Valerii Plekhanov has announced an extended 16-player roster for Ukraine's U-20 men's national team as they prepare for the upcoming European Championship. The head coach will need to trim this list down to 12 players for the final tournament squad.
"We've selected players who represent various European leagues and American programs to create a competitive roster for the Division A tournament," Plekhanov might say about his selection process.
The Eurobasket 2025 for youth teams will take place in Heraklion, Greece, from July 12-20. Ukraine faces a challenging Group C, where they'll compete against "Belgium", "Germany", and "Italy" - all traditional basketball powerhouses.
Interestingly, the extended squad features players from eight different countries. Four athletes currently play in Spain, two each in Latvia, the USA, and Ukraine, while others represent teams from Poland, Italy, France, Slovakia, and Germany.
Among the notable selections are Rafael Kolavole from Poland's "Legia", Arsenii Kolobov from the University of Rhode Island, Maksym Oleksandr Klychko from French powerhouse "Monaco", and Desmond Yyamu who plays for "Bayern" in Germany.
The domestic Ukrainian clubs "Dnipro" and "Kyiv-Basket" are represented by Illia Lishchyna, Yehor Sushkin, and Daniil Sypalo.
Can this diverse group of young talents come together quickly enough to make an impact in Division A? The coaching staff now faces the difficult task of selecting the final 12-player roster that will represent Ukraine on the European stage this summer.
