The Cyprus men's national basketball team (Greek: Εθνική ομάδα μπάσκετ της Κύπρου) represents Cyprus in international basketball, and is controlled by the Cyprus Basketball Federation. The national team is coached by Christophoros Livadiotis.
 | |||
| FIBA ranking | 82  5 (15 August 2024)[1] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Joined FIBA | 1974 | ||
| FIBA zone | FIBA Europe | ||
| National federation | Κυπριακή Ομοσπονδία Καλαθοσφαίρισης (CBF) | ||
| Coach | Christophoros Livadiotis | ||
| FIBA World Cup | |||
| Appearances | None | ||
| EuroBasket | |||
| Appearances | 1 (Upcoming) | ||
| Championship for Small Countries | |||
| Appearances | 4 | ||
| Medals |  Silver: (1990, 1994) Bronze: (1988, 1992) | ||
| Games of the Small States of Europe | |||
| Appearances | 16 | ||
| Medals |  Gold: (1985, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2017) Silver: (1989, 1993) Bronze: (1991, 2023) | ||
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| First international | |||
 Bulgaria 90–45 Cyprus  (Damascus, Syria; 17 April 1982) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
 Monaco 40–108 Cyprus (Serravalle, San Marino; 1 June 2001) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 Czech Republic 135–60 Cyprus (Prievidza, Slovakia; 22 June 1993) | |||
Cyprus joined FIBA in 1974, where the team has mostly competed in smaller competitions such as the Games of the Small States of Europe, winning it nine times. However, Cyprus will make their debut at the top continental competition, EuroBasket, as co-hosts in 2025.
History
editCyprus made its first appearance on the international scene in qualification for EuroBasket 1983. Although the national team would come up short in their attempt, with an (0–4) record.[2] Furthermore, Cyprus has taken part at lower level tournaments, where they have been impressive. Cyprus has won two bronze medals, and two silver medals at the European Championship for Small Countries, while also taking home one bronze, two silver, and nine gold medals at the Games of the Small States of Europe.
During the first few decades on the international level for Cyprus, the national team went through multiple futile qualifying cycles which saw the team unable to successfully qualify for the EuroBasket. For qualification to EuroBasket 2017, Cyprus was placed into Group A during the qualifiers; although the team would once again be rebuffed at reaching the continental stage. Cyprus would ultimately finish up with a (2–4) record, with their only two victories coming against Switzerland.[3]
Cyrus took part in qualifying for EuroBasket 2022, and was drawn into Group C for the first round of pre-qualifiers. The first test for the national team was against Portugal, at home in Nicosia. Cyprus would eventually prevail, in a tough match 69–67. Looking to stay perfect, the team played their next match on the road at Luxembourg. Immediately, Cyprus would run out to a big first quarter lead, and never looked back, winning 53–67. Cyprus dropped their final two matches of group play, to finish with a (2–2) record to advance.
During the second round of pre-qualifiers, Cyprus was placed into Group D, with Austria, and Great Britain. However, the national team failed to win a match, and finished with an (0–4) record. Cyprus blew an opportunity to advance to the final stage of qualifiers, but would have one more chance to make amends in the third round.
