Albania men's national basketball team

Albania

FIBA ranking	94 6 (15 August 2024)[1]
Joined FIBA	1947
FIBA zone	FIBA Europe
National federation	FSHB
Coach	Erkand Karaj
Nickname(s)	Kuq e Zinjtë (The Red and Blacks) Shqiponjat (The Eagles)
FIBA World Cup
Appearances	None
EuroBasket
Appearances	2 (first in 1947)
Medals	None
Home Away
First international
Italy 60–15 Albania  (Prague, Czechoslovakia; 27 April 1947)
Biggest win
Albania 112–77 Iceland  (Wolfenbüttel, West Germany; 15 May 1975)
Biggest defeat
Belgium 114–11 Albania  (Prague, Czechoslovakia; 28 April 1947)

The Albania men's national basketball team (Albanian: Kombëtarja e basketbollit të Shqipërisë) represents Albania in international basketball competitions. The national team is governed by the Albanian Basketball Association.

Albania has competed at the EuroBasket twice throughout their history, in 1947 and 1957. While the team has appeared on the continental level in the past, Albania still looks to obtain qualification to reach the FIBA World Cup.

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. Their main goals were to enable clubs to compete in national competitions, as well as to 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 on display at 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.

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. Albania's first game in a major tournament came against Italy, which was a 15–60 loss.^[2] In their next two matches, Albania would suffer heavy defeats at the hands of Belgium 114–11 and to Egypt 19–104. In the next round, Albania were placed in the lower bracket Group 3 to determine who finishes between 7th and 10th place. There, the national team were up against Romania and Austria. Albania would go on to lose 19–73 to Romania and 27–44 to Austria. The team then went on to face Yugoslavia in the final game to determine 13th and 14th place, where they would lose 13–90 to Yugoslavia to finish in last place out of 14 teams.^[3] During the tournament, Albania registered a record of (0–6), while averaging just 17.3 points per game. Their highest point tally came against Austria where they scored 27 points, which was also the match where the team had its smallest margin of defeat at 17 points. Albania conceded an average of 80.3 points per game, with their highest scoring opponent being Belgium.

Ten years after their debut tournament appearance at the Euros, Albania competed at EuroBasket 1957 in Sofia, Bulgaria. Albania were placed in Group A in the preliminary round with Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Scotland. The national team lost 57–89 to Yugoslavia in their opening match, and then went on to lose 71–37 to Czechoslovakia and 65–42 against Scotland to finish bottom of the group. During the classification round, Albania faced Turkey, Italy, Finland, Belgium, West Germany, Austria and Scotland. Albania would lose all seven games in the classification round, which sent the team toward finishing at the bottom of another EuroBasket tournament, this time out of 16 teams.^[4] Albania during the competition averaged 47.6 points per game, with their highest points tally coming against Turkey in a 64–97 defeat. Albania conceded an average of 78.4 points per game during their ten games played at the event. Despite putting up better statistical numbers than those in 1947, Albania could not manage to earn a victory at the Euros for the second consecutive tournament.

After EuroBasket 1957, Albania failed to reach a major tournament again throughout the rest of the 20th century. Although the national team did go on to attempt to qualify on numerous occasions, including for the 1972 Summer Olympics. That was where Albania competed in qualification to reach the Olympic Games for the first time. However, the team was defeated in all three of its games during qualifying to come up short.^[5] Also, during qualifying for EuroBasket 1975, where Albania put up record feats in their attempt to make it back on to the continental stage. It was where the team earned their highest margin of victory versus an opponent to that point, against Iceland 112–77; as well as earning their first three game winning streak.^[6] Although even behind heroic performances, Albania would narrowly miss out on clinching qualification.

In 2002, Albania entered a smaller competition, the 2002 European Championship for Small Countries. Albania would begin the tournament in Group A, where the team would eventually earn a (2–1) record. However, due to point differential, Albania missed out on advancing to the knockout phase and were relegated to the classification round. There, the team defeated Gibraltar, but lost to Moldova to finish the tournament in sixth place.^[7]

After achieving nearly similar results at the competition in 2004, Albania were poised to change the narrative at the 2006 tournament. The national team quickly set the tone, as they went undefeated (3–0) in the group stage to advance. In the semis, Albania won a high scoring affair against Andorra 111–101, to send the team into the final.^[8] Although the team would fall short of winning the competition, losing a tightly contested match to Azerbaijan to finish as the runners-up.^[9]

