The Ukrainian U-20 men's basketball team has made a breakthrough, winning Division B at the EuroBasket for the first time in history. This achievement automatically guarantees the team's promotion to the elite Division A for the next tournament. However, the sports community and experts are asking: will the heroes of this triumph become the future face of the national team? And will the new roster have enough strength to hold its ground in the top division?

In an opinion column for Sport RBC.UA, basketball commentator Maksym Haiovyj analyzed the prospects of the young players and evaluated their performance. The expert distinguishes between tournament success and long-term forecasts, noting that the team's roster will change drastically as early as next season.

Different fates for the leaders

According to the commentator, the prospects for the team itself in Division A look uncertain. Key players of the current roster — Yehor Sushkin, Hryshchuk, and Yiamu — will either finish their careers in this age category or fail to meet the age limit. This means that for the next championship, the national team will field a completely different lineup, which will find it difficult to compete with the elite.

Nevertheless, the team demonstrated a high level of cohesion and dedication. An important factor in their success was the lack of dependence on a single leader. Unlike previous years, when the failure of one player could cost the team the result, this season the basketball players acted as a single mechanism.

Which players have a future?

The expert paid special attention to the individual achievements of the players:

  • Yehor Sushkin: His performance is rated as outstanding. The 19-20-year-old player already holds the status of a national team player. However, Haiovyj notes that Sushkin is unlikely to become the primary point guard in the future, as the national team already has Oleksandr Kovyar. Sushkin will most likely take the position of a reliable backup.
  • Hryshchuk: A player who surprised many with his performance. His speed and size at this tournament were rated very highly. The expert believes that Hryshchuk is fully worthy of the title of Final MVP and has every chance to establish himself in the national team.
  • Yiamu: Despite making the tournament's All-Star Team, the expert considers this decision controversial. According to Haiovyj, Yiamu started the tournament brightly but then delivered an average performance. Nevertheless, due to the shortage of big players in Ukrainian basketball, Yiamu will be in the orbit of the national team, although he is unlikely to be able to displace players like Shelest or Bobrov.

Work of the coaching staff

The success at the championship was largely due to coach Zabyrchenko and his assistants. The team played without unnecessary heroics, but with an understanding of their class, defeating the opponents they were supposed to beat. The expert emphasizes that a strong coaching staff has already been formed in the national team, led by Bagatskis (Plekhanov, Hladyr, Feldmanis), which gives hope for the further development of the players.

Conclusion: although the U-20 team itself will not become the "face" of the national team in full strength, individual players — Sushkin and Hryshchuk — have real prospects to play for the country's main team.