Luxembourg men's national basketball team

Luxembourg

FIBA ranking	78 4 (1 March 2024)[1]
Joined FIBA	1946
FIBA zone	FIBA Europe
National federation	Luxembourg Basketball Federation (FLBB)
Coach	Ken Diederich
FIBA World Cup
Appearances	None
EuroBasket
Appearances	3
Medals	None
Championship for Small Countries
Appearances	5
Medals	Silver: (1992, 2004) Bronze: (1990)
Games of the Small States of Europe
Appearances	17
Medals	Gold: (2023) Silver: (1985, 1991, 1995, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2019) Bronze: (1993, 2003, 2005, 2015)
Home Away
First international
Poland 45–28 Luxembourg  (Geneva, Switzerland; 30 April 1946)
Biggest win
Luxembourg 99–44 San Marino  (Serravalle, San Marino; 1 June 2017)
Biggest defeat
Greece 119–46 Luxembourg  (Vevey, Switzerland; 10 May 1980)

The Luxembourg men's national basketball team (Luxembourgish: Lëtzebuergesch Basketballnationalequipe, French: Équipe du Luxembourg de basketball, German: Luxemburgische Basketballnationalmannschaft) represents Luxembourg in international basketball tournaments. They are controlled by the Luxembourg Basketball Federation.

Luxembourg has competed at the EuroBasket three times, in 1946, 1951, and 1955. Their best result was an eighth place finish at their first appearance at the competition in 1946. However, the national team has yet to qualify to compete at the FIBA World Cup.

History

EuroBasket 1946

Luxembourg appeared in their first international event at EuroBasket 1946 in Geneva. After being placed in Group A for the preliminary round, the national team would play in their first ever match against Poland, where the team would lose 45–28.^[2] Following the defeat, Luxembourg went on to lose their next two matches against Hungary and Italy, which ultimately dropped the team into the classification phase of the tournament. There, Luxembourg captured their first ever victory against England 27–50.^[3] With only one game remaining for Luxembourg, the team would finish out the competition with a loss against Belgium, to end the tournament eighth out of the ten teams overall.^[4]

EuroBasket 1951

After not entering the competition in 1947 and 1949, Luxembourg made their way back to the continental stage at EuroBasket 1951 in Paris. Luxembourg's first match of the tournament was against the host France, which resulted in a demoralising defeat for the national team 72–26.^[5] Ensuing the tough loss for Luxembourg, were four straight defeats for the team, to relegate them into a must win elimination game for the right to advance into the classification rounds. Luxembourg, however, would lose in a tightly contested match 45–46 against Denmark to be eliminated.^[6]

EuroBasket 1955

Following Luxembourg's dismal performance at the EuroBasket in 1951, the national team declined to enter the event in 1953, instead looked toward EuroBasket 1955 in Budapest to make amends. After a disastrous first game in the preliminary round, which saw Luxembourg completely dominated by the Soviet Union, the team was narrowly defeated in their second match against Sweden 54–53.^[7] However, in Luxembourg's final two matches of the preliminary phase, the team struggled to build upon their game against Sweden; and were relegated toward the classification rounds at a record of (0–5).

Entering the classification round, Luxembourg dropped their first match against Turkey, before earning their first win of the tournament against Denmark 46–31.^[8] Luxembourg would eventually go on to pickup two more victories, both against Sweden to end the tournament 15th out of the 18 teams at the event.^[9]

Subsequent years

After Luxembourg's last appearance at the EuroBasket in 1951, the national team endured numerous failed qualifying cycles in order to make it back to the EuroBasket. However, Luxembourg eventually achieved success competing at smaller competitions such as the European Championship for Small Countries and the Games of the Small States of Europe.

Entering qualification for Luxembourg to reach EuroBasket 2017, the team struggled toward a (1–5) record during the process to being eliminated.^[10] After Luxembourg's missed opportunity to qualify for the 2017 tournament, the team was tasked with going through Pre-Qualifiers with a chance to qualify for EuroBasket 2022. Luxembourg would get off to a slow start during the first round of pre-qualifiers, losing their first three matches before picking up a needed win on the road against Cyprus 89–76.^[11] With a record of (1–3), Luxembourg's path of advancing took a detour, as the team was relegated to the third and final phase of pre-qualifiers. There, Luxembourg would only win one game during that qualifying window (1–3), at home against Kosovo 88–80 and failing to advance.^[12]

For Luxembourg's process to qualify for the 2023 FIBA World Cup, the national team took part in European Pre-Qualifiers, where they went (2–4) in the first round; and were initially eliminated. Although due to Austria withdrawing from qualification, Luxembourg were next inline to replace them.^[13] Entering the second and final phase of World Cup European pre-qualifiers, Luxembourg's qualification campaign officially came to a close, after posting an (0–4) record during the round.^[14]

