President of the Russian Basketball Federation (RFB) Andrei Kirilenko in an interview with , he said that Russian clubs and national teams must play in an unlimited choice of opponents as often as possible.
In May 2022, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) suspended the Russian and Belarusian national teams from participation in competitions under the auspices of the organization. The ban on participation also applies at club level.
— How important is it for the RBF to organize more friendly matches? And how to avoid such incidents when they brought someone completely unknown to you into the role of sparring partners?
“It’s extremely important for us to play.” And I understand that in this regard, we have historically taken a very snobbish approach towards other countries. We are accustomed to the fact that everyone has been broken since the times of the Soviet Union. And we’re all so cool.
And I think we have to play teams from South America, Africa, Asia. Because it’s still different styles and a lot of experience for guys who are just starting their national team careers. It’s clear that we all want the level to be as close to combat as possible. But in the conditions in which our sport currently finds itself, unfortunately, sometimes we find ourselves and we will continue to find ourselves in situations where the level is not up to par. You must therefore adapt to it as quickly as possible. If you find that the level does not match, then you need to look for a way out.
—Who is on your shortlist? Who can the Russian national team play friendly matches with?
– You will soon find out. We are constantly negotiating with different teams. But in principle, this is a very limited list of those who are currently in contact,” Kirilenko told .
Kirilenko has led the federation since August 2015. In September he was re-elected for a new four-year term.
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Source : MatchTV
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