The head coach of the Ukrainian national basketball team, Ainars Bagatskis, has been dismissed from his position at the Polish “Śląsk”. This was announced on the club's social networks.
Bagatskis took charge of Śląsk ahead of the 2025/26 season. During that time, the team played 28 matches in the Polish championship under his leadership, winning 18 of them. After Bagatskis' departure, his assistant Jacek Winnicki became the interim head coach.
“This decision was made in the best interests of the team and with the goal of achieving the best results in the final phase of the regular season and in future playoff matches,” the club said.
This season, Slask is in fourth place in the Polish league table, two points behind leaders Szczecin. At the same time, Bagatskis' former team has a series of four consecutive defeats.
Also this season, “Śląsk” participated in the EuroCup, where it ultimately took the penultimate, ninth place and failed to reach the playoffs.
Slask has two games left in the Polish national championship. If the team stays in the top 6 of the final standings, it will advance directly to the quarterfinals of the Polish Basketball League playoffs.
Bagatskis will continue to work exclusively with the Ukrainian national team, with which the Latvian coach will fight for a place in the second round of the 2027 World Cup qualifiers. With two matches remaining in the first round of the qualifiers, the “blue and yellow” team has not yet guaranteed itself a place in the next stage.
2027 Basketball World Cup Qualifying Standings
- Spain — 8 points (4 matches), +73 (point difference)
- Ukraine — 6 (4), -4
- Georgia — 6 (4), +5
- Denmark — 4 (4), -74
Ukraine will play the final matches in the first round of the qualifiers in the summer: on July 2 and 5, they will play against Georgia and Denmark, respectively. To qualify for the final stage of the qualifiers, the “blue-yellow” team needs to beat Georgia or not lose to Denmark by a margin of more than 17 points.