Ukraine men's national basketball team

Ukraine
FIBA ranking	37 1 (26 November 2024)
Joined FIBA	1992
FIBA zone	FIBA Europe
National federation	FBU
Coach	Vitaly Stepanovsky
Nickname(s)	Синьо-жовті; (The Blue and Yellow); Збірна; (The National Team)
FIBA World Cup
Appearances	1
Medals	None
EuroBasket
Appearances	9
Medals	None
Home	Away
First international
	Ukraine 87–76 England ; (Wrocław, Poland; 30 May 1993)
Biggest win
	Iceland 62–105 Ukraine ; (Reykjavík, Iceland; 22 November 2000)
Biggest defeat
	Italy 99–62 Ukraine ; (Vršac, Serbia and Montenegro; 18 September 2005)

The Ukraine men's national basketball team (Ukrainian: збірна України з баскетболу) represents Ukraine in international basketball competitions. They are controlled by the Basketball Federation of Ukraine.

After Ukrainian Independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, and joining FIBA in 1992, the national team played their first official match against England on 30 May 1993. Their biggest success so far on the international stage has been qualifying for the EuroBasket nine times, and reaching the FIBA World Cup for the first time in 2014.

History

Gaining Independence

Before the Ukraine's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukrainian players took part on the Soviet Union national team during international competition. The Soviets were one of the strongest national teams in the world during this period.

EuroBasket 1997

Ukraine made their EuroBasket debut in 1997. Their first match at the tournament was not a warm welcome for the national team, as they were demolished by Spain 54–82.^[2] With less than 24 hours to regroup for their next game, Ukraine faced Germany where they lost again, this time by the score of 81–60. In their final match of group play, they defeated Croatia 88–95, to earn their first ever win at the EuroBasket.^[3] Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for the team to advance to the knockout stage, as they were relegated to the classification rounds for 13th–16th place. There, the team defeated Latvia, and Slovenia to finish the tournament 13th overall.^[4]

EuroBasket 2013

After failing to qualify for the EuroBasket in 1999, along with uninspiring results at the finals in 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2011 respectively, Ukraine was eager to turn their fortunes around at EuroBasket 2013. Ukraine was placed into Group A to begin their tournament run. The national team was victorious in their first three matches of the tournament, against Belgium, Israel, and Germany. Heading into their fourth match against the heavily favoured France, Ukraine displayed genuine toughness in a losing effort to the eventual tournament champions 71–77. In their final game of the preliminary phase, the team turned around and displayed resilience in blowing out Great Britain 68–87 to advance to the second group phase. There, they were blasted in their first match of group play against Latvia, but redeemed themselves with a quality victory over Serbia a few days later.^[5] Ukraine went on to lose their final game in the group to Lithuania, however, it was enough to clinch a spot into the knockout rounds. In the quarter-finals, Ukraine was paired up against Croatia, although the national team would come up short 84–72. With the loss, Ukraine went on to play in classification matches to determine 5th–8th place. The team defeated Italy, before falling to Slovenia to finish up in sixth place. It was the best result for Ukraine at the EuroBasket to that point.^[6]

2014 FIBA World Cup

Ukraine made their first appearance on to the global stage at the 2014 FIBA World Cup, through their surprising performance at EuroBasket 2013.^[7] Led by former NBA head coach Mike Fratello, the national team won their first ever match in the World Cup, defeating the Dominican Republic 72–62. With their historic win under their belt, the team went into their second match of the tournament confident. However, Finland would pull out a narrow 81–76 victory to drop Ukraine to a record of (1–1). Entering their third match, Ukraine went up against Turkey, and the national team didn't disappoint. They eventually won a hard-fought 64–58 contest, before their pivotal game versus New Zealand.

