Albania men's national basketball team

The Albanian national basketball team (Albanian: Federata Shqiptare e Basketbollit) is the national basketball team of Albania and it has represented the nation since 1947.[2] Having not played a competitive game since 2012, the national team returned to action in 2016 for the EuroBasket 2017 qualification.

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Albania women's national basketball team.

Albania
FIBA ranking99 7 (9 December 2020)[1]
Joined FIBA1947
FIBA zoneFIBA Europe
National federationFSHB
CoachAfrim Bilali
Nickname(s)Kuq e Zinjtë (The Red and Blacks)
Shqiponjat (The Eagles)
Olympic Games
AppearancesNone
FIBA World Cup
AppearancesNone
EuroBasket
Appearances2 (1947, 1957)
MedalsNone
First international
 Italy 60–15 Albania
(Prague, Czechoslovakia; April 27, 1947)
Biggest win
Albania 112–77 Iceland 
(Wolfenbüttel, FR Germany; 1975)
Biggest defeat
 Belgium 114–11 Albania
(Prague, Czechoslovakia; April 28, 1947)

History

Basketball was introduced in Albania in the early 20th century, and it became popular in the 1920s following the end of World War I as sports societies and clubs were being formed all over the country, and basketball was soon introduced to the major towns and cities in Albania. Basketball was played informally by teams representing different sports clubs, and it wasn't until September 1945 that a National Basketball Committee was formed that would be responsible for dealing with the issues basketball teams in the country faced. The committee paved the way for the creation of the Albanian Basketball Association (ABA) a year later in 1946, which became a member of FIBA in 1947, and whose main goals were to enable clubs to compete in national competitions, as well a promote the sport. The first National Championship in Albania was held in 1946, and a year later the first Women's National Championship also took place. In 1951 the ABA created the Republic's Cup, which was a competition open to all professional and amateur basketball clubs in Albania, with the women's and youth versions of the competition both starting in 1952. During the Communist regime in Albania, the National Spartakiad was held between 1959 and 1989, where basketball was one of the more popular sports in display in the country's biggest sports events. In 1999 the ABA held the first Albanian Basketball Supercups for men and women, which is played between the winners of the league and cup.

EuroBasket 1947

Albania first competed in a European championship at EuroBasket 1947 held in Prague, Czechoslovakia, shortly after joining FIBA as an affiliate national team. In the preliminary round of the competition Albania was placed in Group D with Italy, Belgium and Egypt, and their first game in a major tournament came against Italy in a 15–60 loss, and they went on to lose 11–114 and 19–104 to Belgium and Egypt, respectively. In the next round, they were placed in the lower bracket Group 3 to determine who finishes between the 7th and 10th places, where they faced Romania and Austria. Albania lost 19–73 to Romania and 27–44 to Austria. They then went on to face Yugoslavia in the final game to determine who finishes in penultimate place, where they lost 13–90 to Yugoslavia and finished in last place out of 14 teams, with a record of 0 wins and 6 losses. Albania averaged just 17.3 points per game, with their highest point tally coming against Austria where they scored 27 points, and lost by their smallest margin of 17 points. They conceded an average of 80.3 points per game, with their highest scoring opponents being Belgium who defeated Albania 114–11.

EuroBasket 1957

10 years after their debut tournament performance, Albania competed at EuroBasket 1957 in Sofia, Bulgaria, where they were placed in Group A in the preliminary round with Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Scotland. They lost 57–89 to Yugoslavia in their opening game, and then went on to lose 37–71 and 42–65 to Czechoslovakia and Scotland, respectively, to finish bottom of the group. During the classification round, Albania faced Turkey, Italy, Finland, Belgium, West Germany, Austria and Scotland. Albania lost all 7 games in the classification round which led to them finishing bottom of another EuroBasket tournament, this time out of 16 team. Albania averaged 47.6 points per game, with their highest points tally coming against Turkey in a 64–97 loss, which was also the highest scoring game for their opponents, and conceded an average of 78.4 points per game during the tournament. Despite better performances than those in 1947, they could not manage to escape finish bottom once again.

