Bagatskis: Now we are focusing more on experienced players, but there is also young Kovlyar, who is expected to debut in the national team

Head coach of the Ukrainian national basketball team Ainars Bagatskis commented squad for the upcoming final qualifying matches of the 2023 World Cup.

“If a team has three training sessions in Riga and two training sessions in Italy, it makes no sense to invite more players. The main thing is that there is a balance between positions. The coaching staff saw no reason in such a situation to invite more players and create additional competition. We have 12 basketball players who have now proved everything and in my opinion this is the optimal line-up now.

“Compared to November, Pustovoi and Bliznyuk returned, I like how Vladimir Konev plays for Budivelnik. In fact, we have always followed his game closely, but in the past, other players were more suitable for the national team. Here we are talking not only about statistics, but also about the qualities of the player that the team needs. In the last window, Ilya Tyrtyshnik made his debut in the national team, played a little, but defended himself, scored a three-pointer, and this means that he was useful to the team.

“Now we are focusing more on experienced players, but there is also young Alexander Kovlyar, who is waiting for his debut in the national team. I want to say that I am very pleased with the squad that will be at my disposal.”

“I don’t know what the Italy squad will be, but I’m sure there won’t be any Euroleague players. On the one hand, they fulfilled their task by reaching the World Cup, but, nevertheless, every self-respecting team wants to win. No need to look for pitfalls – they will play to win. It is too early to talk about the composition of the Italians, although I am trying to find out their plans through my Italian acquaintances. I can say the same about the Netherlands team. But, as I always say, the most important thing is the first game, we will think about the rest later.”

On February 23, the Bagatskis team in Livorno will face the Italian team, and on the 26th they will close the qualification with a nominally home match in Riga against the Netherlands.

Italy have already qualified for the World Cup. Three national teams – Ukraine, Georgia and Iceland – apply for the last ticket from our group.

Before the final window, Ukraine has an advantage over Georgia and Iceland in personal meetings, but loses to competitors in terms of the number of victories won. The Ukrainians need to win both matches and hope that Iceland and Georgia lose at least one match each.