Belarus men's national basketball team

National Basketball Representation

Belarus
FIBA rankingNR (1 March 2024)[1]
Joined FIBA1992
FIBA zoneFIBA Europe
National federationBBF
CoachRostislav Vergun
Nickname(s)Белыя крылы
(The White Wings)
FIBA World Cup
AppearancesNone
EuroBasket
AppearancesNone
Home jersey
Team colours
Home
Away jersey
Team colours
Away
First international
 Belarus 88–80 Lithuania 
(Wrocław, Poland; 31 May 1993)
Biggest win
 Belarus 121–50 Azerbaijan 
(Minsk, Belarus; 2 June 2001)
Biggest defeat
 Spain 101–53 Belarus 
(Alcoy, Spain; 3 December 1997)

The Belarus men's national basketball team (Belarusian: Нацыянальная зборная Беларусі па баскетболе, Russian: мужская сборная Белоруссии по баскетболу) represented Belarus in international basketball matches, and are controlled by the Belarusian Basketball Federation. They came into existence in 1992 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The team played in their first official match the following year versus Lithuania. They are Europe's most populous nation to have never qualified for a major international basketball competition.

After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, FIBA suspended Belarus from participating in international competitions.[2]

History

Prior to independence

Before 1992, Belarus was occupied by the Soviet Union, with Belarusian born players taking part on the Soviet Union national team.

Ensuing years

After Belarus gained independence from the Soviet Union, their first attempt to qualify for the premier European basketball tournament came in 1993. They ultimately came up short in their attempt. Throughout the rest of the 1990s and 2000s, Belarus were unsuccessful at securing qualification. During qualifying for the EuroBasket 2017, Belarus was stationed into Group D with another opportunity to reach the EuroBasket finals. The team began the qualifiers with two loses, before earning their first victory at home against Portugal.[3] Belarus went on to win twice more to conclude the qualifiers at a record of (3–3), but it wasn't enough as the team was eliminated.[4]

For qualification to the 2019 FIBA World Cup, Belarus first went through European Pre-Qualifiers. Belarus would finish with a (1–3) record in their pre-qualifying group, but would advance to the first round of the qualifiers; due to owning the point difference in their head-to-head against Portugal.[5] There, they were placed in Group A, and right away the national team were overwhelmed in their first two matches by dominant performances from Slovenia and Montenegro respectively. They eventually notched their first win in the group in a rematch against Slovenia, but to no avail. Belarus finished with a (1–5) record and failed to advance.[6]

Belarus later went on to compete in EuroBasket 2022 Pre-Qualifiers, but were eliminated in a match to Denmark, in the final pre-qualifying window 69–66.[7]

Competitive record

FIBA World Cup

World Cup Qualification
Year Position Pld W L Pld W L
1950 to 1990 Part of Soviet Union
Canada 1994 Did not qualify EuroBasket served
as qualifiers
Greece 1998
United States 2002
Japan 2006
Turkey 2010
Spain 2014
China 2019 10 2 8
PhilippinesJapanIndonesia 2023 Disqualified[8] Disqualified
Qatar 2027 To be determined To be determined
Total 0/8 10 2 8

Olympic Games

Olympic Games Qualifying
Year Position Pld W L Pld W L
1948 to 1992 Part of Soviet Union
1996 to 2020 Did not qualify Did not qualify
France 2024 Banned Banned
Total 0/7

EuroBasket

EuroBasket Qualification
Year Position Pld W L Pld W L
1947 to 1991 Part of Soviet Union
Germany 1993 Did not qualify 5 1 4
Greece 1995 6 2 4
Spain 1997 10 4 6
France 1999 10 3 7
Turkey 2001 15 6 9
Sweden 2003 16 7 9
Serbia and Montenegro 2005 Division B 6 4 2
Spain 2007 Division B 8 5 3
Poland 2009 Division B 10 7 3
Lithuania 2011 Division B 8 4 4
Slovenia 2013 Did not qualify 8 2 6
FranceCroatiaGermanyLatvia 2015 12 6 6
FinlandIsraelRomaniaTurkey 2017 6 3 3
Czech RepublicGeorgia (country)ItalyGermany 2022 8 4 4
LatviaCyprus FinlandPoland2025 Banned Banned
Total 0/14 128 58 70

Team

Current roster

Roster for the 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers matches on 25 and 28 November 2021 against Turkey and Greece.[9]

