Ilya SIDOROV: “We gave 100%. The main victory – we are back in Kherson”

Defender of the national team of Ukraine Ilya SidorovThe player, who was the most productive player of the match with 25 points, commented on his victory against the Netherlands in the 2023 World Cup qualifiers (96:77).

“This is of course a good victory for us, but the real victory of our country and our people today is that we bring back Kherson, as we will take back all the cities of our country. Ukraine will become independent again.

First of all, I would like to thank everyone who watched us in Ukraine and supported us considering that we did not have a great chance. But we can’t play less than 100% when people are fighting in war and doing amazing things. That’s the first thing we talk about in the locker room. Basketball is important, but we cannot do our best for our country at a time like this.

Thanks again to all the people in Ukraine, we are very worried about you, we love you. Thanks for what you do, Glory to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Victory to Ukraine.

It’s nice to have so many fans at the game. When you go out on the street and you see a lot of Ukrainian flags at the game, you realize that you are not here as a tourist, so as I said, we fight on the field, we try to show our best.”

The Ukrainian national team won the second match in the World Cup qualification, winning 96:77. Ainars Bagatskis’ team will play their next match against Iceland in Riga on 14 November.