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 match up against the first-ranked team from the opposite pool, hosts France. Czechoslovakia won 59–50, advancing to the final, a rematch against the Soviets.