Basketball club "Prometey" continues the series of pre-season interviews with the team's players. This time we spoke to the captain of "Prometey" and the National team of Ukraine - Denys Lukashov.

- Denys, together with the National team you went through an unforgettable journey at EuroBasket, obtaining a fantastic victory over Estonia, taking the lead for the first time only in the last minute of the game, defeated Italy and stopped only in the confrontation with Poland. In your opinion, what the National team of Ukraine lacked to win over the National team of Poland?

- In my opinion, there was not enough concentration and there were many open shots from the three-point line, but we were not accurate. We got prepared quite well, I think, for the Polish national team, analysed their leaders, how they play in attack and defence. We were ready for that. However, in retrospect, there were a lot of free throws in the last quarter. First of all, I had them, Ivan Tkachenko as well, but we did not hit. And luck smiled for the leaders of the Polish National team and they hit difficult shots in the last seconds of the game and felt confident, unfortunately.

- You, as one of the most experienced basketball players not only in the National team, but also in the country in general, did you feel that the match with Poland would be so difficult? Or you already dreamed of meeting with Luka Doncic?

-No. We anticipated it would be a tough match. As we already saw that Estonia fought with everyone on an equal footing; not only with us, but with absolutely each team. There have already been cases when Spain lost in the group and a few more examples that show the opponent shouldn't be underestimated; because at this stage there are already teams that have proven that they can beat anyone. It was necessary to tune in only for a difficult battle. And we did. But unfortunately, we could not beat the Polish National team.
 

- Denis, after the elimination of our team from the tournament, did you continue to cheer for someone?

- I was very upset by this defeat. And for about two or three days I was in a bad temper, because I believe that we did not fully realize our potential. We had a very good chance to reach the quarter-finals. And later, when Poland beat Slovenia, which was considered the favourite of this EuroBasket, I started rooting for them a little. Besides that, I liked the German National team. These two teams were not considered as favourites, but they showed very good team basketball.

-Please describe your general impressions of EuroBasket-2022?

- For me it was the fourth European Championship. As always, it's a very nice atmosphere. When you see that the best European players of each country are gathering, it's a very pleasant experience, a very pleasant feeling, an atmosphere that inspires you, and you dive into it. The feelings, as I said, are twofold. Because I believe, we should have beaten the Polish National team. As, in my opinion, this was the best opponent that we could get at this stage. And I'm very disappointed that we couldn't beat them. I am also disappointed with my own game and my physical condition.

- Denys, if you had managed to beat Poland, would you be satisfied with such a result?

- What if we beat Poland and stopped at Slovenia? This is another story. First of all, we were setting up for the next game. We didn't think about Slovenia, we focused only on Poland. And then we would tune in to Slovenia. It's just one match where anything can happen. As we have seen, the leader of the Slovenes, Doncic, was not in a very good shape, and the Poles were able to beat them, why could we not do the same.

- I ask because on the eve of EuroBasket, Ivan Tkachenko said that, as a young player, he would be satisfied if the Ukrainian National team broke its own record. Judging by his words, if the national team took 5th place, then Ivan would be satisfied. That's why I put this question to you. What would you be satisfied with?

- He is right. We wanted to get into the medals. We spoke a lot. There was one agreement with Sviat Mykhailiuk, if we win medals, he must do something for me. We were joking, but we felt we had a chance to beat our previous sixth place that we took in 2013.
 

- During your career, you worked with many coaches. How it was with Ainars? What kind of person is he, as a coach, in the locker room, in everyday life? Was it comfortable personally for you to work with him?

- He has already expressed his future, that he will not remain on the position of head coach of the Ukrainian National team. He came up to us after dinner and announced that he had decided to leave the National team even before the European Championship. This has nothing to do with the team's performance at EuroBasket. Regarding what kind of person he is. Ainars, like all coaches, is different. It gives freedom in making decisions. He will never restrict you in anything or make any remarks if you made that shot or did something offensively, because he wants the player to use his best qualities and feel more relaxed. He is a very positive person, both in the locker room and in everyday life. Yes, he demands seriousness in training, but when the training is over, he can chat, joke, play with the boys making throws from the centre. And I told him after the European Championship, I am very grateful to him for his great work in organizing the preparation of the National team. Because at such a time, it was difficult to do. We had the best conditions in Riga. Nice hotel, good food, everything was at the highest level. I thanked him for this from the whole country. Also for supporting Ukrainian children – basketball players after the war started.

- Denys, so, there is no reason to hope that Ainars will remain at the head of the Ukrainian National team? I mean, maybe he will change his mind, maybe there will be an offer from the Basketball Federation.

- I think, this question is not for me. I am only saying what he announced to us after the last dinner at EuroBasket. He said he was leaving and thanked every player for the three years we worked together.

- And you personally would like him to stay?

- I liked working with him. There were some misunderstandings regarding his ideas. But in general, we showed the minimum result that we had hoped for even before the start of the European Championship. So he did everything right.
 

- On February 24, when the full-scale war began, you were with the National team in Spain. We saw photos and videos, we saw your eyes, your face expressions. What did you feel that day? Did you have any hesitations about coming out on the field?

