Kyrylo Fesenko (UKR)
27/08/2015
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Ukraine opt for youthful roster at EuroBasket 2015

KIEV (EuroBasket 2015) - Ukraine have made a strong bid to be proclaimed the youngest team among all 24 participants at EuroBasket 2015 after announcing a 12-man squad on which no player exceeds the age of 28.

Kyrylo Fesenko, a 2.16m center with a dominant presence on both ends of the floor, is one of the natural leaders and also the most experienced member of the team which head coach Evgeny Murzin has picked to represent the nation at EuroBasket 2015.

The Lokomotiv Kuban player, who had spells with the Utah Jazz and the Indiana Pacers during his NBA career, will turn 29 in late December.

Fesenko sprained his ankle in practice on Tuesday but Ukraine are not worried as they hope he could be back in action as soon as this weekend in a warm-up game against Finland, but in any case they are certain he will be 100 percent fit for their EuroBasket Group D premiere against Lithuania on 5 September.

"We believe in ourselves, we believe that we can fight against anybody," the Ukraine big man said.

"[Last weekend at the Adecco Cup] we beat a team like Italy and we fought to the end against Slovenia, I believe that this are very positive signs.

"A basketball game in Europe lasts 40 minutes, so you need to play all 40 minutes in order to win.

"I have witnessed before such huge comebacks as the one we pulled off against Italy [Ukraine had trailed Italy by as many as 27 points but fought back to win the encounter].

"I believe that everything is always possible, you just need to want it very much.

"We have, at least for the moment, silenced the sceptics and although I am not asking for anybody to apologise, at least I would like the negativity to stop."

Ukraine faced several adversities throughout their preparations for EuroBasket 2015 as coach Murzin had to step in for Mike Fratello in June and as the summer progressed he found out that the likes of Sergii Gladyr, Viacheslav Kravtsov, Serhiy Lischuk, Oleksiy Pecherov as well as Phoenix Suns young star Oleksii Len would be unavailable to play at the big event.

Coach Murzin however can count on five players who gathered valuable experience during the past two years and their performances so far this summer have shown that they are ready to play important roles at the upcoming EuroBasket.

Maksym Pustozvonov and Maxym Korniyenko who are both 28, are the senior members of this core group which also includes power forward Ihor Zaytsev, point guard Olexandr Mishula and winger Oleksandr Lypovyy.

All five helped the national team reach the Quarter-Finals of EuroBasket 2013 in Slovenia and took a step forward the following year assuming more responsibility at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain, in which Ukraine participated for the first time in their history.

Mishula, who has recently turned 23, alongside Pavlo Krutous and center Artem Pustovyi, are the youngest members of Ukraine's EuroBasket roster.

A player who is also expected to play a key role at EuroBasket 2015 although he had never suited up for the national team prior to this summer's friendlies is 28-year-old Jerome Randle.

The point guard, who recently acquired Ukrainian citizenship and is replacing Eugene Jeter in the national team, started last season at EuroChallenge finalists Trabzonspor Medical Park but switched to fellow Turkish side Eskisehir Basket in October.

After clashing with Lithuania in the opener in Riga, Ukraine will go up against Czech Republic, Estonia, hosts Latvia and finally Belgium in the race for a top-four finish in Group D.

Ukraine final roster for EuroBasket 2015: Kyrylo Fesenko, Maxym Korniyenko, Pavlo Krutous, Denys Lukashov, Oleksandr Lypovyy, Olexandr Mishula, Artem Pustovyi, Maksym Pustozvonov, Jerome Randle, Oleksandr Sizov, Stanislav Tymofeyenko, Ihor Zaytsev.

Go to eurobasket2015.org for complete coverage of EuroBasket 2015.

FIBA