Toyota Four Nations Cup 2015: Winner, Final Standings and Results
By virtue of its 60-58 victory over the Netherlands on Saturday, Estonia clinched the 2015 Toyota Four Nations Cup in front of its home fans at Saku Suurhall Arena in Tallinn, Estonia.
Estonia, the Netherlands, Iceland and the Philippines have competed in a round-robin basketball tournament over the past few days to determine an inaugural champion, and the host nation was ultimately able to come out on top in the first edition of the event.
With FIBA EuroBasket 2015 and the opportunity to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro coming up, Estonia needed to gain some momentum. That is precisely what it did, which means it could be a dark horse worth watching next month.
Now that the 2015 Toyota Four Nations Cup is officially in the books, here is a look at the final standings as well as how the action played out Saturday.
Toyota Four Nations Cup Standings
| 1 | Estonia | 3 | 0 | +32 | 6 |
| 2 | Iceland | 2 | 1 | -8 | 5 |
| 3 | Netherlands | 1 | 2 | +23 | 4 |
| 4 | Philippines | 0 | 3 | -47 | 3 |
Saturday's Toyota Four Nations Cup Results
| 1 | Iceland | Philippines | 86-76, Iceland |
| 2 | Estonia | Netherlands | 60-58, Estonia |
Toyota Four Nations Cup Recap from Saturday
Iceland 86, Philippines 76
The Philippines entered the Toyota Four Nations Cup as a team that was expected to vie for the title, but it will instead return home with an 0-3 record after falling 86-76 to Iceland on Saturday.
Neither team had much to play for other than pride, and while Gilas Pilipinas gave Iceland a good run in the second and third quarters, the European side was ultimately too much to overcome thanks largely to 19 points from guard Hordur Vilhjalmsson.
Despite the 10-point margin of defeat, the Philippines wasn't far off from Iceland in terms of the statistical battle, as seen in this graphic courtesy of Sports5:
In fact, the Filipinos received some fine performances, including a 22-point outburst from former NBA star Andray Blatche, which was the game's highest total. Terrence Romeo chipped in 17 points as well, but it ultimately wasn't enough since the rest of the roster didn't contribute much offensively.
Even though the Philippines didn't fare as well as the team hoped at the Toyota Four Nations Cup, the Spin.ph Twitter account suggested the trip to Estonia wasn't a total loss:
If nothing else, it allowed Gilas Pilipinas to get some work in ahead of September's FIBA Asia Championship. The Philippines lost to Iran in the finals two years ago and will have high expectations this time around.
Provided Blatche and Romeo play like they did Saturday and get a bit more help from the supporting cast, then Gilas Pilipinas may be a force to be reckoned with in that tournament.
Estonia 60, Netherlands 58
In the final game of the tournament, EuroBasket competitors Estonia and the Netherlands clashed with the Toyota Four Nations Cup title on the line. Holland put forth a valiant effort, but in the end, the home-court advantage proved too much to overcome.
The Netherlands dominated the first quarter and held a three-point advantage at halftime; however, Estonia battled back thanks to forward Siim-Sander Vene's 13 points, which was the high for either team.
Henk Norel paced the Dutch side with 12 points, but aside from him and Vene, no other player scored in double figures during what was a low-scoring and defensive-minded affair.
Saturday's contest was an important one for both teams with EuroBasket coming up, and both squads showed enough to suggest that they will be very difficult outs at the event.
Estonia's toughness was especially apparent Saturday, which is something former Estonian head coach Jaak Salumets talked up significantly prior to the Toyota Four Nations Cup, according to EuroBasket2015.org.
"There is a spirit of competition," Salumets said. "There is a change that has clearly taken place, men fighting to the end in every situation."
Although Estonia very clearly had a leg up on the competition due to playing at home, it also had a great deal of pressure to perform.
The Estonians were up to the task, and they made a declaration that they are ready to become legitimate players on the international basketball scene moving forward.
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