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Kosovo men's national basketball team

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

Kosovo
FIBA ranking76 Decrease 2 (26 November 2024)[1]
Joined FIBA2015
FIBA zoneFIBA Europe
National federationFederata e Basketbollit të Kosovës (FBK)
CoachJean-Denys Choulet
Nickname(s)Dardanët (Dardanians)
FIBA World Cup
AppearancesNone
EuroBasket
AppearancesNone
First international
 Slovenia 113–68 Kosovo 
(Ljubljana, Slovenia; 31 August 2016)
Biggest win
 Kosovo 76–49 Switzerland 
(Prizren, Kosovo; 19 July 2023)
Biggest defeat
 Lithuania 106–50 Kosovo 
(Klaipėda, Lithuania; 26 February 2018)

The Kosovo men's national basketball team (Albanian: Kombëtarja e basketbollit të meshkujve të Kosovës, Serbian: Кошаркашкa репрезентација Косова, romanized: Košarkaška reprezentacija Kosova) represents Kosovo in international basketball. They are controlled by the Basketball Federation of Kosovo, the governing body for basketball in Kosovo. Kosovo has been a member of FIBA since 13 March 2015.[2]

History

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Pre-independence

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The Basketball Federation of Kosovo was founded in 1991. During the Yugoslavian era, Kosovo had its own Superleague and lower divisions, in both genders. In the 1990s, Kosovo declared political and sports independence from the Yugoslav system, organising its own league, based on different teams from seven major cities of Kosovo. Some basketball players from Kosovo, especially Kosovo Serbs and Gorani, participated as part of the Serbia and Montenegro and Serbia national teams, while some Kosovo Albanians chose to represent Albania. In 2005, the Kosovo national team participated in a friendly tournament in Alexandria where they played against Egypt and Romania.[3] The roster included names like Artan Mehmeti, Edmond Azemi, Ersid Ljuca, Samir Shaptahu, Florian Miftari, Mujo Thaçi, Naim Haxha, Granit Rugova, Blerim Mazreku, Edis Kuraja and Valdet Grapci.[3] Coached by Bujar Loci and Mark Rodiqi, Kosovo surprisingly won both games.[3] The national team played numerous friendlies with Albania known as the Brotherly derby.

After independence

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Kosovo were not allowed to play international matches, not even friendlies by FIBA, until 2015, when the Basketball Federation of Kosovo became an official member of FIBA and FIBA Europe. Kosovo took part in EuroBasket qualification for the first time in 2017.[4] On 31 August 2016, Kosovo played their first official international match against Slovenia during the EuroBasket 2017 qualifiers.[5]

A year later, the national team achieved their first ever win on 2 August 2017 by defeating Macedonia 72–68 in their first match during the 2019 FIBA World Cup European Pre-Qualifiers.[6] After the win, Kosovo would pick up one more victory during the Pre-Qualifiers, against Estonia 75–69 to finish with a (2–2) record to advance to the first round of World Cup qualifying.[7] In the next round, Kosovo would eventually see their World Cup hopes vanish, as the team went winless before being eliminated.[8] Despite all of that they maintain to reach the second qualifying round in their debut participation, reaching the round of 32 best Basketball teams in Europe.[9]

After missing out on reaching the 2019 FIBA World Cup, Kosovo went through pre-qualifiers in order to reach EuroBasket 2022. However, the team would only compile a (2–8) record during the pre-qualifying process to be unable to advance.[10]

Competitive record

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Results and fixtures

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Further information: Kosovo men's national basketball team results (2020–present)

  Win   Loss

2024

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22 February Kosovo  83–76  Ireland Pristina, Kosovo
19:00 (UTC+1) Scoring by quarter: 22–17, 23–21, 20–19, 18–19
Pts: Hajrizi 20
Rebs: Hajrizi 9
Asts: Tmušić 6 		Boxscore Pts: Blount 27
Rebs: Blount 13
Asts: Badmus 4 		Arena: Palace of Youth and Sports
Attendance: 2,500
Referees: Ali Şakacı (TUR), Jan Baloun (CZE), Edgard Ceccarelli (FRA)
25 February Azerbaijan  87–77  Kosovo Baku, Azerbaijan
14:00 (UTC+4) Scoring by quarter: 19–19, 24–25, 16–16, 28–17
Pts: Aydın 27
Rebs: Hall 14
Asts: Shirzadov 6 		Boxscore Pts: Berisha 20
Rebs: Kapiti 6
Asts: Mala 6 		Arena: Sarkhadchi Sport Center
Attendance: 2,400
Referees: Andžej Urbanovič (LTU), Ritvars Helmšteins (LAT), Viktor Nagy (HUN)
21 November Switzerland  75–43  Kosovo Bern, Switzerland
19:30 (UTC+1) Scoring by quarter: 14–12, 22–6, 20–22, 19–3
Pts: Mbala 15
Rebs: Mbala 12
Asts: Fofana, Kazadi 4 		Boxscore Pts: Tmušić 9
Rebs: Morina 8
Asts: Morina 4 		Arena: Mobiliar Arena
Attendance: 585
Referees: Joaquin García (ESP), Łukasz Jankowski (POL), Domen Krajnc (SVN)
24 November Ireland  91–85  Kosovo Dublin, Ireland
17:00 (UTC±0) Scoring by quarter: 24–14, 18–25, 31–21, 18–27
Pts: Quinn 23
Rebs: Quinn 10
Asts: Blount 8 		Boxscore Pts: Berisha 15
Rebs: Ukaj 8
Asts: Armstead 9 		Arena: National Basketball Arena
Attendance: 1,800
Referees: Ritvars Helmšteins (LAT), Martin Van Hoye (BEL), Alexandre Maret (FRA)