Competitive record

FIBA World Cup World Cup Qualification Year Position Pld W L Pld W L 1950 Did not enter Did not enter 1954 1959 1963 1967 1970 1974 1978 Did not qualify EuroBasket served as qualifiers 1982 1986 Did not enter Did not enter 1990 1994 Did not qualify EuroBasket served as qualifiers 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2019 Did not enter Did not enter 2023 Did not qualify 10 2 8 2027 To be determined To be determined Total 0/19 10 2 8 Olympic Games Olympic Games Qualifying Year Position Pld W L Pld W L 1948 Did not enter 1952 1956 Did not qualify 1960 Did not enter Did not enter 1964 Did not qualify 7 0 7 1968 Did not enter Did not enter 1972 1976 1980 Did not qualify 4 0 4 1984 Did not enter Did not enter 1988 1992 1996 to 2016 Did not qualify Did not qualify 2020 Did not enter Did not enter 2024 Did not qualify Did not qualify 2028 To be determined To be determined Total 0/20 11 0 11 Games of the Small States of Europe Games of the Small States of Europe Year Position Pld W L 1985 3 2 1 1987 6th 3 1 2 1989 4th 4 2 2 1991 5 3 2 1993 5 2 3 1995 4 2 2 1997 4th 4 1 3 2001 5th 3 1 2 2003 4 2 2 2005 4 2 2 2007 5 4 1 2009 5 3 2 2013 4 3 1 2015 3 1 2 2017 4th 5 2 3 2019 5 3 2 2023 5 4 1 Total 70 37 33

EuroBasket EuroBasket Qualification Year Position Pld W L Pld W L 1946 8th 5 1 4 1947 Did not enter 1949 1951 17th 5 0 5 1953 Did not enter 1955 15th 10 3 7 1957 Did not enter 1959 1961 1963 Did not enter 1965 Did not qualify 3 1 2 1967 3 0 3 1969 Did not enter Did not enter 1971 1973 1975 Did not qualify 5 0 5 1977 5 1 4 1979 3 1 2 1981 Did not enter Did not enter 1983 1985 Did not qualify 5 3 2 1987 4 1 3 1989 Did not enter Did not enter 1991 1993 Did not qualify 6 0 6 1995 6 0 6 1997 5 1 4 1999 5 1 4 2001 6 0 6 2003 11 1 10 2005 Division B 6 0 6 2007 Division B 8 0 8 2009 Division B 8 0 8 2011 Division B 6 0 6 2013 Did not qualify 8 0 8 2015 12 0 12 2017 6 1 5 2022 8 2 6 2025 8 1 7 Total 3/39 20 4 16 137 14 123 Championship for Small Countries FIBA European Championship for Small Countries Year Position Pld W L 1988 4th 5 2 3 1990 5 3 2 1992 5 3 2 1994 4th 5 2 3 2004 5 4 1 Total 25 14 11

Results and fixtures

  Win   Loss

2023

Croatia  v  Luxembourg

22 July 2023 EuroBasket 2025 pre-qualifiers – 3rd round	Croatia	98–62	Luxembourg	Opatija, Croatia
20:00 (UTC+2)	Scoring by quarter: 31–14, 26–20, 23–12, 18–16
	Pts: Kapusta, Prkačin 16 Rebs: Branković, Mazalin 6 Asts: Badžim 6	Boxscore	Pts: Laurent 18 Rebs: Laurent, Rugg 9 Asts: Grün, Gutenkauf 4	Arena: Sportska dvorana Marino Cvetković Attendance: 600 Referees: Paulo Marques (POR), Geert Jacobs (BEL), Ivor Matějek (CZE)

Luxembourg  v  Ireland

26 July 2023 EuroBasket 2025 pre-qualifiers – 3rd round	Luxembourg	76–96	Ireland	Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
20:15 (UTC+2)	Scoring by quarter: 21–23, 16–17, 22–30, 17–26
	Pts: Laurent 16 Rebs: Rugg 8 Asts: Delgado 5	Boxscore	Pts: Badmus, Igiehon 20 Rebs: Alajiki 13 Asts: Quinn 3	Arena: d'Coque Attendance: 1,413 Referees: Aleksandar Glišić (SRB), Mihkel Männiste (EST), Vladimir Jevtović (SRB)

Luxembourg  v  Croatia

2 August 2023 EuroBasket 2025 pre-qualifiers – 3rd round	Luxembourg	79–91	Croatia	Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
20:15 (UTC+2)	Scoring by quarter: 12–25, 25–25, 18–24, 24–17
	Pts: Laurent 13 Rebs: Rugg 7 Asts: Kovac 4	Boxscore	Pts: Perković 23 Rebs: Ljubičić 7 Asts: Kapusta 9	Arena: d'Coque Attendance: 1,650 Referees: Can Mavisu (TUR), Geert Jacobs (BEL), Alexandre Deman (FRA)