With a berth into the Round of 16 on the line, Ukraine needed one more victory to advance. But they were unsuccessful in the crucial match, as they lost 73–61, to head into their do-or-die game against the tournament favourite United States in a dire position. In the must win game for Ukraine, the national team got off to a strong start, to even possess the lead after the first period. However, the Americans flexed their dominance thereafter, which led to the team being eliminated from the tournament altogether by the score of 71–95.^[8]

EuroBasket 2017

After failing to make it past the group stage in 2015, Ukraine looked to make amends on the continental stage at EuroBasket 2017. Ukraine went through qualifiers where the team finished at a record of (4–2), to earn a spot back to the EuroBasket finals.^[9] Placed into Group B to begin the tournament, Ukraine was defeated in their first two matches against Germany and Italy. In their third game, the national team would eventually pickup their first victory against Georgia 81–88. Sitting at a record of (1–2), Lithuania handed Ukraine a damaging 62–94 defeat. With one game remaining in group play, and a spot into the knockout stage on the line, the team was up against one of the tournament co-hosts Israel. The national team ultimately displayed supreme urgency to punch their ticket to advance, with a dominant 64–88 win.^[10] Entering the Round of 16, however, was where Ukraine would come up short, by getting thoroughly defeated by the eventual champions of the tournament Slovenia 55–79.^[11]

2019 FIBA World Cup qualification

For the first round of qualifying to the 2019 FIBA World Cup, Ukraine was drawn into Group B. The national team would open up their qualifying campaign with a solid road victory against Sweden 76–84. They would eventually attain a (3–3) record in the group to advance to the second and final phase of qualifying. In the second group phase of qualifiers, Ukraine started things off with a strong home win against Spain.^[12] Although the team dropped their second match of group play to Montenegro 90–84 to fall to (1–1). After that loss for Ukraine, the team would finish the rest of the qualifiers at a record of (5–7) overall, and were eliminated from World Cup contention.^[13]

Competitive record

FIBA World Cup

World Cup					Qualification
Year	Position	Pld	W	L	Pld	W	L
1950 to 1990	Part of Soviet Union
1994	Did not qualify				EuroBasket served as qualifiers
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014	18th	5	2	3
2019	Did not qualify				12	5	7
2023	Did not qualify				12	6	6
2027	To be determined				To be determined
Total	1/8	5	2	3	24	11	13

Olympic Games

Olympic Games					Qualifying
Year	Position	Pld	W	L	Pld	W	L
1948 to 1988	Part of Soviet Union
1992	Did not enter				Did not enter
1996	Did not qualify				Did not qualify
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024					4	2	2
Total	0/9				4	2	2

EuroBasket

EuroBasket					Qualification
Year	Position	Pld	W	L	Pld	W	L
1947 to 1991	Part of Soviet Union
1993	Did not qualify				8	4	4
1995	Did not qualify				11	5	6
1997	13th	5	3	2	10	8	2
1999	Did not qualify				10	5	5
2001	14th	3	1	2	10	7	3
2003	14th	3	0	3	10	7	3
2005	16th	3	0	3	6	3	3
2007	Did not qualify				12	4	8
2009	Did not qualify				12	5	7
2011	17th	5	2	3	8	3	5
2013	6th	11	6	5	8	6	2
2015	22nd	5	1	4	Direct qualification
2017	15th	6	2	4	6	4	2
2022	12th	6	3	3	6	4	2
2025	To be determined				In progress
Total	9/14	47	18	29	117	65	52

Results and fixtures

Win Loss

2024

22 February 2024 EuroBasket 2025 qualifiers	Slovenia	87–73	Ukraine	Koper, Slovenia
18:00 (UTC+1)	Scoring by quarter: 21–22, 18–18, 25–13, 23–20
	Pts: Prepelič 30 Rebs: Tobey 9 Asts: Prepelič 9	Boxscore	Pts: Kovliar 23 Rebs: Petrov 10 Asts: Kovliar 8	Arena: Arena Bonifika Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Saverio Lanzarini (ITA), Alexandre Deman (FRA), Gintaras Mačiulis (LTU)

