Belarus men's national basketball team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Belarus women's national basketball team.

Belarus

FIBA ranking	NR (15 August 2024) [1]
Joined FIBA	1992
FIBA zone	FIBA Europe
National federation	BBF
Coach	Rostislav Vergun
Nickname(s)	Белыя крылы (The White Wings)
FIBA World Cup
Appearances	None
EuroBasket
Appearances	None
Home 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 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 1994 Did not qualify EuroBasket served as qualifiers 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2019 10 2 8 2023 Disqualified [8] Disqualified 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 2024 Banned Banned Total 0/7

EuroBasket EuroBasket Qualification Year Position Pld W L Pld W L 1947 to 1991 Part of Soviet Union 1993 Did not qualify 5 1 4 1995 6 2 4 1997 10 4 6 1999 10 3 7 2001 15 6 9 2003 16 7 9 2005 Division B 6 4 2 2007 Division B 8 5 3 2009 Division B 10 7 3 2011 Division B 8 4 4 2013 Did not qualify 8 2 6 2015 12 6 6 2017 6 3 3 2022 8 4 4 2025 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 F 3 Benjamin-Pavel Dudu 30 – (1991-04-29)29 April 1991 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Minsk PG 4 Uladzislau Blizniuk 22 – (1999-01-08)8 January 1999 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) Minsk SF 5 Aliaksei Trastsinetski 35 – (1986-03-02)2 March 1986 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Minsk PF 7 Maksim Salash 25 – (1996-05-06)6 May 1996 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) Burgos C 9 Artsiom Parakhouski 34 – (1987-10-06)6 October 1987 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) Parma SG 11 Uladzislau Mikulski 23 – (1998-04-11)11 April 1998 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Borisfen F 12 Yauheni Beliankou 26 – (1995-06-11)11 June 1995 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Minsk C 17 Vadzim Stubeda 21 – (2000-06-27)27 June 2000 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Minsk SG 30 Kiryl Sitnik 32 – (1989-10-23)23 October 1989 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Dynamo PG 31 Andrei Stabrouski 23 – (1997-12-29)29 December 1997 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) Minsk G 95 Ivan Aladka 26 – (1995-02-09)9 February 1995 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) Rusichi	Head coach Rostislav Vergun Assistant coach(es) 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

• Aliaksandr Papkou – (2008–2009)
• Mikhail Feiman – (2010)
• Andrei Krivonos – (2011–2012)
• Ruslan Baidakov – (2013–2014)
• Dušan Gvozdić – (2014)
• Aleksander Krutikov – (2015–2019)
• 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
• Belarus portal

• Sport in Belarus
• Belarus women's national basketball team
• Belarus men's national under-18 basketball team
• Belarus men's national under-16 basketball team
• Soviet Union men's national basketball team

Notes

1. 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. 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. 15 August 2024. Retrieved 15 August 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". 8 September 2016. 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". 27 December 2019. 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