Heading into the final window of pre-qualifiers, Cyprus needed to finish top of Group F, if they were to achieve their goal. Unfortunately, the team would duplicate the results attained in the second round, with an (0–4) record once again. Cyprus ended the pre-qualifying process at a record of (2–10) overall, eliminating their opportunity to advance.[4] After failing to qualify for EuroBasket 2022, Cyprus went through European Pre-Qualifiers for the 2023 FIBA World Cup. However, they finished (1–5) during the first round to be eliminated.[5]
In March 2022, Cyprus qualified for the EuroBasket for the first time in their history, by being awarded as one of the co-hosts for the group stage at EuroBasket 2025. Matches will be played at the Spyros Kyprianou Athletic Center in Limassol.[6][7][8]
Competitive record
edit
FIBA World Cupedit
Games of the Small States of Europeedit
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EuroBasketedit
Championship for Small Countriesedit
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Team
editCurrent roster
editRoster for the EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers matches on 23 and 26 February 2023 against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia.[9]
| Cyprus men's national basketball team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Depth chart
edit| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 | Bench 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Michalis Koumis | Christos Loizides | Darral Willis | Kyprianos Maragkos |
| PF | Roberto Mantovani | Ioannis Pasiali | Aeneas Jung | Pavlos Stavrinides |
| SF | Nikos Stylianou | Zayd Muosa | Gavriel Kilaras | Rafail Eleftheriou |
| SG | Konstantinos Simitzis | Antreas Christodoulou | Panagiotis Markou | Ioannis Giannaras |
| PG | Simon Michail | Filippos Tigkas | Stefanos Iliadis | Iakovos Panteli |
Head coach position
edit
Christos Stylianidis – (2007–2011)- Antonis Konstantinides – (2012)
- Panagiotis Yiannaras – (2013–2017)
- Linos Gavriel – (2017–2021)
- Michael Matsentides – (2022, Interim)
- Christophoros Livadiotis – (2022–present)
Results and fixtures
editWin Loss
2024
edit| 23 February 2024 | Cyprus
|
66–99 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Nicosia, Cyprus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:00 (UTC+2) | Scoring by quarter: 27–28, 11–23, 18–26, 10–22 | |||
| Pts: Willis 22 Rebs: Willis 13 Asts: Stylianou 3 |
Boxscore | Pts: Musa 26 Rebs: Kamenjaš 10 Asts: Atić, Musa 8 |
Arena: Eleftheria Indoor Hall Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Martin Horozov (BUL), Ofer Manheim (ISR), Marek Kúkelčík (SVK) |
|
| 26 February 2024 | Croatia 
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92–63 | Cyprus
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Rijeka, Croatia |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20:00 (UTC+1) | Scoring by quarter: 22–8, 26–16, 22–26, 22–13 | |||
| Pts: Prkačin 24 Rebs: Hezonja, Prkačin 10 Asts: Kapusta 8 |
Boxscore | Pts: Simitzis 17 Rebs: Willis 9 Asts: Mantovani, Willis 3 |
Arena: Zamet Sports Centre Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Radomir Vojinović (MNE), Ventsislav Velikov (BUL), Can Mavisu (TUR) |
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2025
edit| 21 February 2025 | Bosnia and Herzegovina
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vs. | Cyprus
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Bosnia and Herzegovina |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boxscore | ||||
Kit
editManufacturer
edit- 2012–2015: Champion
- 2015–2018: Legea
- 2019–present: Caan Athletics
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 15 August 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
- ^ "Cyprus results during qualification for EuroBasket 1983".
- ^ "Cyprus during the EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers". Retrieved 17 September 2016.
- ^ "Cyprus during the EuroBasket 2022 Pre-Qualifiers". Retrieved 17 August 2019.
- ^ "Cyprus during the 2023 FIBA World Cup European Pre-Qualifiers". Retrieved 21 February 2021.
- ^ "Cyprus will host EuroBasket 2025 group in Limassol". ccnnetwork.cn. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
- ^ "Έτσι θα μεταμορφωθεί το «Σπύρος Κυπριανού» ενόψει Ευρωμπάσκετ 2025". gipedo.politis.com.cy (in Greek). Retrieved 29 March 2022.
- ^ "Μεταμορφώνεται» το «Σπύρος Κυπριανού» για το Eurobasket 2025". alphanews.live (in Greek). Retrieved 29 March 2022.
- ^ "Cyprus during the EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers in February 2024". Retrieved 23 February 2024.
External links
edit
- Official website (in Greek)
- Cyprus FIBA profile
- Cyprus National Team – Men at Eurobasket.com
- Cyprus Basketball Records at FIBA Archive
Videos
edit- Cyprus v Iceland - Highlights - FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers Youtube.com video