Ukraine’s youth basketball team reaches European finals

The youth men's national team of Ukraine defeated the team of the Netherlands in the semifinals of the U-20 European Championship. They reached the final in Pitesti, Romania, and were guaranteed a place in Division A.

Rubryka writes about this, referring to the Basketball Federation of Ukraine.

The beginning of the game seemed difficult for the Ukrainian team: the Dutch took the lead in the first quarter, gaining an 11-point advantage at the start of the game.

However, the Ukrainian team stabilized the game by adding defense. In the second quarter, coach Valerii Plekhanov's team missed 13 points, returning to the game and gaining a one-point advantage after the first half.

In the second half, the Ukrainian national team continued to increase the gap from the opponent: high-quality defense of the three-second shot and more effective execution of shots allowed the team to develop the advantage to the maximum of 18 points in this match.

As noted by the federation, the Ukrainian national team attacked better, both from the middle and the long distance, which compensated for the opponent's advantage in rebounding.

The match ended with the score: Netherlands — Ukraine 58:70 (20:14, 13:20, 11:17, 14:19)

Photo: Basketball Federation of Ukraine

The FBU noted that Ukraine's national team will play against Romania's national team, the host team of the European Championship in Division B, in the finals.

Having reached the championship final, the Ukrainian team returned to the elite division of the European Championship and will play in Division A next year.

The Ukrainian national team took first place in the tournament's group stage, winning matches against Kosovo, Hungary, Moldova, and Armenia and suffering only one defeat against Sweden. In the quarterfinals, the youth team beat Georgia.

It should be noted that the Ukrainian national record for pull-ups on the horizontal bar was set by the former Paralympian Oleksandr Vashchuk, who cannot walk.