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Luxembourg men's national basketball team

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Luxembourg
FIBA ranking75 Increase 3 (15 August 2024)[1]
Joined FIBA1946
FIBA zoneFIBA Europe
National federationLuxembourg Basketball Federation (FLBB)
CoachKen Diederich
FIBA World Cup
AppearancesNone
EuroBasket
Appearances3
MedalsNone
Championship for Small Countries
Appearances5
MedalsSilver Silver: (1992, 2004)
Bronze Bronze: (1990)
Games of the Small States of Europe
Appearances17
MedalsGold Gold: (2023)
Silver Silver: (1985, 1991, 1995, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2019)
Bronze Bronze: (1993, 2003, 2005, 2015)
First international
 Poland 45–28 Luxembourg 
(Geneva, Switzerland; 30 April 1946)
Biggest win
 Luxembourg 99–44 San Marino 
(Serravalle, San Marino; 1 June 2017)
Biggest defeat
 Greece 119–46 Luxembourg 
(Vevey, Switzerland; 10 May 1980)

The Luxembourg men's national basketball team (Luxembourgish: Lëtzebuergesch Basketballnationalequipe, French: Équipe du Luxembourg de basketball, German: Luxemburgische Basketballnationalmannschaft) represents Luxembourg in international basketball tournaments. They are controlled by the Luxembourg Basketball Federation.

Luxembourg has competed at the EuroBasket three times, in 1946, 1951, and 1955. Their best result was an eighth place finish at their first appearance at the competition in 1946. However, the national team has yet to qualify to compete at the FIBA World Cup.

History

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EuroBasket 1946

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Luxembourg appeared in their first international event at EuroBasket 1946 in Geneva. After being placed in Group A for the preliminary round, the national team would play in their first ever match against Poland, where the team would lose 45–28.[2] Following the defeat, Luxembourg went on to lose their next two matches against Hungary and Italy, which ultimately dropped the team into the classification phase of the tournament. There, Luxembourg captured their first ever victory against England 27–50.[3] With only one game remaining for Luxembourg, the team would finish out the competition with a loss against Belgium, to end the tournament eighth out of the ten teams overall.[4]

EuroBasket 1951

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After not entering the competition in 1947 and 1949, Luxembourg made their way back to the continental stage at EuroBasket 1951 in Paris. Luxembourg's first match of the tournament was against the host France, which resulted in a demoralising defeat for the national team 72–26.[5] Ensuing the tough loss for Luxembourg, were four straight defeats for the team, to relegate them into a must win elimination game for the right to advance into the classification rounds. Luxembourg, however, would lose in a tightly contested match 45–46 against Denmark to be eliminated.[6]

EuroBasket 1955

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A match against Netherlands in 1959.

Following Luxembourg's dismal performance at the EuroBasket in 1951, the national team declined to enter the event in 1953, instead looked toward EuroBasket 1955 in Budapest to make amends. After a disastrous first game in the preliminary round, which saw Luxembourg completely dominated by the Soviet Union, the team was narrowly defeated in their second match against Sweden 54–53.[7] However, in Luxembourg's final two matches of the preliminary phase, the team struggled to build upon their game against Sweden; and were relegated toward the classification rounds at a record of (0–5).

Entering the classification round, Luxembourg dropped their first match against Turkey, before earning their first win of the tournament against Denmark 46–31.[8] Luxembourg would eventually go on to pickup two more victories, both against Sweden to end the tournament 15th out of the 18 teams at the event.[9]

Poland v Luxembourg during a EuroBasket 2015 qualifier.

Subsequent years

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After Luxembourg's last appearance at the EuroBasket in 1951, the national team endured numerous failed qualifying cycles in order to make it back to the EuroBasket. However, Luxembourg eventually achieved success competing at smaller competitions such as the European Championship for Small Countries and the Games of the Small States of Europe.

Entering qualification for Luxembourg to reach EuroBasket 2017, the team struggled toward a (1–5) record during the process to being eliminated.[10] After Luxembourg's missed opportunity to qualify for the 2017 tournament, the team was tasked with going through Pre-Qualifiers with a chance to qualify for EuroBasket 2022. Luxembourg would get off to a slow start during the first round of pre-qualifiers, losing their first three matches before picking up a needed win on the road against Cyprus 89–76.[11] With a record of (1–3), Luxembourg's path of advancing took a detour, as the team was relegated to the third and final phase of pre-qualifiers. There, Luxembourg would only win one game during that qualifying window (1–3), at home against Kosovo 88–80 and failing to advance.[12]

For Luxembourg's process to qualify for the 2023 FIBA World Cup, the national team took part in European Pre-Qualifiers, where they went (2–4) in the first round; and were initially eliminated. Although due to Austria withdrawing from qualification, Luxembourg were next inline to replace them.[13] Entering the second and final phase of World Cup European pre-qualifiers, Luxembourg's qualification campaign officially came to a close, after posting an (0–4) record during the round.[14]

