Spanish national team defender Ferran Bassas and team head coach Jesus Alfonso Mateo Diaz exclusively commented on the victory over Ukraine for Suspilne Sport.
On Friday, February 27, the Spanish men's basketball team won its third consecutive victory in the first round of European qualification for the 2027 World Cup. The Spaniards inflicted the first defeat on the Ukrainian national team in the current selection, ending the match with a score of 86:66.
Suspilne Sport is the official broadcaster of the Ukrainian national basketball team matches. Watch the matches against Spain live on the Suspilne Sport platforms and local Suspilne channels.
Before this round, both teams had a 100% win rate: Ukraine defeated Georgia (92:79) and Denmark (88:71), while the Spanish also went through their first two matches without losing. Spain currently leads Group A, where they need to finish in the top three to advance to the next round.
Spain secured the advantage with intense defense and a high percentage of long-range shots (over 55%). One of the most productive players on the winning team was guard Ferran Bassas, who scored 16 points.
At the post-match press conference, Bassas emphasized the importance of teamwork in defense and singled out the leader of the Ukrainian national team, Oleksandr Kovlyar, who finished the game with 15 points.
“We're very happy with the win. I think we did a great job defensively. We raised the level of play, found the rhythm we needed. I think those two things — good physical work on defense and control of the rebounds — were the most important. Hopefully we can achieve that [in the next match against Ukraine].”
“Kovlyar? A very great, talented player. We knew we had to control him because he is one of the key players in Ukraine. It was a difficult match for me, but I think we managed as a team. It was difficult to stop him one-on-one, so we had to play defense as one team. Although he can score in different ways, he is a great player.”
Assessing the opponent's level, the defender of the Spanish national team noted the physical preparation of the Ukrainians and mentioned the initial pressure on the court.
“They have a great team, they played hard. We knew the game would be something like this. There were a lot of turnovers early in the match, but we started to control the game, make the right passes and decisions, and get into the right positions for shots. That was key.”
Spain head coach Jesus Alfonso Mateo Diaz highlighted his team's tactical superiority in the second half of the match and their ability to adapt to physical combat. The Spaniard summed up the success factors, noting the experience of individual players and the quality of the attack.
Jesús Alfonso Mateo Díaz is the head coach of the Spanish national basketball team. FIBA Basketball
“We did a really good job, especially in the second half of the game. It was a tough game, but we were able to understand the level of physicality needed to win it. We controlled the rebounds defensively. We were able to get some offensive rebounds as well, which gave us a few extra [attacking opportunities] – Pierre Oriola did a great job in that sense, which was important for us, his experience was valuable.”
“We were focused on playing great basketball. I don't care about fouls or anything else — it's a team sport. And part of the success [against Ukraine] was that we were able to control the game, shoot free throws. Over 55% [of] 3-pointers — that says we were doing the right thing on offense. So whether we were playing hard or they were playing hard — we had to stay at that level and play as one.”
The second match between Spain and Ukraine will take place on Monday, March 2, at the Spanish stadium. The match will start at 9:30 p.m. Kyiv time.