BAGATSKIS: “One-on-one defence, rebounds and fixing the safety net is key”

In Istanbul, the Ukrainian team lost two matches – beat Turkey and Slovenia and Poland.

– How has the game changed with the emergence of non-team players in July?

– Completely changed, because these are experienced players and need to be given playing time. For me there is no question why they are in the national team, and it has always been important to me that it is clear to the public, to journalists, why this or that player is in the team.

Yes, there are some issues because Gerun has not been playing since April. As for Lenya, he did not train with us and immediately played against Slovenia. I only had to draw about what we were playing, not even the combinations, and it looked fine even under these conditions. In the NBA, I don’t understand why, but it takes as much time as it takes. To me this is a top player and, as coaches say, a “very coachable” cool person.

We did not expect Alexei to play in Istanbul since he joined the team two days ago. It was entirely his wish – he wanted to play directly against Poland but I said no. We agreed that he would play two or three times against the Slovenes, but it came out a bit more. And given the game’s practice and acclimation, it played much better than I expected in this case.

Bliznyuk got into such a physical shape that he was immediately ready to play. Since Bogdan is a professional athlete, I would like to mark him as an example not only for Ukrainian players but also for many players. He doesn’t waste time, he prepares his body and it will be much easier for him to participate in basketball loads. Well, against Slovenia, we decided to save Mikhailyuk, because he also played in the tournament after an incomplete practice session.

By now we already have a lot: desire, excitement, emotion and understanding of what we are doing, but we are not trained and we are far from being a team.

– What are your impressions of the matches played in Istanbul?

– Turkey has been preparing a full squad for two weeks, taking into account the NBA players. Of course we could have played better against them, but maybe the flight and some fatigue made us fail for a while, not in terms of basketball but in terms of game energy. We were very calm and the Turks, on the contrary, play with emotions. Plus, they fired three-pointers and we prepared free throws that we didn’t turn. This, again, is a game against the background of fatigue and heavy legs.

It was a completely different game against Poland, we played fast basketball, we ran and there was just a lull in the game, we reacted to it and played an interesting combination of players – a very small five, four small players and a centre. We understand that this team needs to run – it’s a bonus for this team and we have to work for it.

We played very well against the Slovenes at times, but lost due to some nuances that needed to be corrected: An extra safety net, resulting in five three-pointers. Regardless of whether Doncic plays or not, this team is almost the best three-pointer in Europe. And it’s ironic that we lost a few rebounds with the big five and then got hit. These little things cost us victory.

– What should the dual center give to the team with which the Ukrainian team started two matches?

We must seek our advantages. This is how we got the Spaniards under the ring in July. We have four players in the middle position and we need to think about how we are going to use them and what we can get out of it. And I think, we get certain advantages, our game becomes more diverse. The main thing is to fix the one-on-one defence, rebound and excessive safety net. Offensive, I don’t see any problems playing on such a front. Unfortunately we don’t have many players in the “fours”, in this position especially Len played against Slovenia and stretched the defense well. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but we have little time.