Anti-government protests in Ukraine intensified over the weekend. Thousands of people who oppose the protests converged on their tent camp in Kiev’s Independence Square. And hundreds of security forces gathered in the area. Though the demonstrations have been confined to a relatively small location downtown, the congestion has altered traffic patterns so it takes much longer to get around central Kiev. And the protests forced us to use a different hotel as our headquarters.
Flew into San Antonio for Tuesday’s Nets-Spurs matchup on YES and got a chance to spend some time with the architect of the most envied program in the NBA, San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich.
After Falling to Croatia in the quarterfinals 84-72 on Thursday, Ukraine bounced back to beat Italy 66-58 on Friday and earn an automatic bid to the FIBA World Championship for the first time ever! Today we played a competitive game against Slovenia for fifth place in front of their spirited home crowd, but unfortunately we came up short 69-63. I couldn’t be prouder of our team’s effort in this tournament and our historic run to the Elite 8. Now our players will return to their respective teams to get ready for the start of the regular season. Look forward to regrouping in Spain next summer to compete in the 2014 FIBA World Cup!
Photos courtesy of FIBA Europe’s official EuroBasket 2013 website.
For the first time in the national basketball team’s history, Ukraine is among the eight teams that advanced to the EuroBasket 2013 Quarterfinals. We’ll play Croatia, the top seed in our group of four, for a shot at the semis. Rooted in a rich basketball tradition, Croatia is tall, long, athletic and very skilled, so we’ll have our hands full. CRO vs. UKR tips off Thursday, Sept. 19 at 11:45AM ET at Stozice Arena in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Photos courtesy of FIBA Europe’s official EuroBasket 2013 website.
I talked with ESPN correspondent Mark Woods about Ukraine’s performance at EuroBasket 2013 and the likelihood of seeing a European coach at the helm of an NBA team in the near future.
NEXT? EUROPEAN HEAD COACH IN NBA by Mark Woods
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia — Mike Fratello believes the time may have arrived to break down a barrier in the NBA and give a European a shot at becoming a head coach.
The former Atlanta, Memphis and Cleveland playcaller has spent the past two weeks pitting himself against some of the continent’s most accomplished tactical minds in his capacity in charge of Ukraine’s national team at EuroBasket.
Fratello, 66, prominent now during the NBA season as a broadcaster, has been traveling across the Atlantic in a basketball capacity for more than two decades, conducting clinics, sharing his knowledge and broadcasting games back to home.
But since his appointment with the Ukrainians in 2011, he’s gotten a firsthand insight into the abilities of his European counterparts. Read more…