Ireland  v  Luxembourg

5 August 2023 EuroBasket 2025 pre-qualifiers – 3rd round	Ireland	79–76	Luxembourg	Dublin, Ireland
19:30 (UTC+1)	Scoring by quarter: 29–20, 12–23, 18–20, 20–13
	Pts: Blount, Fulton 16 Rebs: Blount 14 Asts: Blount 6	Boxscore	Pts: Rugg 27 Rebs: Rugg 12 Asts: Gutenkauf, Rugg 3	Arena: National Basketball Arena Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Antonio Conde (ESP), Emmanouil Tsolakos (GRE), Hrvoje Čavar (BIH)

2024

Romania  v  Luxembourg

22 February 2024 2027 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 1st round	Romania	72–760(OT)	Luxembourg	Cluj-Napoca, Romania
19:00 (UTC+2)	Scoring by quarter: 20–17, 19–10, 16–11, 12–29, Overtime: 5–9
	Pts: Cățe 25 Rebs: Girbea 11 Asts: Tohătan 5	Boxscore	Pts: Kovac, Logelin 15 Rebs: Rugg, Vujaković 9 Asts: Kreps 3	Arena: BTarena Attendance: 3,006 Referees: Mehmet Şahin (TUR), Nemanja Ninković (SRB), Josip Mikulić (CRO)

Luxembourg  v  Norway

25 February 2024 2027 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 1st round	Luxembourg	58–72	Norway	Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
17:00 (UTC+1)	Scoring by quarter: 9–24, 23–19, 20–8, 6–21
	Pts: Rugg 22 Rebs: Vujaković 10 Asts: Rugg 3	Boxscore	Pts: Frey 23 Rebs: Berg 10 Asts: Frey 6	Arena: d'Coque Attendance: 1,800 Referees: Łukasz Jankowski (POL), Armin Mutapcic (GER), Martin van Hoye (BEL)

Luxembourg  v  Romania

24 November 2024 2027 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 1st round	Luxembourg	vs.	Romania	Luxembourg
		Boxscore

2025

Norway  v  Luxembourg

20 February 2025 2027 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 1st round	Norway	vs.	Luxembourg	Norway
		Boxscore

Team

Current roster

Roster for the 2027 FIBA World Cup Pre-Qualifiers matches on 22 and 25 February 2024 against Romania and Norway.^[15][16]

Luxembourg men's national basketball team roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr. G/F 1 Malcolm Kreps 22 – (2001-10-11)11 October 2001 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Den Helder PG 6 Max Logelin 20 – (2003-06-17)17 June 2003 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) Sparta PG 7 Philippe Gutenkauf 28 – (1995-04-11)11 April 1995 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) Etzella G/F 8 Thomas Grün 28 – (1995-02-28)28 February 1995 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Esch F 11 Alex Laurent 30 – (1993-06-06)6 June 1993 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Amicale F/C 12 Joe Kalmes 28 – (1995-11-24)24 November 1995 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Dudelange F 13 Ben Kovac 24 – (2000-02-20)20 February 2000 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) Patrioti Levice PF 15 Oliver Vujaković 27 – (1996-12-05)5 December 1996 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Résidence SG 23 Christopher Jack 25 – (1998-06-26)26 June 1998 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Dudelange F/C 31 Clancy Rugg 32 – (1991-09-22)22 September 1991 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Esch G/F 71 Ivor Kuresević 20 – (2003-05-02)2 May 2003 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) Vienna Timberwolves G 77 Ivan Delgado 25 – (1998-11-16)16 November 1998 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Yoast United	Head coach Ken Diederich Assistant coach(es) Pierre Paul Pit Rodenbourg Denis Toroman Legend (C) Team captain Club – describes last club before the competition Age – describes age on 22 February 2024

Depth chart

Head coach position

Past rosters

1946 EuroBasket: finished 8th among 10 teams

3 Alfred Achen, 4 René Bicheler, 5 René Colling, 6 Henri Heyart, 7 Pierre Kelsen, 8 Eugene Kohn, 9 Léon Konsbruck, 10 Joseph Linck, 11 Gaston Poncin, 12 Roger Scheuren (Coach: Henri Heyart)

1951 EuroBasket: finished 17th among 18 teams

3 Guy Neumann, 4 Mathias Steffen, 5 Xander Frantz, 6 Fernand Schmalen, 7 Roger Dentzer, 8 Joseph Eyschen, 9 Marcel Gales, 10 Mathias Birel, 11 Jean Guillen, 12 Pierre Steinmetz, 13 Léon Konsbruck, 14 René Haas, 15 Ley, 25 Paul Linster (Coach: Pierrot Conter)

1955 EuroBasket: finished 15th among 18 teams

3 Pierre Steinmetz, 4 Mathias Birel, 5 Fernand Wolter, 6 Joseph Lettal, 7 Paul Kemp, 8 Fernand Schmalen, 9 John Kieffer, 10 Marcel Simon, 11 Florent Lickes, 12 Gust Scharle, 13 Albert Meyers, 14 Jean Christophory (Coach: Pierre Kelsen)

See also

• Sport in Luxembourg
• Luxembourg women's national basketball team
• Luxembourg men's national under-20 basketball team
• Luxembourg men's national under-18 basketball team
• Luxembourg men's national under-16 basketball team

References

External links

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