Belarus men's national basketball team roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr.
F 1 Darol Ernandez 32 – (1989-11-15)15 November 1989 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) Minsk Belarus
F 3 Benjamin-Pavel Dudu 30 – (1991-04-29)29 April 1991 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Minsk Belarus
PG 4 Uladzislau Blizniuk 22 – (1999-01-08)8 January 1999 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) Minsk Belarus
SF 5 Aliaksei Trastsinetski 35 – (1986-03-02)2 March 1986 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Minsk Belarus
PF 7 Maksim Salash 25 – (1996-05-06)6 May 1996 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) Burgos Spain
C 9 Artsiom Parakhouski 34 – (1987-10-06)6 October 1987 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) Parma Russia
SG 11 Uladzislau Mikulski 23 – (1998-04-11)11 April 1998 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Borisfen Belarus
F 12 Yauheni Beliankou 26 – (1995-06-11)11 June 1995 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Minsk Belarus
C 17 Vadzim Stubeda 21 – (2000-06-27)27 June 2000 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Minsk Belarus
SG 30 Kiryl Sitnik 32 – (1989-10-23)23 October 1989 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Dynamo Russia
PG 31 Andrei Stabrouski 23 – (1997-12-29)29 December 1997 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) Minsk Belarus
G 95 Ivan Aladka 26 – (1995-02-09)9 February 1995 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) Rusichi Russia
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Belarus Andrei Krivonos
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Club – describes last
    club before the competition
  • Age – describes age
    on 25 November 2021

Depth chart

Pos. Starting 5 Bench
C
PF
SF
SG
PG

Head coach position

  • Belarus Aliaksandr Papkou – (2008–2009)
  • Belarus Mikhail Feiman – (2010)
  • Belarus Andrei Krivonos – (2011–2012)
  • Belarus Ruslan Baidakov – (2013–2014)
  • Serbia Dušan Gvozdić – (2014)
  • Belarus Aleksander Krutikov – (2015–2019)
  • Belarus Rostislav Vergun – (2019–present)[10]

Recent results and upcoming fixtures

  Win   Loss

2020

Belarus  v  Albania
26 November 2020
2023 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 1st round
 Belarus  90–50  Albania Matosinhos, Portugal* [note 1]
16:30 Scoring by quarter: 21–16, 24–7, 23–20, 22–7
Pts: Parakhouski 17
Rebs: Parakhouski 10
Asts: Mikulski, Trastsinetski 5 		Boxscore Pts: Lekndreaj 15
Rebs: Shima 7
Asts: Strazimiri 3 		Arena: Centro de Desportos e Congressos
Referees: Charalampos Karakatsounis (GRE), Guido Giovannetti (ITA), Maxime Boubert (FRA)
Belarus  v  Cyprus
28 November 2020
2023 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 1st round
 Belarus  89–53  Cyprus Matosinhos, Portugal* [note 1]
15:00 Scoring by quarter: 24–9, 24–9, 26–13, 15–22
Pts: Rahozenka 17
Rebs: Parakhouski 12
Asts: Rubinshteyn 5 		Boxscore Pts: Michail 9
Rebs: Koumis 6
Asts: Giannaras 3 		Arena: Centro de Desportos e Congressos
Referees: Mart Uuehendrik (EST), Nikola Perlić (CRO), Maxime Boubert (FRA)

2021

Portugal  v  Belarus
18 February 2021
2023 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 1st round
 Portugal  75–57  Belarus Nicosia, Cyprus* [note 1]
16:00 Scoring by quarter: 14–12, 25–11, 17–6, 19–28
Pts: Amarante 14
Rebs: Queiroz, Ventura 6
Asts: Ventura 6 		Boxscore Pts: Blizniuk, Vikentsyeu 12
Rebs: Vikentsyeu 6
Asts: Blizniuk 5 		Arena: Eleftheria Indoor Hall
Referees: Ciprian Stoica (ROU), Aleksandar Milojević (MKD), Nemanja Ninković (SRB)
Albania  v  Belarus
20 February 2021
2023 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 1st round
 Albania  72–93  Belarus Nicosia, Cyprus* [note 1]
19:00 Scoring by quarter: 24–25, 15–19, 16–26, 17–23
Pts: Taflaj 16
Rebs: Hysenagolli 10
Asts: Bedini, Hysenagolli 4 		Boxscore Pts: Beliankou 26
Rebs: Salash, Vikentsyeu 6
Asts: Blizniuk 7 		Arena: Eleftheria Indoor Hall
Referees: Nemanja Ninković (SRB), Péter Praksch (HUN), Franko Gracin (CRO)
Latvia  v  Belarus
8 August 2021
2023 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 2nd round
 Latvia  92–83  Belarus Riga, Latvia* [note 2]
19:30 (UTC+3) Scoring by quarter: 21–20, 24–24, 20–23, 27–16
Pts: Bertāns 20
Rebs: Meiers 9
Asts: Strēlnieks, Zoriks 5 		Boxscore Pts: Parakhouski 16
Rebs: Parakhouski 7
Asts: Sitnik 6 		Arena: Arena Riga
Referees: Igor Mitrovski (MKD), Dariusz Zapolski (POL), Josip Jurčević (CRO)
Belarus  v  Romania
9 August 2021
2023 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 2nd round
 Belarus  77–72  Romania Riga, Latvia* [note 2]
19:30 (UTC+3) Scoring by quarter: 19–19, 19–20, 22–22, 17–11
Pts: Sitnik 20
Rebs: Parakhouski 11
Asts: four players 2 		Boxscore Pts: Richard 14
Rebs: Uta 8
Asts: Tohătan 6 		Arena: Arena Riga
Referees: Sergii Zashchuk (UKR), Dariusz Zapolski (POL), Josip Jurčević (CRO)
Belarus  v  Latvia
12 August 2021
2023 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 2nd round
 Belarus  60–83  Latvia Riga, Latvia* [note 2]
19:30 (UTC+3) Scoring by quarter: 15–20, 20–23, 16–24, 9–16
Pts: Rubinshteyn, Stabrouski 15
Rebs: Rubinshteyn 5
Asts: Aladka 4 		Boxscore Pts: Gražulis 22
Rebs: Gražulis 9
Asts: Zoriks 8 		Arena: Arena Riga
Referees: Sergii Zashchuk (UKR), Igor Mitrovski (MKD), Radomir Vojinović (MNE)
Romania  v  Belarus
13 August 2021
2023 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 2nd round
 Romania  66–94  Belarus Riga, Latvia* [note 2]
19:30 (UTC+3) Scoring by quarter: 8–26, 15–24, 25–20, 18–24
Pts: Richard 15
Rebs: Cățe 7
Asts: Gheorghe 6 		Boxscore Pts: Parakhouski 21
Rebs: Parakhouski 11
Asts: Beliankou, Blizniuk 6 		Arena: Arena Riga
Referees: Sergii Zashchuk (UKR), Dariusz Zapolski (POL), Josip Jurčević (CRO)
Belarus  v  Turkey
25 November 2021 (2021-11-25)
2023 FIBA World Cup qualifiers – 1st round
 Belarus  Annulled  Turkey
Note:
  • v
  • t
  • e
Greece  v  Belarus
28 November 2021 (2021-11-28)
2023 FIBA World Cup qualifiers – 1st round
 Greece  Annulled  Belarus
Note:
  • v
  • t
  • e

