The National basketball team of Ukraine had their first training session at EuroBasket 2022.

As part of the National team, four “Prometey players Denys Lukashov, Issuf Sanon, Illia Sydorov and Ivan Tkachenko went to Milan.

After the training session, the head coach of the Ukrainian National team Ainars Bagatskis and captain Denys Lukashov had an official press-conference.

"We are very happy to start at this EuroBasket. I guess, we have done a great job to show here who we are and what we are capable of. There was a really long distance to EuroBasket - qualification, then the pandemic. We are waiting for opportunity to show everyone what we are capable of and what we deserve," said the player of BC “Prometey”.

Of course, in Milan, Denys was asked about his opinion regarding our game with the Italian National team on August 24 in the qualification for the World Cup.

"The first half of the match was really great for us, but the third quarter was very bad, especially in defense. We let the Italians perform easy three-point shots, feel the game, and, as a result, win. This defeat was very painful for us. We were very upset. And we are waiting for an opportunity to demonstrate that we can defeat them. We've done a good job on bugs. We will fight on the court. It is clear that it will not be easy, because Italians will play at home and will be supported by thousands of fans. However, we will do our best to win."

As a reminder, the Ukrainians will play against the hosts on September 5.

And it is also obvious that the press conference could not avoid a question related to the war in Ukraine.

"As already mentioned, our country is going through very difficult times. It is not easy for us to focus on basketball, knowing what is happening in our country. We will do anything to show our best game. We will fight in every game - I can promise that.

The message to the world has not changed since February, when it all began. We need to stop the war and stop the killing Ukrainians," Lukashov said.

Let us remind that Ukraine plays in group C against Italy, Greece, Estonia, Croatia and Great Britain.

Four teams from the group advance to the next stage of the competition.

The first match is on September 2 at 15:15 Kyiv time, the opponent is the Great Britain national team.
 

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