25 February 2024 EuroBasket 2025 qualifiers	Ukraine	77–79	Portugal	Riga, Latvia
21:00 (UTC+2)	Scoring by quarter: 16–26, 16–21, 27–15, 18–17
	Pts: Kovliar 17 Rebs: Bobrov 8 Asts: Kovliar 10	Boxscore	Pts: Queiroz 21 Rebs: Queiroz 6 Asts: Williams 5	Arena: Arena Riga Attendance: 900 Referees: Lorenzo Baldini (ITA), Mihkel Männiste (EST), Juozas Barkauskas (LTU)

14 July 2024 William Jones Cup 2024	Ukraine	58–83	Chinese Taipei Blue	New Taipei City
19:00 (UTC+8)
		Report		Arena: Xinzhuang Gymnasium

15 July 2024 William Jones Cup 2024	Strong Group Athletics	82–74	Ukraine	New Taipei City
17:00 (UTC+8)
		Report		Arena: Xinzhuang Gymnasium

16 July 2024 William Jones Cup 2024	BSBL Guardians	57–98	Ukraine	New Taipei City
13:00 (UTC+8)
		Report		Arena: Xinzhuang Gymnasium

17 July 2024 William Jones Cup 2024	Ukraine	63–47	Japan U22	New Taipei City
15:00 (UTC+8)
		Report		Arena: Xinzhuang Gymnasium

18 July 2024 William Jones Cup 2024	Chinese Taipei White	50–77	Ukraine	New Taipei City
17:00 (UTC+8)
		Report		Arena: Xinzhuang Gymnasium

19 July 2024 William Jones Cup 2024	Ukraine	74–65	Malaysia	New Taipei City
15:00 (UTC+8)
		Report		Arena: Xinzhuang Gymnasium

20 July 2024 William Jones Cup 2024	United Arab Emirates	50–94	Ukraine	New Taipei City
15:00 (UTC+8)
				Arena: Xinzhuang Gymnasium

21 July 2024 William Jones Cup 2024	Future Sports USA	78–82	Ukraine	New Taipei City
15:00 (UTC+8)
				Arena: Xinzhuang Gymnasium

23 November 2024 EuroBasket 2025 qualifiers	Ukraine	73–86	Israel	Riga, Latvia
18:00 (UTC+2)	Scoring by quarter: 19–16, 18–20, 18–29, 18–21
	Pts: Pustovyi 23 Rebs: Blyzniuk, Pustovyi 5 Asts: Sydorov 4	Boxscore	Pts: Madar 26 Rebs: Sorkin 10 Asts: Madar 7	Arena: Arena Riga Attendance: 700 Referees: Fernando Calatrava (ESP), Petar Pešić (SRB), Alberto Sánchez (ESP)

25 November 2024 EuroBasket 2025 qualifiers	Israel	88–75	Ukraine	Riga, Latvia
20:00 (UTC+2)	Scoring by quarter: 11–16, 18–24, 27–17, 32–18
	Pts: Madar 24 Rebs: Sorkin 8 Asts: Madar 7	Boxscore	Pts: Kovliar, Pustovyi 15 Rebs: Pustovyi 5 Asts: Blyzniuk 5	Arena: Arena Riga Attendance: 100 Referees: Ademir Zurapović (BIH), Andris Aunkrogers (LAT), Kerem Baki (TUR)

2025

20 February 2025 EuroBasket 2025 qualifiers	Ukraine	vs.	Slovenia	TBD

		Boxscore

23 February 2025 EuroBasket 2025 qualifiers	Portugal	vs.	Ukraine	Portugal

		Boxscore

Team

Current roster

Roster for the EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers matches on 23 and 25 November 2024 against Israel.^[14]

