Ukraine played a complete game against Great Britain in Game 5 of the EuroBasket, executing on both ends of the court. We shot the ball extremely well throughout the game, and we defended well, holding Great Britain to 31 points in the first half and 37 points in the second half. Ukraine beat Great Britain 87-68 and finished with a 4-1 record in the First Round, good for second place in Group A behind France.
Now Ukraine will advance to the Second Round of the FIBA European Basketball Championship for the first time in the country’s history. The top three teams from Groups A and B will form Group E and compete against each other in three games over the course of six days. Ukraine opens up against Latvia in Round 2, followed by Serbia on Friday and Lithuania on Sunday. All three teams will be very tough opponents. I’m proud of our guys for earning the opportunity to move on, and the Ukraine Train will try to do it again in the Second Round. Latvia vs. Ukraine tips off at 2:30 PM local time (8:30 AM EST) on SportLemon.tv.
Photos courtesy of FIBA Europe’s official EuroBasket 2013 website.
