Belarus men's national basketball team

History[]

Competitive record[]

Team[]

Recent results and upcoming fixtures[]

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]

Prior to independence[]

Ensuing years[]

FIBA World Cup[]

Olympic Games[]

EuroBasket[]

Current roster[]

Depth chart[]

Head coach position[]

2020[]

2021[]

2022[]

Belarus
FIBA ranking	48 3 (7 December 2021)
Joined FIBA	1992
FIBA zone	FIBA Europe
National federation	BBF
Coach	Rostislav Vergun
Nickname(s)	Белыя крылы; (The White Wings)
FIBA World Cup
Appearances	None
EuroBasket
Appearances	None
Home	Away
First international
	Belarus 88–80 Lithuania ; (Wrocław, Poland; 31 May 1993)
Biggest win
	Belarus 121–50 Azerbaijan ; (Minsk, Belarus; 2 June 2001)
Biggest defeat
	Spain 101–53 Belarus ; (Alcoy, Spain; 3 December 1997)

The Belarus men's national basketball team (Belarusian: Нацыянальная зборная Беларусі па баскетболе) represents Belarus in international basketball matches, and are controlled by the Belarusian Basketball Federation. They came into existence in 1992 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

The national team played in their first official match the following year versus Lithuania. While Belarus doesn't have a long tradition on the international stage, they have competed in the pursuit to qualify for the EuroBasket and FIBA World Cup. Although they have yet to clinch that feat, and are Europe's most populous nation to have never qualified for a major international basketball competition.

Before 1992, Belarus was occupied by the Soviet Union, with Belarusian born players taking part on the Soviet Union national team. They were one of the more prominent teams internationally during this era.

After Belarus gained independence from the Soviet Union, their first attempt to qualify for the premier European basketball tournament came in 1993. They ultimately came up short in their attempt. Throughout the rest of the 1990s and 2000s, Belarus showed promise, but were unsuccessful at securing qualification. During qualifying for the EuroBasket 2017, Belarus was stationed into Group D with another opportunity to reach the EuroBasket finals. The team began the qualifiers with two tough loses, before earning their first victory at home against Portugal.^[2] After the pivotal win, Belarus went on to win twice more to conclude the qualifiers at a record of (3–3), but it wasn't enough as the team was eliminated.^[3]

For qualification to the 2019 FIBA World Cup, Belarus first went through European Pre-Qualifiers. Belarus would finish with a (1–3) record in their pre-qualifying group, but would advance to the first round of the qualifiers; due to owning the point difference in their head-to-head against Portugal.^[4] There, they were placed in Group A, and right away the national team were overwhelmed in their first two matches by dominant performances from Slovenia and Montenegro respectively. They eventually notched their first win in the group in a rematch against Slovenia, but to no avail. Belarus finished with a (1–5) record and failed to advance.^[5]

Belarus later went on to compete in EuroBasket 2022 Pre-Qualifiers, but were eliminated in a heartbreaking match to Denmark, in the final pre-qualifying window 69–66.^[6]

World Cup					Qualification
Year	Position	Pld	W	L	Pld	W	L
1950 to 1990	Part of Soviet Union
1994	Did not qualify				EuroBasket served as qualifiers
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2019					10	2	8
2023	To be determined				To be determined
Total	0/7				10	2	8

Olympic Games					Qualifying
Year	Position	Pld	W	L	Pld	W	L
1948 to 1992	Part of Soviet Union
1996 to 2016	Did not qualify				Did not qualify
2020	Did not qualify				Did not qualify
2024	To be determined				To be determined
Total	0/7

EuroBasket					Qualification
Year	Position	Pld	W	L	Pld	W	L
1947 to 1991	Part of Soviet Union
1993	Did not qualify				5	1	4
1995					6	2	4
1997					10	4	6
1999					10	3	7
2001					15	6	9
2003					16	7	9
2005	Division B				6	4	2
2007	Division B				8	5	3
2009	Division B				10	7	3
2011	Division B				8	4	4
2013	Did not qualify				8	2	6
2015					12	6	6
2017					6	3	3
2022					8	4	4
Total	0/14				128	58	70

Roster for the 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers matches on 25 and 28 November 2021 against Turkey and Greece.^[7]

Belarus men's national basketball team roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Age – Date of birth	Height	Club
F	1		32 – (1989-11-15)15 November 1989	2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)	Minsk
F	3		30 – (1991-04-29)29 April 1991	1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)	Minsk
PG	4		22 – (1999-01-08)8 January 1999	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)	Minsk
SF	5		35 – (1986-03-02)2 March 1986	2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)	Minsk
PF	7		25 – (1996-05-06)6 May 1996	2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)	Burgos
C	9	Artsiom Parakhouski	34 – (1987-10-06)6 October 1987	2.11 m (6 ft 11 in)	Parma
SG	11		23 – (1998-04-11)11 April 1998	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)	Borisfen
F	12		26 – (1995-06-11)11 June 1995	1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)	Minsk
C	17		21 – (2000-06-27)27 June 2000	2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)	Minsk
SG	30		32 – (1989-10-23)23 October 1989	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)	Dynamo
PG	31		23 – (1997-12-29)29 December 1997	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)	Minsk
G	95		26 – (1995-02-09)9 February 1995	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)