Competitive record

Recent results and upcoming fixtures

Friendlies
August 19, 2016
15:00
Cyprus  94–51  Albania
Scoring by quarter: 25–7, 25–14, 23–9, 21–21
Pts: Sizopoulos 17 Pts: Shima 13
August 20, 2016
17:30
Estonia  71–64  Albania
Scoring by quarter: 23–8, 18–16, 15–22, 15–18
Pts: Kurbas 13 Pts: Shima 14
August 21, 2016
17:30
Albania  71–70  Qatar
Scoring by quarter: 12–20, 10–14, 35–24, 14–12
Pts: Dusha 21 Pts: Erfan 21
August 24, 2016
14:30
Albania  45–110  Israel
Scoring by quarter: 7–31, 14–21, 10–25, 14–33
Pts: Hysenagolli 16 Pts: Koulechov 22
August 25, 2016
14:30
Ukraine  71–65  Albania
Scoring by quarter: 24–16, 16–9, 18–17, 13–23
Pts: Pustovyi 13 Pts: Dusha & Shima 12
August 27, 2016
17:00
Estonia  102–49  Albania
Scoring by quarter: 39–12, 19–9, 19–15, 25–13
Pts: Hallik 34 Pts: Hysenagolli 10

Group F
Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1  Montenegro 6 5 1 563 420 +143 11 EuroBasket 2017
2  Georgia 6 5 1 524 402 +122 11 Possible qualification
3  Albania 6 1 5 392 518 −126 7
4  Slovakia 6 1 5 372 511 −139 7
Updated to match(es) played on September 7, 2016. Source: FIBA
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head results; 3) Points difference; 4) Points scored.
August 31, 2016
19:00
Georgia  86–47  Albania
Scoring by quarter: 21–9, 24–10, 23–13, 18–15
Pts: Sanikidze 20
Rebs: Pachulia 8
Asts: Tsintsadze 9		 Pts: Hysenagolli 15
Rebs: Shima 7
Asts: three players 2
Sports Palace, Tbilisi
Attendance: 8,000
Referees: Christof Madinger (GER), Antonis Demetriou (CYP), Volodymyr Pediev (UKR)
September 3, 2016
19:00
Albania  73–113  Montenegro
Scoring by quarter: 15–33, 17–40, 18–21, 23–19
Pts: Broadus 26
Rebs: Hysenagolli 6
Asts: Broadus 4		 Pts: Vučević 19
Rebs: Todorović 8
Asts: Needham 6
Asllan Rusi Sports Palace, Tirana
Attendance: 1,200
Referees: Petros Papapetrou (GRE), Alessandro Martolini (ITA), Semen Ovinov (RUS)
September 7, 2016
18:00
Slovakia  69–60  Albania
Scoring by quarter: 14–11, 20–20, 25–17, 10–12
Pts: Korner 20
Rebs: Korner 10
Asts: Baldovský, Milošević 3		 Pts: Broadus 23
Rebs: Shima 9
Asts: Shima 3
Mestská sportová hala, Prievidza
Attendance: 800
Referees: Anthonie Sinterniklaas (NED), Mykola Ambrosov (UKR), Josip Radojković (CRO)
September 10, 2016
19:00
Albania  64–84  Georgia
Scoring by quarter: 19–20 \, 17–16, 15–20, 13–28
September 14, 2016
21:00
Montenegro  94–56  Albania
Scoring by quarter: 26–16, 20–11, 24–18, 24–11
September 17, 2016
19:00
Albania  72–65  Slovakia
Scoring by quarter: 20–17, 10–14, 19–18, 14–16

Team

Current roster

The following is the Albania roster called up for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification matches against  Portugal and  Cyprus, on February 20 and 23, 2020.[3]

