BRANDY (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019) - Denmark didn't make it to FIBA EuroBasket 2017 with just two wins in their six qualifying games.

Do not, however, make a mistake by calling this an unsuccessful summer for the Scandinavians.

The Danes, beaten soundly in their first three games by Germany, the Netherlands and Austria, hit back with two victories in their last three games.

They upset the Germans, 106-102, on 10 September, in a triple overtime thriller and after falling 98-88 after overtime to the Netherlands, Denmark returned home and walloped Austria, 86-72.

Denmark, who finished fourth out of four teams in Group B despite having the same record as Austria, were still elated.

"We're excited and a little bit amazed," said Rasmus Winkel, the secretary general of the Danish Basketball Federation (DBBF), to FIBA.com. "The first three games, we played terrible and then we turned it around. We've taken a huge step.

"We started this program four years ago because we believed we had the talent and quality of players. They were young and we were working on it, and they were improving, but not getting results.

"Then all of a sudden, the guys beat Germany and that proved to the whole world and the guys themselves that they didn't just believe they were good enough, they knew they were good enough."

"I think we have all the components and the strategy and it's basically just keep doing what we've been doing the last couple of years. It's a young team." - Winkel

Denmark's players were sky high after the win over Germany. Among them was veteran shooting guard Alan Voskuil.

"It just shows how much heart and fight we have as a team,” he said at the time. "We ain't going to give up. We are here to win."

Winkel and the Danes can hardly wait for next year. The country is hoping to win a spot in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 qualifying campaign. To do so, they will have to be successful in a pre-qualification tournament to be held next August.

If they are successful in pre-qualifying, the Danes will be among the 32 Division A national teams that over a four-year cycle from 2017 through 2021 will play regular home and away games to qualify for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup and the 2021 FIBA Continental Cups. 

First of all, though, the Danes must make it through pre-qualifying.

"I haven't met anyone that disagrees with this system," Winkel said. "It makes so much sense for us, getting the players here, and also for a chance to market the sport better, and for more spectators."

Winkel says a strong showing by Denmark would be a boost for the domestic competition.

"We're convinced that a well performing national team will help the league," he said. "We can see that in a lot of places like Finland."

The Finns have raised eyebrows the past several years, with their performances on the court and the overall interest in the team.

They had the largest number of traveling fans for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2014 in Spain and many made the trip to Montpellier last year for the EuroBasket to cheer for the Susijengi and help them advance to the Round of 16. They very nearly upset hosts France in the Group Phase.

"We would be very stupid not to be inspired by the Finns and what they are doing," Winkel said. "We played the Nordic Championships and we could see where they were 15 years ago."

Denmark's coach, Rieti Poikola, is Finnish.

"Now, on the other side we have Iceland," Winkel said.

Iceland, indeed, is another team in Europe that the Danes have been keeping tabs on. The Icelandic team, coached by Craig Pedersen, had a successful qualification for FIBA EuroBasket 2017. They made it to the tournament for the first time in their history last year and played in Berlin.

Iceland have qualified for a second straight FIBA EuroBasket

The way Denmark played in the second half of their qualifying campaign, they would have been tough opponents for Iceland.

"The difference is the maturity of the team," Winkel said. "The Icelandic team has played together for 10 to 15 years. We're still young."

Pedersen, whose wife is Danish and lives in Denmark, believes the Danes have great potential.

"They have a lot of talented players," Pedersen said, "and I also think they had some very good players not playing this summer, some guys that were fresh out of college that are big, very good players."

The Danes are upbeat and dreaming, but also realistic.

"We still need to take a few more tough steps before we really make an impact," Winkel said.

"I think we have all the components and the strategy and it's basically just keep doing what we've been doing the last couple of years. It's a young team."

After their final game, the win over Austria, 26-year-old small forward Darko Juric put it best.

"We proved to ourselves and to the ones not believing in us, and those who think that Denmark is just a small country, that we can play with the good teams," he said.

Now the challenge is to keep taking positive steps.

FIBA