Bagatskis: We could have played better and reached the quarterfinals

Main coach national team of Ukraine basketball Ainars Bagatskis believes that his team could have done better on EuroBasket 2022.

“I am not happy with the result. I don’t want to say where we should be, but I had the impression that we were adding quality with every match. At the same time, there was no trace of such that we underestimated the Polish team. This is a good team, whose players represent the strongest leagues. You need to go to every match with the desire to do the same as before, but better. I think we definitely could have played better.”

“It was a pleasure to work with Mikhailyuk and Len, there were no problems with communication or attitude. We found a common language as a coach with the players. Of course, there was not enough time to establish mutual understanding between the players. Plus, it’s hard for any low-playing player to find a game rhythm. This affects the quality of basketball. Of course, they know all the guys, they played with many, but a lot of time has passed.”

“In general, we had a very good microclimate and team relations. Everyone worked hard.”

“In all the teams where there are NBA players, you can immediately see what kind of relations in the team as a coach controls these players. I can’t say that there were any problems with it.”

“Unfortunately, now they, like all of us, are very upset. We all hoped for the best, because we ourselves gave reason to hope that it could be better that we would go to the next round. Many coaches told me not to get upset, because this is basketball. But that’s just an excuse. Yes, we played well, but we should have been in the quarter-finals.”

Ukraine lost to Poland and dropped out of the further draw of EuroBasket-2022. Sanon and Bobrov became the most productive in the blue-yellow teams, who scored 17 points each.

At EuroBasket 2022, the team of Ainars Bagatskis won three matches and took second place in Group C, which allowed them to reach the 1/8 finals.