. The most significant achievements of Polish basketball teams in history include the gold medal in women's European Championship in 1999, men's silver medal in 1963 and women's silver medal in 1980 and 1981.

Euro Basket 2009

European Championships in men's basketball are held every two years. Poland hosted the competitions once in 1963 (in the city of Wrocław), and again this year between 7 and 20 September, with matches in several cities throughout the country ( Katowice, Łódź, Bydgoszcz, Wrocław, Warsaw, Poznań and Gdańsk). In the final match the Spanish team beat the representation of Serbia. This year's championships were assessed very well by both the participants and FIBA Europe (the International Basketball Federation).

POZNAN 2009

Between 6 and 9 September the "BASKETFIL International Philatelic Exhibition Poznań 2009" took place in a hall neighbouring the "Arena" - a popular place for basketball matches. Numerous philatelic items were presented with topics related not only to sports, but also fishing and travel. Sixteen among them were also presented at the "OLYMPEX Olympic Expo" in Beijing in 2008.
A major philatelic event was also held alongside the memorable 1963 championships. It was the European Sports Stamps Exhibition which was commemorated with a special stamp block.

Courtesy - Poczta Polska