Ukraine men's national basketball team roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Age – Date of birth	Height	Club
G/F	5	Ivan Tkachenko	27 – (1997-04-23)23 April 1997	1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)	Mitteldeutscher BC
SF	11	Oleksandr Lypovyy	33 – (1991-10-09)9 October 1991	1.99 m (6 ft 6 in)	Lucentum
G/F	12	Pavlo Krutous	32 – (1992-04-09)9 April 1992	2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)	Melilla
F/C	13	Vyacheslav Bobrov	32 – (1992-09-19)19 September 1992	2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)	VEF Rīga
PF	14	Serhii Pavlov	27 – (1997-07-18)18 July 1997	2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)	Melilla
PF	15	Rostyslav Novitskyi	24 – (2000-10-23)23 October 2000	2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)	Valmiera Glass Via
PF	17	Andrii Voinalovych	24 – (1999-12-11)11 December 1999	2.05 m (6 ft 9 in)	Sabah
C	23	Artem Pustovyi	31 – (1992-06-25)25 June 1992	2.16 m (7 ft 1 in)	Joventut
F	24	Volodymyr Koniev	35 – (1989-06-18)18 June 1989	2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)	Dnipro
PG	30	Issuf Sanon	25 – (1999-10-30)30 October 1999	1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)	VEF Rīga
SG	32	Bogdan Bliznyuk	29 – (1995-03-31)31 March 1995	1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)	Jonava
G	50	Oleksandr Kovliar	22 – (2002-06-26)26 June 2002	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)	Lietkabelis
PG	55	Illya Sydorov	27 – (1996-12-04)4 December 1996	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)	VEF Rīga

Head coach

Vitaly Stepanovsky

Assistant coach(es)

Oleh Honcharov
Artem Slipenchuk

Legend

(C) Team captain
Club – describes last
club before the competition
Age – describes age
on 23 November 2024

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2
C	Alex Len	Artem Pustovyi	Dmytro Skapintsev
PF	Volodymyr Gerun	Vyacheslav Bobrov
SF	Svi Mykhailiuk	Ivan Tkachenko
SG	Bogdan Bliznyuk	Illya Sydorov
PG	Issuf Sanon	Vitaliy Zotov	Denys Lukashov

Notable players

Current notable players who have played for the national team:

Players previously called up roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	Name	Age – Date of birth	Height	Club
G/F	Oleksandr Belikov	32 – (1992-05-31)31 May 1992	2.02 m (6 ft 8 in)	Nitra Blue Wings
F	Bohdan Bryniuk	21 – (2003-08-23)23 August 2003	2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)	Minyor Pernik
PG	Igor Boyarkin	29 – (1995-06-13)13 June 1995	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	Kanazawa Samuraiz
C	Volodymyr Gerun	30 – (1994-03-25)25 March 1994	2.11 m (6 ft 11 in)	Osaka Evessa
G/F	Oleksandr Kolchenko	36 – (1988-09-20)20 September 1988	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)	Naic Aces
C	Vladyslav Koreniuk	30 – (1994-01-08)8 January 1994	2.10 m (6 ft 11 in)	Unattached
F/C	Maksym Korniyenko	37 – (1987-06-26)26 June 1987	2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)	Unattached
F	Artem Kovalov	26 – (1997-11-28)28 November 1997	2.02 m (6 ft 8 in)	Keila
C	Viacheslav Kravtsov	37 – (1987-08-25)25 August 1987	2.12 m (6 ft 11 in)	Unattached
C	Alex Len	31 – (1993-06-16)16 June 1993	2.13 m (7 ft 0 in)	Sacramento Kings
PG	Denys Lukashov	35 – (1989-04-30)30 April 1989	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)	Peja
G/F	Kyrylo Marchenko	27 – (1997-07-28)28 July 1997	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)	Cherkaski Mavpy
SG	Olexandr Mishula	32 – (1992-04-18)18 April 1992	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)	Dnipro
SF	Svi Mykhailiuk	27 – (1997-06-10)10 June 1997	2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)	Utah Jazz
F/C	Viacheslav Petrov	30 – (1994-08-13)13 August 1994	2.04 m (6 ft 8 in)	Unattached
SF	Maksym Pustozvonov	37 – (1987-04-16)16 April 1987	2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)	Unattached
SG	Anatolii Shundel	30 – (1993-12-05)5 December 1993	1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)	Ogre
C	Dmytro Skapintsev	26 – (1998-05-12)12 May 1998	2.16 m (7 ft 1 in)	Maine Celtics
PF	Stanislav Tymofeyenko	35 – (1989-06-03)3 June 1989	2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)	Dnipro
PG	Ilya Tyrtyshnik	26 – (1998-09-07)7 September 1998	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)	Unattached
F/C	Ihor Zaytsev	35 – (1989-05-11)11 May 1989	2.10 m (6 ft 11 in)	Taipei Taishin Mars
PG	Vitaliy Zotov	27 – (1997-03-03)3 March 1997	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)	Jonava

