Eurobasket 1951
Czechoslovakia did not compete at Eurobasket 1949 in Cairo, returning to the European championships at Eurobasket 1951 in Paris. They endured some hardship in the tournament, losing to Belgium in the preliminary round to finish the round 2-1 and second-ranked of the four teams in the pool. This was sufficient to advance to the semifinal round, however. There, they faced the dominant Soviet Union, losing their second game of the tournament and again finishing second of four in the pool with a 2-1 record. This put them in a matchup against the first-ranked team from the opposite pool, hosts France. Czechoslovakia won 59-50, advancing to the final, a rematch against the Soviets.
In what was by far the closest game the Soviets had yet endured in European play, Czechoslovakia managed to bring the game to a 44-44 tie with 1 second remaining to play before fouling Ilmar Kullam and sending him to the free throw line to attempt a free throw. Kullam made the shot, but one of the referees gave an initial signal that he had stepped on the line during the attempt and that therefore the shot did not count. Consultation with another referee eventually resulted in the point being allowed, and Czechoslovakia lost its second championship game to the Soviet Union 45-44.
Read more about this topic: Czechoslovakia National Basketball Team