Head coach

Rostislav Vergun

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
Club – describes last
club before the competition
Age – describes age
on 25 November 2021

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench
C
PF
SF
SG
PG

– (2008–2009)
– (2010)
– (2011–2012)
– (2013–2014)
Dušan Gvozdić – (2014)
– (2015–2019)
Rostislav Vergun – (2019–present)^[8]

Win Loss

26 November 2020 2023 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 1st round	Belarus	90–50	Albania	Matosinhos, Portugal* ^{[note 1]}
16:30	Scoring by quarter: 21–16, 24–7, 23–20, 22–7
	Pts: Parakhouski 17 Rebs: Parakhouski 10 Asts: , 5	Boxscore	Pts: 15 Rebs: Shima 7 Asts: 3	Arena: Referees: Charalampos Karakatsounis (GRE), Guido Giovannetti (ITA), Maxime Boubert (FRA)

28 November 2020 2023 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 1st round	Belarus	89–53	Cyprus	Matosinhos, Portugal* ^{[note 1]}
15:00	Scoring by quarter: 24–9, 24–9, 26–13, 15–22
	Pts: 17 Rebs: Parakhouski 12 Asts: Rubinshteyn 5	Boxscore	Pts: Michail 9 Rebs: 6 Asts: 3	Arena: Referees: Mart Uuehendrik (EST), Nikola Perlić (CRO), Maxime Boubert (FRA)

18 February 2021 2023 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 1st round	Portugal	75–57	Belarus	Nicosia, Cyprus* ^{[note 1]}
16:00	Scoring by quarter: 14–12, 25–11, 17–6, 19–28
	Pts: 14 Rebs: , Ventura 6 Asts: Ventura 6	Boxscore	Pts: , 12 Rebs: 6 Asts: 5	Arena: Eleftheria Indoor Hall Referees: Ciprian Stoica (ROU), Aleksandar Milojević (MKD), Nemanja Ninković (SRB)

20 February 2021 2023 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 1st round	Albania	72–93	Belarus	Nicosia, Cyprus* ^{[note 1]}
19:00	Scoring by quarter: 24–25, 15–19, 16–26, 17–23
	Pts: Taflaj 16 Rebs: Hysenagolli 10 Asts: , Hysenagolli 4	Boxscore	Pts: 26 Rebs: , 6 Asts: 7	Arena: Eleftheria Indoor Hall Referees: Nemanja Ninković (SRB), Péter Praksch (HUN), Franko Gracin (CRO)

8 August 2021 2023 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 2nd round	Latvia	92–83	Belarus	Riga, Latvia* ^{[note 2]}
19:30 (UTC+3)	Scoring by quarter: 21–20, 24–24, 20–23, 27–16
	Pts: Bertāns 20 Rebs: Meiers 9 Asts: Strēlnieks, Zoriks 5	Boxscore	Pts: Parakhouski 16 Rebs: Parakhouski 7 Asts: 6	Arena: Arena Riga Referees: Igor Mitrovski (MKD), Dariusz Zapolski (POL), Josip Jurčević (CRO)

9 August 2021 2023 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 2nd round	Belarus	77–72	Romania	Riga, Latvia* ^{[note 2]}
19:30 (UTC+3)	Scoring by quarter: 19–19, 19–20, 22–22, 17–11
	Pts: 20 Rebs: Parakhouski 11 Asts: four players 2	Boxscore	Pts: Richard 14 Rebs: 8 Asts: Tohătan 6	Arena: Arena Riga Referees: Sergii Zashchuk (UKR), Dariusz Zapolski (POL), Josip Jurčević (CRO)

12 August 2021 2023 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 2nd round	Belarus	60–83	Latvia	Riga, Latvia* ^{[note 2]}
19:30 (UTC+3)	Scoring by quarter: 15–20, 20–23, 16–24, 9–16
	Pts: Rubinshteyn, 15 Rebs: Rubinshteyn 5 Asts: 4	Boxscore	Pts: Gražulis 22 Rebs: Gražulis 9 Asts: Zoriks 8	Arena: Arena Riga Referees: Sergii Zashchuk (UKR), Igor Mitrovski (MKD), Radomir Vojinović (MNE)

13 August 2021 2023 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 2nd round	Romania	66–94	Belarus	Riga, Latvia* ^{[note 2]}
19:30 (UTC+3)	Scoring by quarter: 8–26, 15–24, 25–20, 18–24
	Pts: Richard 15 Rebs: Cățe 7 Asts: 6	Boxscore	Pts: Parakhouski 21 Rebs: Parakhouski 11 Asts: , 6	Arena: Arena Riga Referees: Sergii Zashchuk (UKR), Dariusz Zapolski (POL), Josip Jurčević (CRO)

