Report.az
The Azerbaijani national women's basketball team performed poorly in the EURO-2027 qualifying matches due to the absence of the main squad.
This was stated by Vugar Azimov, Secretary General of the Azerbaijan Basketball Federation, in an interview with "Report".
The federation official said that the team is currently undergoing a rejuvenation policy:
"We could not benefit from our main players as they were at the Champions Cup competition in Thailand. Currently, our team consisting of young people is playing, the average age is 17. There are also 15-year-old girls in the squad, the oldest is 19 years old. This is an incredible step to look to the future with optimism. Although we lost by a large margin in some games, the difference was very small in the last match with Ukraine. The foundation of the team is being laid now and some time is needed for good results."
He touched upon the psychological impact of successive defeats:
"If our main players such as Dina Ulyanova, Aleksandra Mollenhauer, Tatyana Deniskina and Brianna Freyzer were in the squad, the result would be very different. However, we are constantly working with the girls, we do not lose optimism. You have to lose to win. Compared to other European teams participating in the qualifying round, our squad is really very young. This experience will help them to be more comfortable and achieve higher results in the European championships to be held in the summer. We will participate in the continental championship in the U-18 and U-20 age categories."
V.Azimov noted the potential of the national teams in the lower age groups and the goals for 3x3 basketball:
"We have high hopes that our U-18 team will be promoted to Division A in the tournament in Romania this year, and the U-20 team will be in the 'top eight'. For the first time in history, we were 12th in Division B with the U-18s, and we want a higher result this year. On the other hand, our 3x3 women's team is one of the world leaders. Our victory over the USA resonated greatly in the world. We are starting a long marathon from May to get to the Los Angeles Summer Olympics. FIBA rules have changed, now the results of 2026-2027 will be taken into account for the rating. The main squad's trip to Thailand was aimed at qualifying for the Olympics. This was a strategically important competition for us."
It should be noted that in the matches of the EURO-2027 qualifying round, the national team lost to Ukraine (55:73, 34:98), Bulgaria (48:141, 40:120) and Montenegro (62:104, 35:94).
