The press service of BC "Prometey" continues the series of pre-season interviews with the club's players. This time we spoke with a well-known to Ukrainian fans player, who has been with Prometey for the third season in a row - Oleksandr Lypovyy.
- Mr. Oleksandr, we are glad to welcome you. What's up? How do you feel?
-Everything is fine. Finished training, yesterday we had a medical examination. I am settling in a new place in Riga.
-Tell me a bit about it, about the conditions in Riga. Where do you live? How comfortable are you there now?
-Everything is OK. Now the weather outside the window is good. The club provided me with a nice apartment. Conditions for trainings are good.
- In the 2022/23 season, you will once again defend the colours of the Ukrainian club as part of Prometey. Are you happy with such an opportunity? Please describe your feelings when you got the offer to continue your career in Ginzburg's team?
- I have already become a part of this club, I spent two years there. We won the championship of Ukraine. However, we did not finish what we started last season. We went far in the Champions League and went undefeated in the Superleague. I was still in Germany when I received the offer from Prometey. At that time, it was not yet 100 percent guaranteed that Prometey would play. And a month later, the agent called and said that "Prometey" wants to have me in the team, Neno wants to see me in the team. I spoke with Neno, I spoke with the president of the club Volodymyr Mykhailovych Dubynsky. We decided everything and made an agreement.
-You finished the season as part of one of the strongest clubs in Germany, “Bonn Telecom”, and managed to win a place in the main rotation. Your team lost in the semi-final series in an intense fight to "Bavaria" - 2:3. Please share the details of this period of your life. How difficult was it to adapt to basketball in Germany?
- It was a good experience for me. The German championship is very strong. It features two EuroLeague teams, EuroCup teams and “Ludwigsburg”, who we played in the Champions League group stage and finished third in that tournament. There are also teams from the FIBA European Cup. Therefore, it is a very competitive championship, the teams are equal. We went on 1-2 places and lost in the semi-finals to an experienced, with a big budget, Euroleague team. It was a good experience for me, it was a great championship, there was very good support in the team and in the stands. The stands were packed at the games, 6 thousand spectators came to each match, there was a great atmosphere. In Germany, they put on a real show for the audience, before the teams step on the court, they turned off the lights in the hall, adding the fire, it was very bright.
- Then in the fourth match of the series with "Bavaria" you were injured. An unpleasant moment for any player. And especially for you, because you were counted on not only in the club, but also in the National team. How is the recovery going so far? How's your ankle? Is it possible to train more or less intensively?
- Yes, it was an unpleasant injury for me. This is the worst injury in my career. I did an MRI two days ago, which showed that the ligaments were scarred, the ankle feels fine. From August 22, I start training in one hundred percent readiness.
- Unfortunately, due to an injury, you will not be able to play in your fifth EuroBasket, which would be a record for you. Are you very upset about this situation?
-Of course. As I was preparing for this EuroBasket, played all the qualification matches, we got there from the first place. And it happened so, that I injured my ankle and will not be able to help the National team at the European Championship. But I'm not upset. I will prepare well for the season, it is very important for me. However, I believe that in the future I will be able to play in my fifth EuroBasket.
- Let's turn back to the affairs of "Prometey". You have already told a little about it. I would like to hear about the fact that the team is coming back, playing big basketball during a full-scale war on the territory of Ukraine more detailed. How can you evaluate the current, already updated composition of the team? Can you compare the roster of Prometey last season and the potential of the team that will start playing this year?
-If to compare, I believe that last season we had a competitive team, and now it will be even stronger, since new legionnaires and new Ukrainian players have been added. From my point of view, Prometey currently has six players of Ukrainian national team - I was injured, I don't know why Slava Petrov was not called up. And the team, also, has good legionnaires, invited by Neno, who also play in their National teams - a Nigerian, and Clavell, who plays for Puerto Rico, and Balvin, a player of the Czech National team. I believe that we have a good team, a good coach, so everything is in our hands.
- Balvin is 217 cm tall, if I'm not mistaken...
- Yes, he looks like Miro Bilan, who was in "Prometey" last year. I guess, that their playing style is similar.
- So, this is updated Miro Bilan, right?
-Yes, and there is also an updated Sean Evans, younger and faster.
- That is, it can be said that potentially the level of "Prometey" can become even higher?
-I hope so.
- "Prometey" will play in two new tournaments - the EuroCup and the Latvian-Estonian League. The EuroCup is considered a more powerful tournament than the Champions League, where you played last season. What are your expectations from participating in the EuroCup?
- As Slava Petrov has already said, 18 matches of the regular season will be guaranteed. I already played in the EuroCup as part of the Greek "Prometeas", then we reached the quarterfinals. I think, this is a good tournament, that will allow us to make a statement about the Ukrainian club in Europe once again. We didn't finish the season last year and this year we have to make the playoffs and get as high as possible.
-Many of your teammates said that the EuroCup is a window to the Euroleague. It is clear that every professional basketball player wants to play in the strongest tournaments. Tell us, is it real to play in the Euroleague? Can Prometey potentially make it to the strongest European club tournament this season?
- The dream of every professional player is to play in the Euroleague. We have a great chance, because the play-off of the EuroCup is such a tournament, where one game decides the way forward. Everything will depend only on us.
