Blue-yellows in anticipation of matches against Georgia and Spain in Riga
Manager of the Ukrainian national basketball team Andrey Lebedev spoke about the situation in the national team. According to him, there are small changes in the blue-yellow coaching staff.
“Now there are 14 players working in Riga, we are waiting for Sanon, who has finished the season and will soon join the team. On June 11 we fly to Italy, where Pustovoi, Lukashov, Lipovy, Mishula and Petrov will also join us. Petrov and Lipovy are still playing – they will arrive a little later – and the rest will be in the team on June 11. At the qualifying match, the team will have 14 players, and the final application, as always, will include 12 basketball players. We also have an open question regarding Bliznyuk, Randle, Mikhailyuk and Lenya,” Lebedev said.
“There is a change in the coaching staff, because within the framework of the July window, Vitaliy Stepanovskiy will not work with the team, who at that time will be coaching the Ukrainian U-20 national team. This was discussed for a long time, but it was decided that he would focus on working with the youth team. Therefore, Maxim Mikhelson and Valery Plekhanov will be Ainars Bagatskis’ assistants in the next matches. Again, the Latvian coaches help by working individually with our guys.”
“According to Len and Mikhailyuk, we are waiting for them. They still have time to think and they promised to give an answer this week. The decision that they would be able to play was made already at the end of May, when they apparently had a plan for individual preparation. They need time to adjust their plans.”
On July 1 and 7, Ukraine will play two nominally home qualifying matches against Georgia and Spain respectively (both will take place in Riga). On July 4, the Bagatskis team will play away with North Macedonia.
In qualifying for the World Cup, Ukraine played three matches, defeating North Macedonia and losing away to Georgians and Spaniards. In their group, the blue-yellows take third place. The top three teams from each group will advance to the next round of selection.
At EuroBasket 2022, Ukraine was placed in Group C with Greece, Italy, Croatia, Great Britain and Estonia. Group round matches will be held September 2-8.
Source: Sportarena
