Sports (November – December)

17 November 2017

FIBA World Cup Qualifiers

23 November away at Sweden and 26 November home to Turkey

Kyiv Palace of Sports (1 Sportyvna Square)

The Ukrainian national basketball team sets out on the long road to qualify for the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China – and eventually the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan – with its first qualification matches in November. The team travels to Norrkoping, Sweden, for their opening game on 23 November before returning to host Turkey at Kyiv’s Sports Palace on 26 November, and then Latvia, the other team in Group B, when the competition resumes in February. Ukraine will likely be without the services of NBAers Alex Len of the Phoenix Suns and Joel Bolomboy of the Utah Jazz, but hope to count on the likes of blue chip NCAA prospect Svyatoslav Mykhaliuk and captain Vyacheslav Kravtsov in their efforts. The top two European teams at the 2019 World Cup automatically qualify for the 2020 Olympics. Ukraine finished 15^th at this summer’s Eurobasket competition.

fbu.ua

Dynamo Struggles Through October

2 and 7 December

Olympiyskiy Stadium (V Vasylkivska 55)

Ukrainian superteam Dynamo Kyiv struggled through October, but seems to have found their stride after posting back-to-back wins more recently against Switzerland’s Young Boys and Vorksla Poltava. After a super September that saw the team leading the Ukrainian Premier League with an undefeated record, a horrid seven-game stretch has seen the team fall back to second place behind rivals Shakhtar Donetsk. The boys in blue and white’s only victory during that time was a laboured 3-2 extra time win over FC Oleksandria in the Ukrainian Cup Round of 16. The team faltered against lowly Chornomorets Odesa (11^th place) and Olimpik Donetsk (3^rd) and couldn’t manage full points against Zorya Kropyvnytsky (6^th) or Karpaty Lviv (9^th). On a more positive note, the team qualified for the Europa League playoffs after dropping 2^nd place to Young Boys in a 1-0 away victory in the Group B matchup. December sees the team close out its Europa League group stage schedule with a matchup against Serbia’s Partizan on the seventh, but not before Ukrainain Cup quarterfinal action on 28 November when they take on the First League’s FC Desna. And they’re back in town for the first time in awhile to finish their pre-winter break in the Premier League home schedule against FC Mariupol on 2 December.

www.fcdynamo.kiev.ua/en