- Let's talk a bit about participation in the Latvian-Estonian league. Can you rate the level of this tournament? In what status can you imagine "Prometey" there? Some of your teammates say that today's “Prometey” line-up should be in contention for the championship. Do you agree with this?
- Of course, I agree. This league is strong, many clubs play in it. But I believe that we have a great chance to win. I don't know if the Latvian-Estonian League Cup exists. But if so, then, I think, we can take both the Cup and the championship. Yes, there are many teams and we can have a tough schedule with all the flights. But we have 12 competitive players who can give energy in every match.
"Prometey" will play its home games of the EuroCup at the Riga Arena, which is a large hall that can accommodate more than 11,000 fans. You had such an experience at EuroBasket 2015. Have you already had time to visit the Riga Arena in 2022?
- I haven't been there yet, we haven't trained there yet. But I remember 2015, how cool the atmosphere was when the hall was packed. We played with Latvia, with Lithuania, and there was a great atmosphere. Currently, there are many Ukrainians in Riga who left Ukraine because of the war. So if they come and give us the same atmosphere, wins will come after wins.
- We also believe that Ukrainian fans will be able to give you energy that will help you win. The National team of Ukraine played its last friendly match against Finland the other day. Have you watched it?
- Yes,I did.
- What can you say about the basketball shown by Ainars Bagatskis' team?
- I like how they play. However, I follow my teammates more. I like the game of Sanon, Sydorov and Lukashov; Tkachenko plays well in both the third and fourth positions. I watch them and cheer for them, I wish them luck. I will come to Arena Riga for the game with the Italian National team on August 24. And I invite everyone, who is in Riga, to come and support our National team.
- Oleksandr, we lost to the Finnish National team quite a bit, by a few points. It is interesting to know, when you watch basketball, where your teammates are playing, is there a feeling of "if I was on the court, those points would be mine and we could win"?
-Of course, when you watch basketball, there is a passion for the game and you see yourself in the game, you want to play, and, as you said, there are thoughts that I would have done something differently. But I'm not there, I'm watching as a fan, but, let’s say, from the professional side.
- Do you know the "Prometey" training plan? What do the coaches say? The team will not immediately gather in full due to National team matches. When do you start training?
- Slava Petrov and I arrived a little earlier to adapt and get settled in Riga. We have already had three training sessions with physical training coach Mantas Valchiukaitis. Then basketball training with the first assistant to head coach Mantas Schernius. Legionnaries arrive on August 22. And from August 23, we start training with a partial squad.
- We talked about it with your teammate Viacheslav Petrov. And he is not worried at all about the fact that the team will start the pre-season gathering with less than a full team, he says that this is the problem of the coaches, and your task is to train. What is your point of view?, Can the fact, that you will have less time to prepare all together, somehow affect the further actions of the team?
- All players are professionals. This is not a problem of coaches, it is such a schedule of National teams. All of them are professionals, all arrive in a good shape. That won't be a problem. We will have plenty of time to prepare for the official games.
- The same Viacheslav Petrov shared with us some details of your joint vacation in Switzerland. Please tell us about your vacation. Have you been anywhere but Switzerland? How did you rest? Have you gained strength?
- After the season, my wife and I went to Greece, then to Spain. Then we went to visit Petrov's wife in France, Slava was in the National team. We had a great time in France. And then I offered Slava to go to Switzerland. Yes, there was a time when we rested, but we also tried to train and prepare for the season. Each day, we devoted time to physical training.
- There are many of our compatriots in Riga and in Latvia in general. Have you met them on the streets? What is the atmosphere like there? After all, it is known that many Russians live in this country. What is your attitude to this situation?
-Riga is a solid Ukrainian flag, because our flags are at every step, wherever you turn your head, you see the Ukrainian flag. Yes, sometimes you meet Russian speaking people. My wife and I communicate in Ukrainian, it doesn't affect me if someone in the street turn their head after hearing the Ukrainian language. Of course, I have a negative attitude towards Russians.
- How did this war affect you, your family? How are your relatives? As we know that you come from a city that is constantly under enemy attacks.
- Yes, I am from Kharkiv. My family was in Kharkiv. My wife and I were in Spain. When I woke up on February 24, there were many messages on my phone from my brother and my mother, I immediately called them, they said that the explosions started at five o'clock in the morning. Mom lives not far from my brother, she came to his place, they were together. For me, it was the most important thing for them to be together. In two or three weeks, I moved them to Dnipro, to the apartment that "Prometey" allocated to me, and then to Kyiv. And now they are more or less safe.
- Are they happy that you will be able to continue playing for “Prometey”?
-Yes, sure. My brother is a former basketball player. He brought me to basketball, he always follows the matches. I can say that he is my biggest fan. My wife, brother and mother are my biggest fans. Of course, they rejoiced. And I hope that my mother will be able to come to me and come to see the games at the Riga Arena.
- Finally, I suggest that you invite not only your mother, but also other “Prometey” fans.
- In this difficult time, I want to wish everyone health and peace. Follow basketball, come to matches if you are in Riga, support us from the other side of the screens, watch our matches. I also want to say that I really want to go home, I want to play in my beloved Ukraine. However, I believe that it was the right thing not close the club and continue its history. I want to say a big thank to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We should help each other as much as we can. I believe, that we can defeat the enemy only together. Glory to the Armed Forces! Glory to Ukraine! Everything will be fine!