2025

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20 February Kosovo  vs.  Azerbaijan Kosovo
Boxscore
23 February Kosovo  vs.   Switzerland Kosovo
Boxscore

Team

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Current roster

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The following is the Kosovo roster called up for the 2027 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers first round matches against Switzerland and Ireland, on 21 and 24 February 2024.[11]

Kosovo men's national basketball team roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr.
G 0 Dominic Artis 31 – (1993-07-07)7 July 1993 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) SIG Strasbourg France
G 1 Arti Hajdari 31 – (1993-05-12)12 May 1993 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Peja Kosovo
G 2 Malcolm Armstead 35 – (1989-08-01)1 August 1989 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) Ylli Kosovo
C 3 Dardan Kapiti 24 – (2000-03-22)22 March 2000 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) Trepça Kosovo
G 4 Musab Malaj 27 – (1996-11-17)17 November 1996 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) Peja Kosovo
C 6 Gëzim Morina 31 – (1992-12-12)12 December 1992 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) Ylli Kosovo
G 7 Mikaile Tmušić 31 – (1993-01-06)6 January 1993 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) Trepça Kosovo
F 9 Rron Ukaj 24 – (2000-09-10)10 September 2000 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Peja Kosovo
F 10 Arian Çallakaj 32 – (1992-07-09)9 July 1992 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) Ylli Kosovo
G 11 Dardan Berisha (C) 35 – (1988-11-15)15 November 1988 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Peja Kosovo
G 17 Norik Binqe 19 – (2005-10-25)25 October 2005 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) Bora Kosovo
F 21 Samir Zekiqi 29 – (1995-01-23)23 January 1995 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Bashkimi Prizren Kosovo
F 22 Meriton Ismaili 24 – (2000-04-03)3 April 2000 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Bashkimi Prizren Kosovo
F 23 Muhamedali Janjeva 26 – (1998-01-28)28 January 1998 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) Prishtina Kosovo
C 24 Lis Shoshi 30 – (1994-06-29)29 June 1994 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) Ylli Kosovo
F 28 Erjon Kastrati 29 – (1994-12-30)30 December 1994 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) Trepça Kosovo
G 33 Jon Ismajli 18 – (2005-12-23)23 December 2005 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Prishtina Kosovo
G 66 Valon Bunjaku 26 – (1998-01-02)2 January 1998 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) Bashkimi Prizren Kosovo
F Eliot Peci 20 – (2004-04-27)27 April 2004 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) Prishtina Kosovo
Head coach
  • France Jean-Denys Choulet
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Club – describes last club
    before the competition
  • Age – describes age,
    on 29 October 2024

Depth chart

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As of 30 June 2022
Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2
C Fisnik Rugova Samir Zekiqi
PF Muhamedali Janjeva Gëzim Morina
SF Drilon Hajrizi Rron Ukaj Meriton Ismaili
SG Dardan Berisha Ardit Pepaj
PG Amin Hot Altin Morina

Head coach history

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No. Name Period Record
1 Kosovo Arben Krasniqi 2011–2017 0–6
2 United States Brad Greenberg 2017–2018 2–8
3 CroatiaBosnia and Herzegovina Damir Mulaomerović 2018–2019 1–7
4 Greece Christos Marmarinos 2020–2023 3–7
5 Israel Rami Hadar 2023–2024 3–3
6 France Jean-Denys Choulet 2024–present 0–0

Retired numbers

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No. Player Position Tenure Date of retirement Ref
15 Gazmend Sinani Center 2016–2018 25 June 2018 (2018-06-25) [12]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 26 November 2024. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Kosovo becomes 215th National Member Federation of FIBA". FIBA. 13 March 2015. Archived from the original on 15 March 2015.
  3. ^ a b c "EKSKLUZIVE: RETRO ASIST – ALEKSANDRIA 2005" (in Albanian). Asisti Online. 28 April 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  4. ^ "Kosova në kualifikimet për Eurobasket 2017" [Kosovo in qualifications for Eurobasket 2017] (in Albanian). Telegrafi. 22 October 2015.
  5. ^ "Kosovo during the EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers". Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  6. ^ "Fitore e madhe e Kosovës ndaj Maqedonisë" [Biggest win of Kosovo against Macedonia] (in Albanian). Basketball Federation of Kosovo. 3 August 2017. Archived from the original on 25 June 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2017. Kosova të mërkurën mbrëma në Pallatin e Rinisë dhe Sporteve në Prishtinë para rreth 2000 shikuesve e ka mposhtur Maqedoninë me rezultat 72:68 (23:11, 17:9, 15:23, 17:25)
  7. ^ "Kosovo during the 2019 FIBA World Cup European Pre-Qualifiers". Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  8. ^ "Kosovo during the 2019 FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers". Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  9. ^ "Federata e Basketbollit të Kosovës".
  10. ^ "Kosovo during the EuroBasket 2022 Pre-Qualifiers". Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  11. ^ "Lista e gjerë e Kosovës" [Extensive list of Kosovo] (in Albanian). Basketball Federation of Kosovo. 29 October 2024.
  12. ^ "Fanella me numër 15 e Përfaqësueses së Kosovës pensionohet me emrin e Gazmend Sinanit" [Kit with number 15 of Kosovo national team retired with name of Gazmend Sinani] (in Albanian). Basketball Federation of Kosovo. 25 June 2018. Fanella me numër 15 e Përfaqësueses së Kosovës në basketboll do të pensionohet me emrin e basketbollistit Gazmend Sinani, i cili e humbi jetën në një aksident rrugor në orët e hershme të mëngjesit të së shtunës në Gjakovë
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