All systems go for Mykhailiuk, Ukraine

JYVASKYLA (Finland) - Eight years have passed since Svi Mykhailiuk made his senior team bow for Ukraine in their first appearance at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain.

Just 17, Mykhailiuk played little but was undoubtedly his country's rising star, about to embark on an American college basketball adventure at NCAA powerhouse Kansas in the hope of reaching the NBA.

Now 25 and with several years of NBA experience under his belt, including with his current team, the Toronto Raptors, Mykhailiuk is a protagonist for a Ukraine side having one of the busiest months in its hoops history.

With European Qualifiers for the FIBA Basketball World Cup coming up against Italy (August 24) and Iceland (August 27), and then a FIBA EuroBasket Group C campaign in Milan that tips off on September 2 against Great Britain, with games against Estonia, Italy, Greece and Croatia to follow, Mykhailiuk will take center stage for his country.

"We're going to play hard, win every game possible," he said. "At the EuroBasket, anything is possible. I feel like we have one of the best Ukrainian teams in history and we're capable of surprising a lot of people and showing a really good result."

Though he did not feature in the EuroBasket Qualifiers, there is no doubt about the Cherkasy native's importance to the team. His 18.5 points per game led Ukraine in scoring in the European Qualifiers for the 2019 World Cup and his 18.3 points per contest is number one for Ukraine in the European Qualifiers for next year's World Cup.

"I FEEL GREAT TO BE PLAYING FOR UKRAINE AGAIN, ESPECIALLY DURING THESE HARD TIMES"

"It's my role," he said. "I was brought here to win games and to help my team do that, not necessarily by scoring but to help any way I can; playing defense, making the right choice on offense, scoring, creating open shots for my teammates. I'm going to do my best to help Ukraine win."

Mykhailiuk hardly played under former coach Mike Fratello at the 2014 World Cup yet the tournament was something he'll never forget.

"It was a great experience," he said. "Just to play against the USA, it was my first experience to go up against them. Just being 17 and being a part of it was an amazing moment. Nowadays, you can only make it every four years. There are limited opportunities to make it and me trying to make it again, and for the others trying to make it, it's huge."

Mykhailiuk is one of many NBA players that will compete at FIBA EuroBasket 2022

Due to his commitments at Kansas, Mykhailiuk did not play at EuroBasket 2017. Ukraine finished 15th out of 24 teams in that tournament.

Ukraine's prospects look good this summer. Mykhailiuk believes the team's front line should be a real strength.

"I think we have really good size, a lot of big guys that can play in the post, four or five of them," he said.

Another strength, he says, is the players' focus.

"I feel like everybody understands our goal and that everyone is working towards it," he said. "It's not going to be perfect right now because everyone is getting used to playing with each other but I feel like moving forward, once everyone knows their role and what we have to do to get better, we can be a surprise team."

Mykhailiuk had 20 points, five rebounds and three steals in a warmup game at Finland on Thursday night in Jyvaskyla that the Susijengi won, 97-94, after overtime. The Finns' NBA star, Lauri Markkanen, who like Mykhailiuk is 25 years of age, had a game-high 42 points.

Mykhailiuk is excited about featuring at a EuroBasket that will be full of NBA stars. Nikola Jokic of Serbia and Giannis Antetokounmpo of Greece have combined to win the last four NBA MVP awards and will each be present. Slovenia's superstars Luka Doncic and Goran Dragic are competing for the defending champions. There are many other NBA stars taking part.

Latvian Ainars Bagatskis is Ukraine's coach

"This EuroBasket especially has a lot of guys my age, a little younger and a little older that have made it to the NBA," Mykhailiuk said. "There are a lot of superstars on NBA level coming back to play for their national teams. It's going to be an interesting EuroBasket, a really exciting EuroBasket for fans because they are going to see a lot of NBA players, NBA superstars at the highest level of Europe."

Ukraine will be the home team when they take on Italy in the European Qualifiers for the World Cup on August 24 but the game, like their previous two home games, will be held in Riga. Ukraine are unable to host games right now because of war in the country. They played Georgia and Spain in the Latvian capital in the last international window. Ukraine's coach is Latvian Ainars Bagatskis.

Something else that may work in Ukraine's favor is the support they receive from fans all over Europe during the country's challenging times.

"It's great for basketball purposes and life," Mykhailiuk said. "We need to bring more awareness to this situation, the war, because I think a lot of people are starting to forget about it. It's going to help us play better and harder on the court with those other fans."

Looking ahead to Milan and the EuroBasket, Mykhailiuk said: "It's a hard group with top ranked national teams but it's in our power to make it to the next round. We still have enough time to get better, to do everything we can to learn about each other, learn about our opponents and prepare."

More important than anything for Mykhailiuk is that for several weeks, he'll proudly represent his country.

"I feel great to be playing for Ukraine again, especially during these hard times, the war, and I'm honored to be a part of our national team to try and do great things for our country," he said.

FIBA