Ukraine’s national basketball team came together this summer with the task of raising the spirits of the people living in the war-torn country.
As it turns out, it was the other way around.
The summer long games — World Cup qualifying matches leading to exhibitions and ongoing European Championships — did not get off to a good start for Ukraine. Losses piled up, tensions mounted and frustration was evident. something had to change.
“At that point, we thought about our hometown fans,” said Ukrainian center Alex Ren, who plays for the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. I decided, there is a lot going on in my country and I said we have to play harder, let’s fight, let’s fight with respect for our country.”
fight. That’s how Ukraine is now.
And while that approach sounds simple, it worked. Ukraine is one of the last 16 teams left in the EuroBasket tournament, which resumes with the knockout stage kicking off in Berlin on Saturday. Ukraine lost 3-2 to her in the group stage, and her two games (the players hoped) would give the people of her homeland reeling from Russia’s aggression since February with a little more national pride. I was.
“It’s a really difficult time for Ukraine, for the country, for the team,” said point guard Denis Lukashov. It’s not easy.I will do my best to show you the best game.I will fight every game.That’s what I can promise.”
Lukasov was asked if the Ukrainian team had a message for the world.
“Stop this war,” he said. “Stop killing people”
All knockout stage matches will be played in Berlin. It became a single-elimination tournament, with the exception of the clubs who made it to the semi-finals. The loser of these semifinals will participate in his third place match before the championship matchup.
Saturday is Germany v Montenegro, Spain v Lithuania, Slovenia v Belgium and Turkey v France. On Sunday, Greece v Czech Republic, Finland v Croatia, Ukraine v Poland and Serbia v Italy. A quarterfinal matchup awaits the winner of Slovenia vs. Belgium if Ukraine beats Poland. Led by Luka Doncic, Slovenia are the reigning champions of EuroBasket.
Coming into the tournament with a long shot, Ukraine is full of confidence.
“We are playing very hard,” Ren said. “And it shows. I think anyone can beat anyone in this tournament.”
In sports, especially on the international stage, it is usually a rallying point for any nation. Over the past seven months, they have been particularly poignant, both for Ukrainians and for those who support them.
There were countless examples. At this winter’s Beijing Olympics, skeleton athlete Vladyslav Helaskevich held up a sign reading “No war in Ukraine” right after finishing the track. At this spring’s World Indoor Athletics Championships, Australia’s Eleanor Patterson finished his second place in the high jump behind Ukraine’s Yaroslava and his Makhchiv, with fingernails painted in the colors of the Ukrainian flag at the podium ceremony. was shown. Even Russian tennis player Daria Kasatkina called on her country to stop the war in a videotaped interview this summer.
This week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky and his aides, pledging continued support and saying, “Ukrainians are fighting for their country, so they are very much concerned about the future of Ukraine.” Be confident. It’s their homeland, not Russia.”
“I call home every day,” said Artem Pustovyi, a Ukrainian center whose relatives live near the capital Kyiv. “One day I’ll see my family. Some days I can’t. A day later, maybe two days later, they always let me know they’re okay.”
Ironically, Ukraine’s first match in the knockout stage will be against Poland. The two countries share a border that stretches about 330 miles (about 530 kilometers) in length. They are allies, perhaps even more than they are now, a bond strengthened by war.
About 1.4 million Ukrainians have registered for temporary protection in Poland since the start of the war with Russia, according to the United Nations, during which about 6 million Ukrainian-Polish border crossings have taken place. was broken.
The two countries will be rivals on the basketball court for hours on Sunday. They will be your allies before, during and after. The match was shown on Ukrainian television and is also available to fans in the team’s home country on streaming services.
“We have pressure,” Ren said. “But again, you never know what’s going to happen months from now or a year from now. So there’s pressure, but the real pressure is on those fighting for our freedom. We’re playing basketball here.It’s a crazy situation.I don’t know if there’s a place to go back to.”
Ukraine has so far played in Latvia, Portugal, Iceland, Macedonia and Italy this summer, and will now complete its Eurobasket journey in Germany.
The team is not home. I don’t know when I will get the chance to play there again.
Until then, they will fight as the players promised each other that it would be at that team meeting – to honor those who put up the real fight.
“I just want to say stop the war in Ukraine,” said security guard Issue Sanon. “Slava Ukraine. Slava Ukraine.”
Translation: Glory to Ukraine.
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