Today, on September 5, at 10:00 p.m., at EuroBasket, the Ukrainian National team will play against the hosts, the Italian team.
As a reminder, the teams played very recently - on August 24 - in Riga, in the qualification match for the World Cup, the team of Ainars Bagatskis suffered an unfortunate defeat against Italians. So, despite the frantic support of 11,000 Italian fans in the stands, they are set only for revenge.
Yesterday at 8:20 p.m. Ukrainians held a training session at the “Mediolanum Forum”, and then we had a chat with our captain Denys Lukashov.
- Denys, I congratulate you on two victories at EuroBasket, with the fact that you are now in first place in the group. What is the feelings in the team? What is the moral and physical state after two victories, after today’s day off games?
-Thanks for the congratulations. We are in a fighting spirit. Yes, it was a difficult game against the Estonian National team. But we expected that. They have a lot of young basketball players who play very fast both offensively and defensively. It was a bit complicated to decide a game plan. But we did not give up and grabbed this victory. We are setting up for the battle with the Italian national team. It will be very difficult, because the opponents play at home. They have frantic support. About 10,000 spectators come to each match. However, we have already played with them, and saw that we are able to beat them if we don't make mistakes in defence, first of all. We are targeting on the third victory.
- Everyone, who was at the Italy-Greece match a day ago, heard this rabid support of the Italian fans. We have a young team, not everyone had a chance to play under such noise. However, on the other hand, in the previous match, it was the newcomers of the National team, who showed nerves of steel. Tell me, is this factor of crazy Italian home support really so significant?
- Everything will depend on how we start this match. If we are in the game, our game plan is executed and there is good interaction, those 10,000 viewers won't be a problem. After all, we are all mature, we all played in such conditions. It is hard, but sometimes it's even better when you upset someone’s fans with your good shots or any kind of good action. Primarily, we should focus only on our game and our interactions.
- You are the most familiar with the Italian National team of all opponents in the group. However, after our game with them on August 24, you have already watched two of their matches here on EuroBasket. So, there is probably something new to say about Italians after the information received here.
-I see their insane setup in every game. They step out on this court with, probably, double energy. They play at home. This pressure from the stands is felt very well. Even when Greece tried to break away, the advantage was already 15 points, Italy was getting back into the game. In addition, if you look at how the coach behaves during the match - it's explosive! With his crazy actions, his energy, first of all, he adds up additional emotions to the team and drives everyone forward. It will be difficult, but we will try to beat them, as it’s said.
-Unfortunately, there are not so many Ukrainian fans in the stands of the “Mediolanum Forum”. However, many people in Ukraine watch your games, watch broadcasts. Please, say a few words for them, for the fans of the Ukrainian National team, for the fans of “Prometey”, for everyone who cheers for you.
- To start with, I want to thank them for their support. We know that many people watch our performances. Times are very bad in Ukraine now. Our Ukraine is fighting the enemy. The next thing I would like to say, we worry a lot about our warriors who defend our Ukraine. We are very grateful, and for our part, we try to give some positive emotions with our victories, so we will try to give all our strength and fight only for victory!
