Eurobasket 1953
After placing in the top two in each of their last three appearances, the fourth-place finish that Czechoslovakia earned at Eurobasket 1953 in Moscow was somewhat of a disappointment. However, the difference between 2nd and 5th in 1953 was a 4-way tie-breaker, in which the Czechoslovakia squad had gotten the third spot for fourth place overall.
The preliminary round posed little difficulty, with Czechoslovakia winning all three games. The final round, however, saw Czechoslovakia lose close matches to Israel and Yugoslavia, as well as the Soviet squad, on their way to a 4-3 record in the final round. This put Czechoslovakia on an equal footing with Hungary, France national basketball team, and Italy in a tie for second behind the Soviets. Despite Czechoslovakia having beaten Hungary and France, both teams came about above Czechoslovakia in the final standings, while Israel was dropped to fifth place.
Read more about this topic: Czechoslovakia National Basketball Team