Basketball player Ponkrashov: “The national team should play matches in as many Russian cities as possible”

Winner of EuroBasket gold on the team Russian national team basketball Anton Ponkrachov in an interview with , he said that the national team, in conditions of exclusion from international tournaments, should hold matches in as many cities in the country as possible.

Previously, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) suspended the Russian national team from participating in competitions under the auspices of the organization due to the situation in Ukraine.

— Is the national team necessary at the moment and in its current form?

– Of course, the national team is still necessary, I am absolutely convinced of that. The national team is a norm, generations grow up there. The national team is expected to play more matches in as many Russian cities as possible. A boy from the village will see the national team play and want to play basketball, and that boy will end up being Vitaly Fridzon or Andrei Kirilenko. Only through such examples can you develop new players.

For my generation, my whole life was an incentive to play in the national team, our goal was to get into the national team and win medals with it,” Ponkrashov said in an interview with .