In early July, the men's National team of Ukraine played three final matches of the first round of qualification for the 2023 World Cup, where they obtained victories over Georgia and North Macedonia, losing by one point to the world champions, Spain team.
The captain of "Prometey" and one of the most experienced players of the National team, point guard Denys Lukashov, shared his thoughts on the performance of the National team in these matches.
What are the general impressions of the July qualification window for the World Cup 2023?
- The minimum task was filfilled, as, first of all, we set up for the game against Georgia seriously. It was the most important match, as this victory guaranteed us a place in the next round. In addition, we won with the necessary point difference and felt confident in our power, in particular, before the match against Spain. But a certain negative aftertaste has remained, as we were very close to defeating them. Unfortunately, everything was decided there during last seconds, not on our favour. It was possible not to bring it to this point, but luck a little turned away from us there.
The team had great game segments, but there also were moments when the players let their opponents control the game. Why, do you think, there was a lack of stability over the entire playing distance?
- We need to be more focused and not to rush while making decisions. We have a lot of young players who want to quickly decide the course of the game, but sometimes you need to slow down, play more calmly and get concentrated, without forcing the attack. Unfortunately, we had such moments and if we consider the last game against Spain, we can see that at the end of the game we had quite chaotic basketball in the attack. There were unprepared attacks, due to which we did not manage to keep the winning margin.
The team has young players who already regularly get much of playing time. What did they bring to the game of the National team?
- First of all, I would like to say that they are not very young players and they got enough playing time in the Superleague - no less than, let’s say, veterans. So, there should not be such a dividing of players. The energy, that goes from Sanon, Tkachenko, Sydorov, is necessary. Especially, I would like to highlight Ivan, who did a lot in defense. We had a special defense in that game window— we played a shift (after the pick-and-roll - ed.), and we had no shortage of height under the hoop after those shifts. He coped well with this task.
In this game window we played without several key players. Do you think you were able to compensate their absence?
- I believe that there are no irreplaceable players and everything depends on togetherness, desire and energy. Yes, there was no Blyzniuk and Lypovyy, but there were Tkachenko and Krutous, who used their playing time successfully. There was no Herun, but there was Skapintsev, who tried to work productively. A lot of things depend on mood and desire, as in the National team people play not for money, but for honour.
You played for many National teams, for different coaches, at different tournaments. What are your impressions of the team chemistry in this team?
- We had a good month. It all started very smoothly without forcing, we had a lot of time to view different options of interactions. Sometimes they were not very clear to the players, but the coach knows what he is doing. The atmosphere was cool, the preparation was positive and, somehow, I personally had the confidence that we will definitely be able to complete the minimum task, and maybe even more. We had excellent conditions for training in Italy, everything was great in Riga. Yes, it is clear that mentally we are with Ukraine, at home, but we tried to focus on our work, on what we can do on the court.
Sviat Mykhailiuk spends only a few training sessions with the team before the official matches. Was it realistic to find own game in such a time?
- Regarding the level of his game, there is nothing to discuss - Sviat is an NBA player and has already proven himself to everyone. We know his level very well, but it's another matter that he didn't really train much with us, unlike the other players who were together for three weeks. Yes, his throws in the game against Spain were not accurate, but the coach took him to a clear role in the team and we needed those attacks. Somewhere he didn't hit, somewhere he overreacted, but the case is that there was catastrophically little time for training with the team. But he came, helped, and we have to thank him that in a difficult time he did not refuse and helped. He eagers to play for the National team, he played well in the match against Georgia, scored in North Macedonia. Didn’t score in the match against the Spaniards, but it happens in basketball. We are a team and all results - both wins and losses - we have to go through together. He took responsibility as the leader of this team. Before the next window, we will have more time to get ready and he will show his high level.
In this window, we played without a naturalized player. How do you think the team looked in this context?
- I have been answering this question for 13 years. In my opinion, we played not worse without the American, but even better than with a naturalized basketball player in the line-up. As recent years have shown, we play better without them. Maybe he (Jerome Randle — ed.) is not the right legionary that fits our game model and our team. But in general, I believe that we have repeatedly proven that we can achieve results exclusively with a Ukrainian roster.
With what expectations does the team approach the August selection matches and the final part of EuroBasket-2022?
- As I already said, the unpleasant sediment after the game with Spain is still in my head. There was a feeling that we could beat such a team - it is always prestigious. It's a pity that everything ended not in our favour in the last possession. We were very disappointed, but this is already history, we have to move further and get prepared. The guys are already waiting for the start of the second training camp, the training plan is almost ready and everyone wants to go to the National team to prepare. I hope that Oleksiy Len will join the team, which will only increase our chances of entering the World Cup. I am not even thinking about EuroBasket yet: I want to prepare well for the qualification matches. We have already worked well with the National team, but we should not stop but continue with the same spirit in the next window. Then we will think about the European Championship. Personally, my thoughts now are about the second round of selection for the 2023 World Cup.