Albania national basketball team roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameAge – Date of birthHeightClubCtr.
F 3 Hamati, Julian 27 – (1992-11-16)16 November 1992 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) Teuta
SF 4 Taflaj, Çelis 21 – (1998-03-12)12 March 1998 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Andrea Costa Imola
SG 8 Bedini, Ferdi 20 – (1999-05-28)28 May 1999 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) Valsesia Basket Borgosesia
PF 9 Niko, Thano 28 – (1991-06-23)23 June 1991 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) Goga Basket
SG 11 Hysa, Eldi 20 – (1999-08-30)30 August 1999 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) Tirana
SG 13 Ndoja, Klaudio 34 – (1985-05-18)18 May 1985 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Pallacanestro Forlì 2.015
C 14 Hysenagolli, Endrit 31 – (1988-07-05)5 July 1988 2.10 m (6 ft 11 in) Teuta
PF 15 Shima, Gerti (C) 33 – (1986-05-09)9 May 1986 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) Tirana
PG 17 Shestani, Robert 26 – (1993-09-14)14 September 1993 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) Vllaznia
PG 23 Moore, Dallas 25 – (1994-10-27)27 October 1994 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) Nanterre 92
C 24 Faslija, Herion 30 – (1989-05-02)2 May 1989 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in) Vllaznia
SF 31 Lekndreaj, Daniel 22 – (1997-11-16)16 November 1997 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) Goga Basket
C 35 Nikoci, Eraldo 20 – (1999-07-29)29 July 1999 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) Pallacanestro Lanciano
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Age – describes age,
    on February 20, 2020[4]

Head coaches
Coach Years active
Rexhep Rama 1946
Naim Pilku 1947–1959
Feti Borova 1960
Naim Pilku 1963
Feti Borova 1963–1965
Astrit Greva 1969
Feti Borova 1971–1974
Bujar Shehu 1975
Feti Borova 1976–1977
Bujar Shehu 1978
Feti Borova 1984–1985
Astrit Greva 1985–1991
Bujar Shehu 1992–1997
Arben Fagu[5] 1998–2001
Bujar Shehu 2002
Roland Avrami 2002–2004
Korab Llazani[6] 2005–2006
Arben Fagu 2006
Roland Avrami 2006–2009
Mark Dickel[7] 2010–2011
Fatmir Cuka[8] 2011–2012
Roland Avrami[9] 2012–2013
Antonis Constantinides[10] 2015–2017
Antonios Doukas 2017–2018
Afrim Bilali 2019-

Record by opponents
Main article: List of results of the Albania national basketball team

Official games
As of September 4, 2016

Unofficial games
As of 1986

Placements

European Promotion Cup
  • 2002: European Promotion Cup – 6th place
  • 2004: European Promotion Cup – 5th place
  • 2006: European Promotion Cup – 2nd place

European Championship
  • 1947: European Championship – 14th place
  • 1957: European Championship – 16th place
  • 1995: European Championship – Qualifying Round
  • 1997: European Championship – Qualifying Round
  • 1999: European Championship – Preliminary Round
  • 2005: Eurobasket – Division B
  • 2007: Eurobasket – Division B
  • 2009: Eurobasket – Division B

European Olympic Qualifying Tournament
  • 1972: European Olympic Qualifying Tournament – Preliminary Round
  • 1992: European Olympic Qualifying Tournament – Preliminary Round

European Promotion Cup
  • 1996: European Promotion Cup – 2nd place
  • 2002: European Promotion Cup – 1st place

European Championship
  • 1997: European Championship – Qualifying Round

Youth competitions
  • 1999: European Promotion Cup for Junior Men – 7th place
  • 2001: European Promotion Cup for Junior Men – 4th place
  • 2003: European Promotion Cup for Junior Men – 1st place
  • 2005: U18 European Promotion Cup Women – 3rd place