Competitive record

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Results and fixtures

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  Win   Loss

2023

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22 July 2023 Croatia  98–62  Luxembourg Opatija, Croatia
20:00 (UTC+2) Scoring by quarter: 31–14, 26–20, 23–12, 18–16
Pts: Kapusta, Prkačin 16
Rebs: Branković, Mazalin 6
Asts: Badžim 6
Boxscore Pts: Laurent 18
Rebs: Laurent, Rugg 9
Asts: Grün, Gutenkauf 4
Arena: Sportska dvorana Marino Cvetković
Attendance: 600
Referees: Paulo Marques (POR), Geert Jacobs (BEL), Ivor Matějek (CZE)
26 July 2023 Luxembourg  76–96  Ireland Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
20:15 (UTC+2) Scoring by quarter: 21–23, 16–17, 22–30, 17–26
Pts: Laurent 16
Rebs: Rugg 8
Asts: Delgado 5
Boxscore Pts: Badmus, Igiehon 20
Rebs: Alajiki 13
Asts: Quinn 3
Arena: d'Coque
Attendance: 1,413
Referees: Aleksandar Glišić (SRB), Mihkel Männiste (EST), Vladimir Jevtović (SRB)
2 August 2023 Luxembourg  79–91  Croatia Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
20:15 (UTC+2) Scoring by quarter: 12–25, 25–25, 18–24, 24–17
Pts: Laurent 13
Rebs: Rugg 7
Asts: Kovac 4
Boxscore Pts: Perković 23
Rebs: Ljubičić 7
Asts: Kapusta 9
Arena: d'Coque
Attendance: 1,650
Referees: Can Mavisu (TUR), Geert Jacobs (BEL), Alexandre Deman (FRA)
5 August 2023 Ireland  79–76  Luxembourg Dublin, Ireland
19:30 (UTC+1) Scoring by quarter: 29–20, 12–23, 18–20, 20–13
Pts: Blount, Fulton 16
Rebs: Blount 14
Asts: Blount 6
Boxscore Pts: Rugg 27
Rebs: Rugg 12
Asts: Gutenkauf, Rugg 3
Arena: National Basketball Arena
Attendance: 3,000
Referees: Antonio Conde (ESP), Emmanouil Tsolakos (GRE), Hrvoje Čavar (BIH)

2024

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22 February 2024 Romania  72–760(OT)  Luxembourg Cluj-Napoca, Romania
19:00 (UTC+2) Scoring by quarter: 20–17, 19–10, 16–11, 12–29Overtime: 5–9
Pts: Cățe 25
Rebs: Girbea 11
Asts: Tohătan 5
Boxscore Pts: Kovac, Logelin 15
Rebs: Rugg, Vujaković 9
Asts: Kreps 3
Arena: BTarena
Attendance: 3,006
Referees: Mehmet Şahin (TUR), Nemanja Ninković (SRB), Josip Mikulić (CRO)
25 February 2024 Luxembourg  58–72  Norway Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
17:00 (UTC+1) Scoring by quarter: 9–24, 23–19, 20–8, 6–21
Pts: Rugg 22
Rebs: Vujaković 10
Asts: Rugg 3
Boxscore Pts: Frey 23
Rebs: Berg 10
Asts: Frey 6
Arena: d'Coque
Attendance: 1,800
Referees: Łukasz Jankowski (POL), Armin Mutapcic (GER), Martin van Hoye (BEL)

2025

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Team

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Current roster

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Roster for the 2027 FIBA World Cup Pre-Qualifiers matches on 22 and 25 February 2024 against Romania and Norway.[15][16]

Luxembourg men's national basketball team roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr.
G/F 1 Malcolm Kreps 22 – (2001-10-11)11 October 2001 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Den Helder Netherlands
PG 6 Max Logelin 20 – (2003-06-17)17 June 2003 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) Sparta Luxembourg
PG 7 Philippe Gutenkauf 28 – (1995-04-11)11 April 1995 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) Etzella Luxembourg
G/F 8 Thomas Grün 28 – (1995-02-28)28 February 1995 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Esch Luxembourg
F 11 Alex Laurent 30 – (1993-06-06)6 June 1993 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Amicale Luxembourg
F/C 12 Joe Kalmes 28 – (1995-11-24)24 November 1995 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Dudelange Luxembourg
F 13 Ben Kovac 24 – (2000-02-20)20 February 2000 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) Patrioti Levice Slovakia
PF 15 Oliver Vujaković 27 – (1996-12-05)5 December 1996 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Résidence Luxembourg
SG 23 Christopher Jack 25 – (1998-06-26)26 June 1998 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Dudelange Luxembourg
F/C 31 Clancy Rugg 32 – (1991-09-22)22 September 1991 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Esch Luxembourg
G/F 71 Ivor Kuresević 20 – (2003-05-02)2 May 2003 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) Vienna Timberwolves Austria
G 77 Ivan Delgado 25 – (1998-11-16)16 November 1998 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Yoast United Netherlands
Head coach
  • Luxembourg Ken Diederich
Assistant coach(es)
  • Luxembourg Pierre Paul
  • Luxembourg Pit Rodenbourg
  • Croatia Denis Toroman
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Club – describes last
    club before the competition
  • Age – describes age
    on 22 February 2024

