Prometey leaving Ukraine ahead of a possible Russian invasion / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: FIBA Media Credit FIBA Media

Ukrainian first-division club Prometey have decided re-locate their men's and women's teams to the Czech Republic and Bulgaria respectively, club president Volodymyr Dubinsky announced via his Facebook page.

Prometey, currently competing in the FIBA Basketball Champions League TOP 16 and presenting a 2-0 balance, will be staying away from their home country for fear of a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine.

For the time being and as Dubinsky wrote, the re-location period is expected to last 2 weeks, in which time the men's team will be preparing for BCL games, while the women's team for Eurocup contests.

Prometey president appeared hopeful that diplomacy will provide a solution to the political dead-end between Russia and Ukraine and pointed out that the Ukrainian champs will be able to host Cluj-Napoca on March 3rd in Kyiv, as scheduled, provided that the situation becomes more stable.

This is what Volodymyr Dubinsky wrote on Facebook:

"An hour ago, we had a meeting related to the situation around a possible armed escalation on the part of Russia and the departure of foreign players from the club.

This morning, my phone was constantly ringing, due to new statements from the American Embassy and other embassies about the immediate evacuation of their citizens from Ukraine within the next 48 hours. All the agents called the players and sent alarming letters to the club.

We understand the concerns of all our players, as well as of every employee, close member of family, or friend. We can't panic at this time and we need to be as united as possible.

Secondly, I and all my family members, including children and parents, are not going anywhere and are not running away, because we are sure everything will be fine.

Regarding the decisions made at Prometey BC, we had this meeting, where we listened to the head coach, the captain, and the foreign players and then to the general director and the President of the club, namely myself.

We decided that due to the week-long break in the Super League for the games of the national team and the really difficult situation in Ukraine at the moment, the team will play tomorrow vs. BK Cherkasy Monkeys and on Monday it will fly out to the Czech Republic for a two-week training camp. There we will prepare for the upcoming games in the Champions League.

This is our number one priority right now. All our foreign and Ukrainian players expressed their full support for the club and their desire to continue with Prometey BC. No one plans to terminate their contracts with the club and everyone wants to win the next Champions League games in order for the team to qualify for the quarter-finals of the most prestigious tournament in Europe.

I am happy that the club has once again confirmed its unity and proved that we are one big family. Of course, everyone is worried, but we are optimistic about the future.

I am sure that everything will end in a diplomatic way and that by February 23 we will breathe a sigh of relief and everything will be as before. I hope and I'm confident that on March 3, in Kyiv we will hold our next BCL game.

The club's woman team, in preparation for the final games in the FIBA Europe Cup, also plans to fly a two-week training camp in Bulgaria on Monday, our American Legion Holmes and Atkins will join the club in Bulgaria and the entire team will be preparing for the challenging matches."

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