Legend

Club – describes current club
Age – describes age
on 23 November 2024

Head coach position

Zaurbek Khromaev – (1992–1997)
Vladislav Pustogarov – (1997–1998)
Vladimir Ryzhov – (1998–2000)
Gennadi Zaschuk – (2000–2005)
Vitaly Lebedintsev – (2006–2007)
Valentin Berestnev – (2007)
Valentyn Melnychuk – (2008–2009)
Vitaliy Cherniy – (2010)
Mike Fratello – (2011–2014)
Yevgen Murzin – (2015–2019)
Ainars Bagatskis – (2019–2023)
Vitaly Stepanovsky – (2023–present)

Past rosters

1997 EuroBasket: finished 13th among 16 teams

4 Oleksandr Okunsky, 5 Grihoriy Khyzhniak, 6 Leonid Yaylo, 7 Ihor Molchanov, 8 Victor Savchenko, 9 Alexander Lokhmanchuk, 10 Denis Zhuravlov, 11 Roman Rubchenko, 12 Vadym Pudzyrey, 13 Yevheniy Murzin, 14 Dmytro Bazelevsky, 15 Ihor Kharchenko (Coach: Zaurbek Khromaev)

2001 EuroBasket: finished 14th among 16 teams

4 Andriy Lebedev, 5 Vadym Pudzyrey, 6 Viktor Kobzystyy, 7 Stanislav Balashov, 8 Viacheslav Ievstratenko, 9 Serhiy Lishchuk, 10 Nikolay Khryapa, 11 Oleksandr Okunsky, 12 Dmytro Markov, 13 Dmytro Korablov, 14 Oleksandr Rayevskyy, 15 Volodymyr Ryzhov (Coach: Gennadi Zaschuk)

2003 EuroBasket: finished 14th among 16 teams

4 Andrii Lebediev, 5 Oleksandr Rayevskyy, 6 Oleksandr Skutelnyk, 7 Stanislav Balashov, 8 Artur Drozdov, 9 Sergiy Moskalenko, 10 Nikolay Khryapa, 11 Oleksandr Okunsky, 12 Viacheslav Ievstratenko, 13 Alexander Lokhmanchuk, 14 Andriy Botichev, 15 Grigorij Khizhnyak (Coach: Gennadi Zaschuk)

2005 EuroBasket: finished 16th among 16 teams

4 Andrii Lebediev, 5 Artem Butskyy, 6 Viktor Kobzystyy, 7 Stanislav Balashov, 8 Igor Kryvych, 9 Volodymyr Koval, 10 Oleksandr Rayevskyy, 11 Rostyslav Kryvych, 12 Serhiy Lishchuk, 13 Oleksiy Pecherov, 14 Volodymyr Gurtovyy, 15 Slava Medvedenko (Coach: Gennadi Zaschuk)

2011 EuroBasket: finished 17th among 24 teams

4 Maksym Pustozvonov, 5 Denys Lukashov, 6 Steve Burtt Jr., 7 Oleksandr Kolchenko, 8 Oleksandr Lypovyy, 9 Dmytro Zabirchenko, 10 Oleg Saltovets, 11 Oleksiy Pecherov, 12 Serhiy Lishchuk, 13 Danylo Kozlov, 14 Kyrylo Fesenko, 15 Viacheslav Kravtsov (Coach: Mike Fratello)