See also

Footnotes
  1. Albania defeated Algeria at the GANEFO games in 1963, but the score is unknown so recorded as a 2–0 victory for Albania.
  2. Albania forfeited a game against Bulgaria at the 1960 Balkan Championship in Sofia, so recorded as 2–0 victory for Bulgaria.
  3. Albania withdrew from playing Israel for political reasons at the XVIII Universiade, the World University Games in Turin, so recorded as a 2–0 victory for Israel.
  4. Albania's senior national team defeated the youth national team 76–48 at the VII Balkan Championship in Tiranë in 1965.
  5. Albania defeated a squad representing Beijing 73–65 during a tour of China in 1972.
  6. Albania lost 64–49 to Bulgaria's youth national team at the 1960 Balkan Championship in Sofia.
  7. Albania defeated China's youth national team 77–64 during a tour of China in 1977.
  8. Albania defeated a squad representing the North Korean Interior Ministry called Security Forces 102–92 during a tour of North Korea in 1977.
  9. Albania defeated a squad representing Jiangsu during a tour of China in 1972, but the score is unknown so recorded as a 2–0 victory for Albania.
  10. Albania lost to a squad representing Jiangsu 73–63 during a tour of China in 1974.
  11. Albania lost to a squad representing the Chinese Army of Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang 78–49 during a tour of China in 1977.
  12. Albania defeated a youth squad representing Jilin 121–69 during a tour of China in 1977.
  13. Albania defeated a squad representing Jinan during a tour of China in 1972, but the score is unknown so recorded as a 2–0 victory for Albania.
  14. Albania defeated a squad representing Liaoning 76–69 during a tour of China in 1974.
  15. Albania defeated a squad representing Nei Mongol during a tour of China in 1972, but the score is unknown so recorded as a 2–0 victory for Albania.
  16. Albania lost 81–58 to New Balance All-Stars, a selection of US-based players touring Italy, on June 12, 2009, during the Torneo di Porto San Giorgio.
  17. Albania lost to a squad representing the Pyongyang 90–89 during a tour of North Korea in 1977.
  18. Albania lost 71–31 to Romania's youth national team at the 1959 Balkan Championship in Bucharest.
  19. Albania lost 77–53 to a squad representing Romania's universities at the Cup of Friendship youth tournament held in Bucharest in 1960.
  20. Albania played Selezione Universitaria LNP, a selection of university players of the Lega Nazionale Pallacanestro in Italy, on June 11, 2009, for the Torneo di Porto San Giorgio.
  21. Albania defeated a squad representing Shanghai 75–65 during a tour of China in 1972.
  22. Albania lost to a squad representing Shanghai 71–69 during a tour of China in 1974.
  23. Albania defeated a squad representing Shanxi 84–64 during a tour of China in 1972.
  24. Albania defeated a squad representing Shenyang 107–75 during a tour of China in 1977.
  25. Albania defeated a youth squad representing Shenyang 133–83 during a tour of China in 1977.
  26. Albania defeated a squad representing Tianjin 67–59 during a tour of China in 1972.
  27. Albania defeated a squad representing the Chinese Army called August 1, 1974, 71–69 during a tour of China.
  28. Albania lost to a squad representing the Chinese Army called August 1, 1977, 84–77 during a tour of China.
  29. Albania defeated a squad representing the North Korean Army called February 8, 95–86 during a tour of North Korea in 1977.

References
  1. "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. December 9, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  2. "Albanian Federation of Basketball". Archived from the original on April 14, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2010.
  3. "Albania - FIBA EuroBasket 2021 Pre-Qualifiers (roster)". FIBA. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
  4. "Mblidhet ekipi kombetare meshkuj (18 Qershor 2018)" [Meet the national men's team (June 18, 2018)] (in Albanian). Albanian Basketball Association. June 18, 2018.
  5. Arben Fagu: Basketbolli ynë për t’u vajtuar, s’ka e s’mund të kemi më një Agim Fagu
  6. Korab Llazani: Basketbolli ynë me probleme të trashëguara, Kosova nivel tjetër
  7. "Dickel hopes for return to Rams' glory days". Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  8. Basketboll, rikthehet Fatmir Cuka
  9. Roland Avrami: Shqiperia eshte rritur jo vetem ne centimentra
  10. Qiprioti Constantinides, trajneri i ri i kombëtares
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