Entering qualification for EuroBasket 2017, Albania struggled to a (1–5) record during the qualifiers, picking up their lone victory against Slovakia and missing out to qualify.^[10] During the process for Albania to qualify for the 2019 FIBA World Cup, the national team went through European Pre-Qualifiers. However, Albania were overwhelmed in all four of their matches in the pre-qualifying stage, and failed to advance.^[11]

Following Albania's lost attempt to qualify for the 2019 World Cup, the team directed their attention toward EuroBasket 2022 qualifying. Although Albania would display similar results which caused the team to miss out on the World Cup, and being eliminated.^[12]

FIBA World Cup [edit] World Cup Qualification Year Position Pld W L Pld W L 1950 Did not enter Did not enter 1954 1959 1963 1967 1970 Did not qualify EuroBasket served as qualifiers 1974 1978 Did not enter Did not enter 1982 1986 Did not qualify 6 0 6 1990 Did not enter Did not enter 1994 Did not qualify EuroBasket served as qualifiers 1998 2002 Did not enter Did not enter 2006 Did not qualify EuroBasket served as qualifiers 2010 2014 2019 4 0 4 2023 6 1 5 2027 To be determined To be determined Total 0/19 16 1 15 Olympic Games [edit] Olympic Games Qualifying Year Position Pld W L Pld W L 1948 Did not enter 1952 1956 1960 Did not enter 1964 1968 1972 Did not qualify 3 0 3 1976 Did not enter Did not enter 1980 1984 1988 1992 Did not qualify 6 1 5 1996 to 2016 Did not qualify 2020 2024 2028 To be determined To be determined Total 0/20 9 1 8 Championship for Small Countries [edit] FIBA European Championship for Small Countries Year Position Pld W L 2002 6th 5 3 2 2004 5th 5 3 2 2006 5 4 1 Total 15 10 5

EuroBasket [edit] EuroBasket Qualification Year Position Pld W L Pld W L 1947 14th 6 0 6 1949 Did not enter 1951 1953 1955 1957 16th 10 0 10 1959 Did not enter 1961 1963 Did not enter 1965 1967 1969 Did not qualify 4 0 4 1971 4 1 3 1973 Did not enter Did not enter 1975 Did not qualify 5 3 2 1977 Did not enter Did not enter 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 Did not qualify 4 1 3 1993 Did not enter Did not enter 1995 Did not qualify 6 1 5 1997 5 1 4 1999 5 1 4 2001 Did not enter Did not enter 2003 2005 Division B 6 0 6 2007 Division B 8 0 8 2009 Division B 8 2 6 2011 Division B 8 0 8 2013 Did not qualify 8 0 8 2015 Did not enter Did not enter 2017 Did not qualify 6 1 5 2022 8 0 8 2025 8 1 7 Total 2/38 16 0 16 93 12 81 Mediterranean Games [edit] Mediterranean Games Year Position Pld W L 1991 8th 5 0 5 2009 6th 6 1 5 Total 11 1 10

  Win   Loss

Albania  v  Romania

19 July 2023 EuroBasket 2025 pre-qualifiers – 3rd round	Albania	83–87	Romania	Durrës, Albania
20:30 (UTC+2)	Scoring by quarter: 22–21, 20–23, 22–25, 19–18
	Pts: Lekndreaj 20 Rebs: Lekndreaj 11 Asts: Dusha 4	Boxscore	Pts: Richard 18 Rebs: Diculescu 9 Asts: Richard 8	Arena: Dhimitraq Goga Sports Palace Referees: Kerem Baki (TUR), Sergii Zashchuk (UKR), Martin Vulić (CRO)

Slovakia  v  Albania

26 July 2023 EuroBasket 2025 pre-qualifiers – 3rd round	Slovakia	86–63	Albania	Levice, Slovakia
18:00 (UTC+2)	Scoring by quarter: 30–27, 16–10, 19–3, 21–23
	Pts: Brodziansky 19 Rebs: Mokráň 9 Asts: Majerčák 3	Boxscore	Pts: Dusha 19 Rebs: Tola 7 Asts: Lekndreaj, F. Lilaj 2	Arena: Športová hala Levice Attendance: 1,300 Referees: Zafer Yılmaz (TUR), Can Mavisu (TUR), Gvidas Gedvilas (LTU)

Romania  v  Albania

29 July 2023 EuroBasket 2025 pre-qualifiers – 3rd round	Romania	72–63	Albania	Pitești, Romania
18:30 (UTC+3)	Scoring by quarter: 10–23, 26–16, 20–16, 16–8
	Pts: Popa 17 Rebs: Diculescu 9 Asts: three players 5	Boxscore	Pts: Lekndreaj 16 Rebs: Lekndreaj 11 Asts: Dusha 7	Arena: Pitești Arena Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Haris Bijedić (BIH), Petar Pešić (SRB), Nermin Hodžić (BIH)

