Source: fbu.ua
Ukraine national team center Dmitro Skapintsev shared his thoughts with the Ukrainian Basketball Federation’s press service following the friendly match against Angola (92-93), and also spoke about the upcoming second friendly against Lithuania.
Regarding the match against Angola
Of course, losing any match is unpleasant—especially when representing the national team. However, this was a friendly, and we treated it as preparation, focusing on working through defensive and offensive schemes.
Before the game, we had two quite intense training sessions where we concentrated heavily on tactics. We needed to get back into the rhythm of playing since the season ended a while ago and everyone was at different fitness levels. Angola proved to be a strong opponent—an athletic team that moves well. We had many turnovers and struggled somewhat with their pressing. I believe these are areas we can improve on in the next match.
My emotions during the game? Yes, maybe I didn’t fully control my emotions at times because a lot had built up over the course of the season. I missed playing, and that showed.
Indeed, Lithuania is a very strong opponent, and I’m glad that before our key match against Georgia, we get to face such a team. Lithuania is known for its basketball tradition and is a very intelligent side. It will be fascinating to play against their stars, and overall, this will be our final test before Georgia, who have a powerful frontcourt. Shermadini has retired from the national team, but they still have Bitadze. We are focused on winning and will do everything possible to secure victory in this match.
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