The FBU has appointed a familiar face as the new head coach of the Ukrainian national team.

The Basketball Federation of Ukraine has announced changes in the coaching staff of the national team.

Vitaliy Stepanovskyi has been relieved of his duties, and Ainars Bagatskis has taken his place.

The Latvian coach has previously led the Ukrainian national team. He first became the head coach of Ukraine in May 2019 and managed the team for three and a half years.

Under his leadership, Ukraine qualified for EuroBasket 2022, where they made it to the playoffs and finished in 11th place. Overall, Ukraine won 13 matches while experiencing 11 losses under Bagatskis.

In Ukraine, the specialist has also coached “Kyiiv-Basket,” “Budivelnyk” (Kyiv), and “Kryvbas” (Kryvyi Rih) in the past.

Background. In the last two matches under Stepanovskyi, Ukraine lost twice to Israel in the EuroBasket qualifiers.