Albania  v  Slovakia

5 August 2023 EuroBasket 2025 pre-qualifiers – 3rd round	Albania	64–89	Slovakia	Durrës, Albania
20:30 (UTC+2)	Scoring by quarter: 21–15, 13–26, 15–28, 15–20
	Pts: F. Lilaj 14 Rebs: Hamati 7 Asts: Hysa 7	Boxscore	Pts: Hlivák 20 Rebs: Mokráň, Pavelka 5 Asts: Hlivák, Majerčák 6	Arena: Dhimitraq Goga Sports Palace Attendance: 150 Referees: Martin Horozov (BUL), Özlem Yalman (TUR), Nemanja Ninković (SRB)

Armenia  v  Albania

25 February 2024 2027 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 1st round	Armenia	84–79	Albania	Yerevan, Armenia
18:00 (UTC+4)	Scoring by quarter: 24–23, 24–19, 14–17, 22–20
	Pts: Spight 31 Rebs: Tavitian 8 Asts: Jones 11	Boxscore	Pts: Lekndreaj 19 Rebs: Lilaj 10 Asts: Lekndreaj 5	Arena: Karen Demirchyan Complex Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Ciprian Stoica (ROU), Zoran Mitrovski (MKD), Emmouil Tsolakos (GRE)

Albania  v  Austria

21 November 2024 2027 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 1st round	Albania	vs.	Austria	Albania
		Boxscore

Albania  v  Armenia

20 February 2025 2027 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 1st round	Albania	vs.	Armenia	Albania
		Boxscore

Austria  v  Albania

23 February 2025 2027 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 1st round	Austria	vs.	Albania	Austria
		Boxscore

Roster for the 2027 FIBA World Cup Pre-Qualifiers match on 25 February 2024 against Armenia.^[13]

Albania men's national basketball team roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr. G 1 Marvin Prodani 21 – (2002-03-21)21 March 2002 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) Besëlidhja SF 4 Çelis Taflaj 25 – (1998-03-12)12 March 1998 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Fortitudo Bologna SF 8 Julian Hamati 31 – (1992-11-16)16 November 1992 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Besëlidhja C 1 Xhuljan Tola 20 – (2003-06-21)21 June 2003 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) Charilaos Trikoupis PG 10 Klein Strazimiri 25 – (1998-04-22)22 April 1998 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) Tirana C 11 Xhersido Hajdari 21 – (2002-04-04)4 April 2002 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in) Kamza PG 12 Elvisi Dusha 29 – (1994-07-15)15 July 1994 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) Plymouth City G/F 13 Daniel Lekndreaj 26 – (1997-11-16)16 November 1997 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) Vëllaznimi C 14 Endrit Hysenagolli (C) 35 – (1988-07-05)5 July 1988 2.10 m (6 ft 11 in) Tirana F/C 21 Frenki Lilaj 25 – (1998-02-26)26 February 1998 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) Belfast Star SG 22 Eldi Hysa 24 – (1999-08-30)30 August 1999 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) Besëlidhja SG 23 Elian Memçaj 21 – (2002-03-06)6 March 2002 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) Teuta	Head coach Erkand Karaj Assistant coach(es) Aldi Germau Glen Prodani Legend (C) Team captain Club – describes last club before the competition Age – describes age on 25 February 2024

1947 EuroBasket: finished 14th among 14 teams

3 Muntaz Peshkopia, 4 Naim Pilku, 5 Bajram Kurani, 6 Çerçiz Zavalani, 7 Dilaver Toptani, 8 Ferdin Toptani, 9 Vlash Koljaka,
10 Dhimitraq Goga (Coach: Naim Pilku)

1957 EuroBasket: finished 16th among 16 teams

3 Ilo Teneqexhi, 4 Feti Borova, 5 Dhimitraq Goga, 6 Kiço Gjata, 7 Ferdinand Qirici, 8 Muhamet Përmeti, 9 Fatmir Meka,
10 Muhamet Sokoli, 11 Salvador Sotiri, 12 Muhamet Moursakou, 13 Jorgji Çako (Coach: Naim Pilku)

• Sport in Albania
• Albania women's national basketball team
• Albania men's national under-20 basketball team
• Albania men's national under-18 basketball team
• Albania men's national under-16 basketball team

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Albania men's national basketball team.

• Official website (in Albanian)
• Albania FIBA profile
• Albania National Team – Men at Eurobasket.com
• Albania Basketball Records at FIBA Archive