Depth chart

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Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2
C Clancy Rugg Oliver Vujaković
PF Ben Kovac Joe Kalmes
SF Alex Laurent Malcolm Kreps Christopher Jack
SG Thomas Grün Ivan Delgado Ivor Kuresević
PG Philippe Gutenkauf Max Logelin

Head coach position

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  • Hungary Ferenc Haris – (1989–1991)
  • United States Rick Brooks – (1991–1993)
  • United States Doug Marty – (1993–1996)
  • United States Steve Hebold – (1996–2002)[17]
  • United States Don Beck – (2002)[18]
  • United States Paul Brown – (2002–2003)
  • Germany Hermann Paar – (2003–2005)
  • Croatia Krešimir Bašić – (2005–2007)[19]
  • Germany Carsten Steiner – (2008–2009)[20]
  • Germany Frank Baum – (2010–2013)
  • Germany Karsten Schul – (2013–2014)
  • France Franck Mériguet – (2014–2015)
  • Luxembourg Ken Diederich – (2015–present)

Past rosters

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1946 EuroBasket: finished 8th among 10 teams

3 Alfred Achen, 4 René Bicheler, 5 René Colling, 6 Henri Heyart, 7 Pierre Kelsen, 8 Eugene Kohn, 9 Léon Konsbruck, 10 Joseph Linck, 11 Gaston Poncin, 12 Roger Scheuren (Coach: Henri Heyart)


1951 EuroBasket: finished 17th among 18 teams

3 Guy Neumann, 4 Mathias Steffen, 5 Xander Frantz, 6 Fernand Schmalen, 7 Roger Dentzer, 8 Joseph Eyschen, 9 Marcel Gales, 10 Mathias Birel, 11 Jean Guillen, 12 Pierre Steinmetz, 13 Léon Konsbruck, 14 René Haas, 15 Ley, 25 Paul Linster (Coach: Pierrot Conter)


1955 EuroBasket: finished 15th among 18 teams

3 Pierre Steinmetz, 4 Mathias Birel, 5 Fernand Wolter, 6 Joseph Lettal, 7 Paul Kemp, 8 Fernand Schmalen, 9 John Kieffer, 10 Marcel Simon, 11 Florent Lickes, 12 Gust Scharle, 13 Albert Meyers, 14 Jean Christophory (Coach: Pierre Kelsen)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 15 August 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Poland v Luxembourg – EuroBasket 1946 game results". Archive.fiba.com. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  3. ^ "England v Luxembourg – EuroBasket 1946 game results". Archive.fiba.com. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  4. ^ "EuroBasket 1946 tournament results". Archive.fiba.com. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  5. ^ "France v Luxembourg – EuroBasket 1951 game results". Archive.fiba.com. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  6. ^ "EuroBasket 1951 tournament results". Archive.fiba.com. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  7. ^ "Sweden v Luxembourg – EuroBasket 1955 game results". Archive.fiba.com. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  8. ^ "Luxembourg v Denmark – EuroBasket 1955 game results". Archive.fiba.com. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  9. ^ "EuroBasket 1955 tournament results". Archive.fiba.com. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  10. ^ "Luxembourg during the EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers". Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  11. ^ "Luxembourg stun Cyprus in Nicosia". Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  12. ^ "Luxembourg during the EuroBasket 2022 Pre-Qualifiers". Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  13. ^ "Luxembourg enter FIBA World Cup 2023 European Pre-Qualifiers Second Round". Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  14. ^ "Luxembourg during the 2023 FIBA World Cup European Pre-Qualifiers". Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  15. ^ "Luxembourg will be challenged in Romania on Thursday". Luxembourg Will be Challenged in Romania on Thursday - Fédération Luxembourgeoise de Basket Ball FLBB. .luxembourg.basketball. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  16. ^ "Luxembourg during the 2027 FIBA World Cup European Pre-Qualifiers in February 2024". Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  17. ^ "Historique du Basketball luxembourgeois". AABBL - Association des Anciens du Basketball Luxembourgeois (in French). Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  18. ^ "Ehemaliger FLBB-Coach wird Alex Laurents Trainer". Luxemburger Wort (in German). 11 May 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  19. ^ "Nouveau Headcoach Senior Hommes". Fédération Luxembourgeoise de Basket Ball (in French). Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  20. ^ "Nationaltrainer Steiner wirft das Handtuch". luxemburger-wort-online (in German). 30 October 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
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