A new head coach of the Ukrainian national basketball team has been appointed.

The head coach of the Ukrainian national team will be Latvian Ainars Bagatskis, reports the Basketball Federation of Ukraine.

Ainars Bagatskis previously held this position for three and a half years, from May 2019. During this Time, he led the team to the EuroBasket 2022, winning their qualifying group.

Bagatskis also guided the Ukrainian national team to the playoff stage of EuroBasket 2022, where the team reached the round of 16 and finished in 11th place.

Under Bagatskis' leadership, the Ukrainian national team played 24 official matches, winning 13 and losing 11.

Ainars Bagatskis will replace Vitaliy Stepansky, who left the position of head coach of the Ukrainian national team. Previously, Bagatskis worked with Ukrainian clubs and also led the Latvian national and youth teams, as well as clubs in Latvia, Georgia, Turkey, Russia, Israel, Germany, and Romania.

After finishing the qualification for the 2023 World Championship, Bagatskis' contract with the Basketball Federation of Ukraine ended. He will now return to work with the Ukrainian national team, which is awaiting two final qualifying matches for EuroBasket 2025 against Slovenia (February 21) and Portugal (February 24).

Chances for EuroBasket 2025

According to the qualification format, the three best teams from each group, except for the groups with EuroBasket hosts, will qualify for the final round. The host of the tournament and two teams from groups with hosts will also have the opportunity to participate in the tournament.

Ukraine has a chance to play in EuroBasket, for this, they need to win two additional matches in February. The Israeli team also needs to win their match against Portugal.

The Basketball Federation of Ukraine terminated cooperation with head coach Vitaliy Stepansky in April 2023.