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Ukraine and The Czar
December 20 by Leave a Comment
Over the weekend I joined the Ukrainian delegation in Munich, Germany to support their bid to host the FIBA European Basketball Championship in 2015. The campaign was truly a team effort.
Sports and entertainment marketing specialist Impact34 worked with the Ukrainian Basketball Federation to deliver the proposal, and Our Agency assembled the hardcover bid book. National Olympic Committee President Sergey Bubka (the legendary pole vaulter who won six consecutive IAAF World Championships and Olympic gold in 1988) fronted the bid. Deputy Prime Minister Boris Kolesnikov made the trip to Munich to demonstrate the Ukrainian government’s commitment, while AeroSvit Airlines volunteered to transport the players during the tournament.
Sasha Volkov and Sasha Larin both worked unbelievably hard to make this happen. Thanks to the tremendous support they received, and perhaps in part the candle I lit for them at the cathedral, they succeeded. On Sunday FIBA Europe President Olafur Rafnsson announced the Board’s decision to award Ukraine the bid. It was a great moment for the country and for Ukrainian basketball. No doubt staging this prestigious tournament will help Ukraine in its endeavor to become one of the European powerhouses.
Now the hard work begins. This is going to be a massive undertaking. 180 million euros will be allocated for preparations for EuroBasket 2015, including the building of new hotels, the construction of three new arenas and the re-developing of four existing arenas.
Mike Looks Back: EuroBasket 2011
September 22 by Leave a Comment
Mike reflects on Ukraine’s achievements in EuroBasket 2011 and looks ahead to the future of the Ukrainian Basketball Federation.
Ukraine and The Czar
September 19 by Leave a Comment
Mark Woods wrote a nice piece for ESPN about my experience coaching Ukraine in EuroBasket 2011.
KLAIPEDA, Lithuania — Mike Fratello had waited almost five years to savor this moment. Five years since he walked off the court following the last of his victories with the Memphis Grizzlies before departing midway through the 2006-07 season, not knowing when he would get another opportunity to get back on a bench and to the job he relishes most.
He never expected that it would come here, in Lithuania for EuroBasket 2011, in charge of a country that few Americans would ever have cause to visit. But the coach of Ukraine’s national team could not disguise his delight after claiming a 67-56 win Saturday over Bulgaria.
“It was very special that we could get a win after losing a couple of very close games,” said the former Memphis, Atlanta and Cleveland coach. However, without big tournament experience, his team departed at the end of the first phase with a 2-3 record that came up just short.
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the article on ESPN.com.
Ukraine and The Czar
September 8 by Leave a Comment
It was good to end our EuroBasket 2011 run with a 74-61 win over Belgium in Game 5 thanks to a strong team effort and solid execution. Coupled with our victory over Bulgaria in Game 3 we wound up 2-3 at the end of Round 1, which resulted in a three-way tie with Bulgaria and Georgia in Group D. Unfortunately we fell short of our goal to qualify for the second round of the FIBA European Basketball Championship. Since Georgia lost to Bulgaria by less than 14 points in their final matchup, Georgia wound up winning the tie-breaker and moving through to the next round of competition. Hopefully the Ukraine National Team will learn from this experience and continue to build momentum in order to get better results next time around.