2022

Belarus  v  Great Britain
25 February 2022 (2022-02-25)
2023 FIBA World Cup qualifiers – 1st round
 Belarus  Cancelled  Great Britain
Note: The game, originally scheduled for 25 February 2022, was postponed due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[13]
  • v
  • t
  • e
Great Britain  v  Belarus
28 February 2022 (2022-02-28)
2023 FIBA World Cup qualifiers – 1st round
 Great Britain  Cancelled  Belarus
Note: The game, originally scheduled for 28 February 2022, was postponed due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[14]
  • v
  • t
  • e
Turkey  v  Belarus
30 June 2022 (2022-06-30)
2023 FIBA World Cup qualifiers – 1st round
 Turkey  Cancelled  Belarus
Note:
  • v
  • t
  • e
Belarus  v  Greece
3 July 2022 (2022-07-03)
2023 FIBA World Cup qualifiers – 1st round
 Belarus  Cancelled  Greece
Note:
  • v
  • t
  • e

See also

  • Sports portal
  • flagBelarus portal

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all matches in the November 2020 and February 2021 windows were played behind closed doors in select host cities.[11]
  2. ^ a b c d Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all matches during the European Pre-Qualifiers second round window in August 2021 were played in a single location in select host cities.[12]

References

  1. ^ "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 1 March 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Federations implement bans on athletes and teams from Russia and Belarus". www.insidethegames.biz. 3 March 2022.
  3. ^ "Belarus secure first victory in FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers". Retrieved 8 September 2016.
  4. ^ "Belarus during the EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers". Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  5. ^ "Belarus during the 2019 FIBA World Cup European Pre-Qualifiers". Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  6. ^ "Belarus during the 2019 FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers". Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  7. ^ "Belarus during the EuroBasket 2022 Pre-Qualifiers". Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  8. ^ "FIBA decisions on Russia and Belarus for upcoming competitions". fiba.basketball. 18 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  9. ^ "Belarus during the 2023 FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers in Nov. 2021". Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  10. ^ "Rostislav Vergun named head coach of Belarus national team". Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  11. ^ "Statement regarding the November 2020 and February 2021 Qualifiers". Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  12. ^ "Find out who is hosting the European Pre-Qualifiers Second Round". Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  13. ^ "Gameday 3 fixture between Belarus and Great Britain postponed". fiba.basketball. 24 February 2022.
  14. ^ "Gameday 4 fixtures Netherlands - Russia and Great Britain - Belarus postponed". fiba.basketball. 25 February 2022.

External links

  • Official website (in Belarusian and Russian)
  • Belarus at FIBA site
  • Belarus National Team – Men at Eurobasket.com
  • Belarus Basketball Records Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine at FIBA Archive
  • v
  • t
  • e
Belarus men's national basketball coaches – managers
  • Papkou (2008–2009)
  • Feiman (2010)
  • Krivonos (2011–2012)
  • Baidakov (2013–2014)
  • Gvozdić (2014)
  • Krutikov (2015–2019)
  • Vergun (2019–)
(c) = caretaker manager