Plekhanov: We had a great atmosphere in the team. It, like our defense, is the key to success at EuroBasket U-20

Head coach Ukrainian U-20 Basketball Team Valeriy Plekhanov commented on the successful performance of his charges at 2024 European Youth Championship in Division B.

“I’ve always been a defensive coach and I’ve always said that offense wins games and defense wins titles. So for 42 days from the start of the camp until the finals, we worked on defense – the backup system, pick-and-roll defense, and so on. So, yes, in fact, defense is our main weapon and it only works when you constantly improve it and have iron discipline.”

“Before the tournament, I was asked who would be the team leader, but we don’t have leaders or stars, because we have a star team. We distributed the roles in such a way that even the loss of the main big man did not break us. And I must say right away that we had a great atmosphere in the team, team chemistry. The guys communicated so well that it was nice to watch. Our chemistry, like our defense, is the key to success. In every team, I try to create conditions to reveal the player. In the national team, this is even more important, and in this team, it was the result of the symbiosis of the coaching staff of Stanislav Ovdeenko, Vladimir Kucherenko, the team’s administrative staff – Nastya Chernogritskaya did a great job. But the guys themselves were friendly with each other, during the entire training camp we did not have a quarrel or scandal, which often happens at this age.”

“I am still disappointed with the final, I wanted to play a little differently. I don’t want to make excuses, but when you have eight games in ten days and everything is about the result, it is very difficult. You have to be objective and say that the Romanians were head and shoulders above us. Plus, some of our guys played in such an atmosphere in the stands for the first time. There were moments when some players couldn’t handle the pressure in the second quarter, coming out after the timeout, we didn’t play what we agreed on and missed the 0-9 run.”

“But I want to say something positive: four players from this team – Klitschko, Kolavole, Sypalo and Kulishenko – will be able to represent Ukraine next year in Division A. The prospects are quite good, we can create an interesting team. We must prepare for Division A not just to go with the goal of staying in this division, but to play at the level of the best teams in Europe.”

Let us recall that the Ukrainian U-20 team, led by Plekhanov, reached the final of the youth Eurobasket. In the decisive match, the blue-yellows lost to Romania (58:80). Ukraine returned to the elite division A, where it will play in 2025.

Following the tournament, Ukrainian center Danylo Sypalo was included in the symbolic five of the 2024 European Youth Championship in his division. He became fourth in efficiency rating, third in rebounds and fourth in blocks at the European Championship. In addition, Danylo has three triple-doubles. We will add that his compatriot Maksym-Alexander Klitschko showed the fifth result in blocked shots in his division.