Belarus men's national basketball team explained

Country:Belarus
Nickname:Белыя крылы
(The White Wings)
Coach:Rostislav Vergun
Joined Fiba:1992
Fiba Zone:FIBA Europe
National Fed:BBF
Wc Appearances:None
Zone Championship:EuroBasket
Zone Appearances:None
H Title:Home
H Pattern B:_thinsidesonwhite
H Body:E30A17
H Pattern S:_redsides
A Title:Away
A Pattern B:_thinwhitesides
A Body:E30A17
A Shorts:E30A17
A Pattern S:_white_border
First Game: 88–80
(Wrocław, Poland; 31 May 1993)
Largest Win: 121–50
(Minsk, Belarus; 2 June 2001)
Largest Loss: 101–53
(Alcoy, Spain; 3 December 1997)

The Belarus men's national basketball team 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.[1]

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.[2] 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.[3]

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.[4] 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.[5]

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.[6]

Competitive record

FIBA World Cup

World CupQualification
YearPositionwidth=30width=30width=30width=30width=30width=30
1950 to 1990Part of Soviet Union
1994Did not qualifyEuroBasket served
as qualifiers
1998
2002
2010
2014
20191028
2023Disqualified[7] Disqualified
2027To be determinedTo be determined
Total0/81028

Olympic Games

Olympic GamesQualifying
YearPositionwidth=30width=30width=30width=30width=30width=30
1948 to 1992Part of Soviet Union
1996 to 2020Did not qualifyDid not qualify
2024BannedBanned
Total0/7

EuroBasket

EuroBasketQualification
YearPositionwidth=30width=30width=30width=30width=30width=30
1947 to 1991Part of Soviet Union
1993Did not qualify514
1995624
19971046
19991037
20011569
20031679
2005Division B642
2007Division B853
2009Division B1073
2011Division B844
2013Did not qualify826
20151266
2017633
2022844
2025BannedBanned
Total0/141285870

Team

Current roster

Roster for the 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers matches on 25 and 28 November 2021 against Turkey and Greece.[8]

Head coach position

Recent results and upcoming fixtures

2022

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Federations implement bans on athletes and teams from Russia and Belarus. March 3, 2022. www.insidethegames.biz.
  2. Web site: Belarus secure first victory in FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers. 8 September 2016.
  3. Web site: Belarus during the EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers. 17 September 2016.
  4. Web site: Belarus during the 2019 FIBA World Cup European Pre-Qualifiers. 19 August 2017.
  5. Web site: Belarus during the 2019 FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers. 1 July 2018.
  6. Web site: Belarus during the EuroBasket 2022 Pre-Qualifiers. 17 August 2019.
  7. Web site: FIBA decisions on Russia and Belarus for upcoming competitions. fiba.basketball. 18 May 2022. 18 May 2022.
  8. Web site: Belarus during the 2023 FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers in Nov. 2021. 25 November 2021.
  9. Web site: Rostislav Vergun named head coach of Belarus national team. 27 December 2019.