- This is a very difficult question even after seven months that have already passed. We all remember this day as a horror when we woke up early in the morning. Relatives started calling, there was a lot of noise in the corridor of our hotel. The guys have already started talking, knocking on each other's doors. And everyone began to pronounce this terrible word "war". We were in real shock. Went for breakfast. Everyone was silent. Only read the news on the phone. Then I approached the coach and said that we will not be able to go to the morning training. He said that "understood everything, I have no right to tell you anything, you will decide yourself how to behave." Personally, I had no thoughts about any game. Because all of us were very worried about our families who remained in Ukraine. Already in the evening we decided that we have to go to the hall and try to play.

- Denys, Donetsk region is your native land. How did the war affect you personally and your life?

- This war started for me in 2014. After the season with “Azovmash”, it was May 8, I packed my things and went to Kyiv. And after that, I have never returned there. When large-scale hostilities began, I tried to take my family, my parents, to Kyiv. They did not want to go at first. But when heavy shelling began, they came to my place, but returned home from time to time. At that time, I played for "Budivelnyk", tried to influence them to stay in the capital, because I was very worried about them and my brother. But they said that it probably won't last long, because millions of people can't suffer in the 21st century. But it did not end quickly. We had to leave our homes. I took them to the Dnipropetrovsk region.

- Let's move on to club affairs. What can you say about the squad of "Prometey" for the new season? Has the team become stronger comparing to last season?

- I can't answer this question yet, because I haven't had enough training and games with the whole team. As for me, this is a good line-up, many strong performers. First of all individually. Some of the legionnaires are already familiar to us - they are DJ Kennedy and DJ Stephens, as well as Gian Clavell, who was in "Budivelnyk", one of the leaders of the championship in terms of scored points. Dustin Hogue, who we remember for his performances in “Cluj”, has also joined us, he does a lot of draft work, he is a very team player. I haven’t seen and heard about Caleb Agada before this summer. Now I can see that he works a lot, comes before training, stays after. We also signed Issuf Sanon, whom all Ukrainian fans know very well. And the Ukrainian roster of "Prometey" remained. So, I think we have a very good squad. Now we need to hear each other. We have added a very massive center of the Czech National team, Ondrey Balvin, who has a name primarily in the Spanish championship and who is considered the strongest in Europe. At the moment, the question is how quickly we will be able to adapt to each other and will be able to hone some team bonds in training. There is not much time, because most of us were at the National teams, this also applies to the head coach. I hope that everything will turn out for the best and as soon as possible.
 

- Your teammate, team newcomer Issuf Sanon said that the fact that the National team members missed the first stage of training with "Prometey" will not affect his personal shape in any way. Considering everything you said you're not feeling your best functionally right now, do you see a problem with missing the start of the training camp?

- I cannot judge Issuf, because he is only 22 years old. We are quite different in age. I only said about myself that, unfortunately, I did not feel the physical readiness that I expected from myself. When I arrived to the club, we had some tests with the physical training coach and with the doctor at the medical facility. And the results, to put it mildly, are not very good. The club has been training for a month, and the guys have done a lot of physical work. And we missed it because we played in the National team. I hope I can get my physical condition back as soon as possible to start helping the team.

-"Prometey" will play in the Latvian-Estonian League and the Eurocup this season. From all points of view, Eurocup is a new stage for the team. What do you expect from the season with “Prometey”? What are the main tasks?

- Regarding tasks, I have not yet heard them from our management. However, knowing their requirements, they are always focused only on the maximum result. For me personally, the Eurocup is not a new tournament, because I have already played in it with “Budivelnyk” and “Donetsk”. I don't think it's much harder than the Champions League. After all, title-winning clubs representing Spain, Italy, and Israel play in both tournaments. Yes, it is considered the second-highest tournament after the Euroleague. Ukrainian clubs have not participated in the EuroCup for many years. I think we have a chance to make a statement in this tournament as well.

- You spent the summer with the National team in Riga. You trained and played both with the National team and with “Prometey” in the halls where we will play this season. How comfortable is it in Riga from both a life and a basketball point of view?

- I like Riga and the weather that was this summer. It was very sunny, a very long bright part of the day. But it was in summer. Now it is quite cold and rains a lot. But the most important thing is that we have good conditions for doing our duties. Nice training hall, modern game arena. Everything is very well organized. I wanted to thank the local authorities who were able to help us and organize all this, thank the management who did a great job organizing all this. So, I hope that everything will be fine and we will be able to get ready for the EuroCup. And we will also play well in the Latvian-Estonian league.
 

-Preparation for the season is coming to an end. What can you say, do you like it?

- The team held a number of friendly meetings with Latvian and Lithuanian teams and with more experienced Turkish teams. The task is, first of all, for the players to feel each other, team interactions and get in game condition.

- Finally, traditionally, a few words to the fans of "Prometey".

- First of all, we were very happy in summer of this year, when the president made a loud announcement that "Prometey" is returning. After that, several fans wrote to me, who were very happy. For them, this is a reason to be positive, they will watch and cheer for us, and we, for our part, will try to do our best and show a very good result and win.