25 November 2021 (2021-11-25) 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifiers – 1st round	Belarus	84–70	Turkey	Minsk
19:30	Scoring by quarter: 20–17, 23–17, 18–19, 23–17
	Pts: 26 Rebs: Parakhouski 9 Asts: 6	Boxscore	Pts: Hazer 17 Rebs: Birsen 10 Asts: Tuncer 5	Arena: Minsk Sports Palace Attendance: 2,263 Referees: Aleksandar Glišić (SRB), Michał Proć (POL), Marek Kúkelčík (SVK)
Note: v t

28 November 2021 (2021-11-28) 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifiers – 1st round	Greece	77–67	Belarus	Thessaloniki
17:00	Scoring by quarter: 16–18, 22–12, 20–18, 19–19
	Pts: Agravanis, Kaselakis 14 Rebs: Agravanis 7 Asts: Gkikas 4	Boxscore	Pts: 17 Rebs: Parakhouski 15 Asts: five players 5	Arena: Alexandreio Melathron Nikos Galis Hall Attendance: 3,103 Referees: Oskars Lūcis (LAT), Carsten Straube (GER), Dariusz Zapolski (POL)
Note: v t

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all matches in the November 2020 and February 2021 windows were played behind closed doors in select host cities.^[9]
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all matches during the European Pre-Qualifiers second round window in August 2021 were played in a single location in select host cities.^[10]

^ "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
^ "Belarus secure first victory in FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers". Retrieved 8 September 2016.
^ "Belarus during the EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers". Retrieved 17 September 2016.
^ "Belarus during the 2019 FIBA World Cup European Pre-Qualifiers". Retrieved 19 August 2017.
^ "Belarus during the 2019 FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers". Retrieved 1 July 2018.
^ "Belarus during the EuroBasket 2022 Pre-Qualifiers". Retrieved 17 August 2019.
^ "Belarus during the 2023 FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers in Nov. 2021". Retrieved 25 November 2021.
^ "Rostislav Vergun named head coach of Belarus national team". Retrieved 27 December 2019.
^ "Statement regarding the November 2020 and February 2021 Qualifiers". Retrieved 18 September 2020.
^ "Find out who is hosting the European Pre-Qualifiers Second Round". Retrieved 10 June 2021.
^ "Gameday 3 fixture between Belarus and Great Britain postponed". fiba.basketball. 24 February 2022.
^ "Gameday 4 fixtures Netherlands - Russia and Great Britain - Belarus postponed". fiba.basketball. 25 February 2022.

TBD
2023 FIBA World Cup qualifiers – 1st round

Great Britain

Note: The game, originally scheduled for 25 February 2022, was postponed due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[11]
v
t

Official website (in Belarusian)
Belarus at FIBA site
Belarus National Team – Men at Eurobasket.com
Belarus Basketball Records at FIBA Archive

[November_2020_and_February_2021_behind_closed_doors-10] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all matches in the November 2020 and February 2021 windows were played behind closed doors in select host cities.^[9]

[August_2021_behind_closed_doors-12] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all matches during the European Pre-Qualifiers second round window in August 2021 were played in a single location in select host cities.^[10]

[FIBA_World_Rankings-1] "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.

[2] "Belarus secure first victory in FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers". Retrieved 8 September 2016.

[3] "Belarus during the EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers". Retrieved 17 September 2016.

[4] "Belarus during the 2019 FIBA World Cup European Pre-Qualifiers". Retrieved 19 August 2017.

[5] "Belarus during the 2019 FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers". Retrieved 1 July 2018.

[6] "Belarus during the EuroBasket 2022 Pre-Qualifiers". Retrieved 17 August 2019.

[7] "Belarus during the 2023 FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers in Nov. 2021". Retrieved 25 November 2021.

[8] "Rostislav Vergun named head coach of Belarus national team". Retrieved 27 December 2019.

[9] "Statement regarding the November 2020 and February 2021 Qualifiers". Retrieved 18 September 2020.

[11] "Find out who is hosting the European Pre-Qualifiers Second Round". Retrieved 10 June 2021.

[13] "Gameday 3 fixture between Belarus and Great Britain postponed". fiba.basketball. 24 February 2022.

[Gameday_4-14] "Gameday 4 fixtures Netherlands - Russia and Great Britain - Belarus postponed". fiba.basketball. 25 February 2022.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[note 1]

[note 2]

[11]

[12]

[9]

[10]

v t National basketball teams of Europe (FIBA Europe)
Current	Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Gibraltar Great Britain England Scotland Wales Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Israel Italy Kosovo Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands North Macedonia Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine
Non-affiliated	Abkhazia Northern Cyprus
Defunct	Czechoslovakia East Germany Serbia and Montenegro Soviet Union Yugoslavia