The Cyprus men's national basketball team ( el, Εθνική ομάδα μπάσκετ της Κύπρου) represents
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...
in international
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
, and is controlled by the
Cyprus Basketball Federation. The national team is coached by Christophoros Livadiotis.
Cyprus joined
FIBA
The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its nam ...
in 1974, where the team has mostly competed in smaller competitions such as the
Games of the Small States of Europe
The Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE) is a biennial multi-sport event, launched by the Republic of San Marino, organized by and featuring the National Olympic Committees of nine European small states since 1985. The Games are held at ...
, winning it nine times. However, Cyprus will make their debut at the top continental competition,
EuroBasket
EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the ...
, as co-hosts in
2025
Predicted and scheduled events
*January 1
** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1929 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law.
** The American FAA will have been imp ...
.
History
Cyprus 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. 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
The FIBA European Championship for Small Countries is the lowest-ranked tier of the biennial FIBA EuroBasket competition, organized by FIBA Europe
FIBA Europe is the administrative body for basketball in Europe, within the International Basketba ...
, while also taking home one bronze, two silver, and nine gold medals at the
Games of the Small States of Europe
The Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE) is a biennial multi-sport event, launched by the Republic of San Marino, organized by and featuring the National Olympic Committees of nine European small states since 1985. The Games are held at ...
.
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
EuroBasket 2017 was the 40th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe and held between 31 August and 17 September 2017. Beginning from 2017, the continental championships take place every four years with a similar ...
, Cyprus was placed into
Group A
Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived vehicles intended for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles w ...
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.
Cyrus took part in qualifying for
EuroBasket 2022
The EuroBasket 2022 was the 41st edition of the EuroBasket championship organized by FIBA Europe. It was the first since it was agreed it would take place every four years, with a similar system of qualification as for the FIBA Basketball World C ...
, and was drawn into
Group C
Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with '' Group A'' for touring cars and '' Group B'' for GTs.
It was designed to replace both Group 5 special production cars (closed top t ...
for the first round of pre-qualifiers. The first test for the national team was against
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal:
:* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...
, 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
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small land ...
. 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
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, and
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
. 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. After failing to qualify for EuroBasket 2022, Cyprus went through
European Pre-Qualifiers for the
2023 FIBA World Cup
The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup will be the 19th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams. The tournament will be the second to feature 32 teams. For the first time in its history, the World Cup will be h ...
. However, they finished (1–5) during the first round to be eliminated.
In March 2022, Cyprus finally qualified for the EuroBasket, by being awarded one of the co-hosts for the group stage at
EuroBasket 2025
The EuroBasket 2025 will be the 42nd edition of the EuroBasket championship, the quadrennial international men's basketball championship organized by FIBA Europe.
Like the previous three editions, the tournament will be co-hosted by multiple count ...
. Matches will be played at the
Spyros Kyprianou Athletic Center in
Limassol
Limassol (; el, Λεμεσός, Lemesós ; tr, Limasol or ) is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the district with the same name. Limassol is the second largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population ...
.
Competitive record
FIBA World Cup
Olympic Games
Games of the Small States of Europe
EuroBasket
Championship for Small Countries
Team
Current roster
Roster for the
EuroBasket 2025 Pre-Qualifiers matches on 10 and 13 November 2022 against
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...
and
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...
.
Depth chart
Head coach position
*
Christos Stylianidis – (2007–2011)
*
Antonis Konstantinides – (2012)
*
Panagiotis Yiannaras – (2013–2017)
*
Linos Gavriel
Pantelis "Linos" Gavriel (in Greek: Λίνος Γαβριήλ; born 1975) is a Cypriot-Greek professional basketball coach. He is the head coach of Manama Club since his re-hiring in 2023.
Gavriel has been successful in Bahrain, Cyprus, Tun ...
– (2017–2021)
*
Michael Matsentides – (2022 ''Interim'')
*
Christophoros Livadiotis – (2022–present)
Results and fixtures
2021
2022
2023
Kit
Manufacturer
*2012–2015:
Champion
A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, ...
*2015–2018:
LEGEA
Legea (stylised as LEGEA) is an Italian sportswear company, founded in 1993 by brothers Giovanni, Emilia and Luigi Acanfora. It is one of the most popular brands among Italian amateur football teams, then expanding to professional clubs.
Legea i ...
*2019–present:
Caan Athletics
See also
*
Sport in Cyprus
Cyprus, due to its population and size, has modest international sporting achievements. Most sports are governed by associations under the umbrella of the Cyprus Sport Organisation ( el, Κυπριακός Οργανισμός Αθλητισμού ...
*
Cyprus women's national basketball team
*
*
*
Cyprus men's national under-16 basketball team
Notes
References
External links
Official websiteCyprus FIBA profileCyprus National Team – Menat Eurobasket.com
at FIBA Archive
Videos
Cyprus v Iceland - Highlights - FIBA EuroBasket 2017 QualifiersYoutube.com video
{{National sports teams of Cyprus
Basketball in Cyprus
National basketball teams, Cyprus
Men's national basketball teams
Basketball national team, Cyprus
1974 establishments in Cyprus