The manager of the Ukrainian men’s national basketball team has set his sights on bringing the squad to Taiwan, where they plan to train for July’s European qualifiers of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, said the Kaohsiung Steelers, a P.League+ club.
The Steelers — which are hosting Andrii Lebediev, manager of the Ukrainian men’s basketball team, in Taiwan — yesterday said that the Taiwanese government and the CTBA, the governing body for basketball in Taiwan, are discussing the visit.
While training for its next two qualifiers — against Georgia on July 1 and North Macedonia on July 4 — Ukraine would likely play two exhibition games against the Taiwanese national team, which is to compete in July’s Asian qualifiers, the Steelers wrote on social media on Monday.
Taiwan is to play China on July 1, Japan on July 3 and China again on July 4 at the John Cain Arena in Melbourne.
Asked about the likelihood of a visit by the Ukrainian team, the CTBA said it would make an announcement if the team is to visit.
Due to the effects of Russia’s invasion, the Ukrainian team is underfunded and has asked for Taiwan to pay for the team’s transportation, accommodation, equipment and other expenses, a report on Liberty Times Net said.
If the Ukrainian team makes it to Taiwan, they would be arriving during the playoffs of Taiwan’s professional leagues: the P.League+ and the T1 League, it said, adding that world No. 32 Ukraine might not find teams of its caliber to compete against.
The Ukrainian men’s national basketball team competed against Spain in a European qualifier for the FIBA World Cup in Cordoba on Feb. 24, the day that Russia invaded Ukraine.
The team traveled to Latvia, where coach Ainars Bagatskis is from and had arranged accommodation for them. Some team members returned to their respective clubs across Europe.
Three of the team’s staff, including Lebediev, arrived in Taiwan on April 5 on business visas, after the Steelers invited them to Kaohsiung to facilitate professional exchanges on sports club management and training.
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