Armenian Basketball

[Armanen]

Re: Armenians Basketball

The team in the 1980s (if not earlier) included Armenian, Russian and Ukrainian players. Today along with players from Armenia and Ukraine it also has members from Serbia, Croatia, USA, Georgia and Jamaica.

Today the team is made up of team captain Bojana Vulic (Serbia), Iva Serdar (Croatia), Natia Abuladze (Georgia), Anna Pokoyeva (Ukraine), Satenik Martirosyan (Armenia), Julianne Viani (USA), Maurita Reid (Jamaica), Natia Putkaradze (Georgia), Anna Baghdoyan (Armenia), Ani Petrosyan (Armenia), Tatevik Aleksanyan (Armenia), Hasmik Mikaelyan (Armenia), Anna Zaritska (Ukraine).

Head coach is Gia Ghazanchyan.

Thanks for the info Catharsis. It's good to see that most of the players are ethnic Armenians, it means we have talent at home which we should continue to cultivate.

[Catharsis]

Re: Armenians Basketball

Thanks for the info Catharsis. It's good to see that most of the players are ethnic Armenians, it means we have talent at home which we should continue to cultivate.

Indeed Armanen, we have very good Armenian players, while players like Vulic, Serdar, Pokoyeva and others bring a lot of good experience that will resonate to all the team players.

[Icy]

Re: Armenians Basketball

Indeed Armanen, we have very good Armenian players, while players like Vulic, Serdar, Pokoyeva and others bring a lot of good experience that will resonate to all the team players.

I wish the same could be said about Armenia's
national football team.

[Catharsis]

Re: Armenians Basketball

I wish the same could be said about Armenia's
national football team.

Yes, today it seems far fetched that in the 1970s our national football (soccer) team was one of the best in Europe. I hope we can restore that glory.

[Haykakan]

Re: Armenian Basketball

The best players on the girls bb team are the non Armenians (the serb is HOT!!) while our football nt is almost all Armenian with the exception of one guy who is not its best player. I think our football team has a good future to look forward to, we have a lot of youngsters coming into their own plus some good armenian talent coming from the international arena. Should the Armenian coach to whome a contracted has been presented by the ffa accept the contract then we will finely have a good coach to (rip Porterfield). The combination of good players and a good coach is a wining one so i hope to see good results in the next euros.

[Federate]

Re: Armenian Basketball

Basketball Boom: Hatis game sells out in advance of rematch with Greeks

All tickets for an upcoming Euro League basketball game featuring a revived Yerevan club have been sold out, and there is still a demand for more, an Armenian basketball boss said at a press conference Wednesday.

“We even asked the staff at the Mika sport hall, the venue of the game, to provide an additional 250 chairs (in addition to already unavailable 1,160). But this still may prove not enough for all who wish to attend as the interest in the game is very high,” said Hrach Rostomyan, the Basketball Federation president.

Hatis Yerevan (women’s) Basketball Club is hosting Sony Athinaikos from Greece in a Group F game in Yerevan Thursday late afternoon. According to Rustamyan, tickets priced 2,000 (or a little more than $5) had been sold out still before December 1, three days before the game.

Hatis’s first home game in Yerevan last month also proved a gate crasher and the Yerevan club (including players from Serbia, Croatia, Georgia, Ukraine and even the United States and Jamaica) did not fail to deliver, beating visitors from Russia.

The victory was followed by a signal success in an away game against Besiktas in Turkey.

The Hatis players devoted their 87-64 victory over the Turkish club in Istanbul to the memory of the victims of the 1915 Genocide of Armenians, according to Rustamyan.

At the press conference, Rustamyan summed up the results of the first three Euro League games, in which Hatis scored two victories (including over Russia’s Chevakata at home) and lost to Greece’s strong Sony Athinaikos in an away game.

“No one would believe in us at first. Only a couple of journalists were present at our early press conferences and we lost the first game to the Greeks with a margin of more than 50 points. But then the girls began to interact, they started to believe in success and we won two games,” said Rustamyan.

For their victory over Besiktas, the coaches and players of Hatis received letters of thanks from the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs that were handed to the players by Minister Armen Grigoryan.

“The significance of Hatis’s victory in Istanbul is difficult to overestimate… They are worthy upholders of the glorious traditions of Armenian women’s basketball. The whole of Armenia will support Hatis on December 3,” said Grigoryan.

http://armenianow.com/?action=viewArticle&AID=4330&CID=4072&IID=1263&lng=eng

[Federate]

Re: Armenian Basketball

Armenia seeks U.S. Armenians for national women’s basketball team

Yerevan - Three American college basketball players of Armenian descent will be trying out for Armenia's national women's basketball team starting May 20.

The invitees include Arpine Amirkhanyan from Armstrong Atlantic State University; Kris Kachaturoff from Eastern Michigan University; and Christine Kepenekian from California State University, Bakersfield.

The three candidates were selected by Carl Bardakian on behalf of the Basketball Federation of Armenia. Mr. Bardakian is a former men's assistant basketball coach at Cleveland State University.

Ms. Amirkhanyan's and Ms. Kepenekian's families had previously moved from Armenia to Los Angeles; Ms. Kachaturoff's family is from Dearborn, Michigan.

"My relatives in Yerevan are so excited!" said Ms. Amirkhanyan. "This is a great opportunity and I feel honored."

"I have always been very proud to be Armenian and I can't wait to go, as this is my first trip to Armenia," said Ms. Khachaturoff, who is now reportedly also brushing up on her Armenian language skills.

Reacting to the invitation, Ms. Kepenekian told her college newspaper that she is "really excited to get the chance to play competitive basketball again," said Kepenekian. "I've been to Armenia twice before to visit my mom's side of the family. This is a great experience that will hopefully help me gain exposure to try and play on other professional teams after the tournament."

"Christine was a great player for us and helped make our team better," said CSUB Head Coach Tim La Kose. "Any team she plays on will be better with her on it because she works hard and competes."

"We are preparing for Arpine, Christine and Kristine's arrival in Yerevan in May," said Hrachya Rostomyan, president of the Basketball Federation of Armenia, noting that Armenia will for the first time ever host an FIBA women's basketball tournament.

From June 28 to July 3 Armenia will host the European Women's Basketball Championship Division C, which in addition to the home team will include Andorra, Gibraltar, Malta, Moldova, Scotland and Wales.

"Armenia's participation in this tournament will [contribute to] our long-term strategic goal of developing basketball throughout Armenia," said Souren Zohrabyan, chairman of the federation's organizing committee.

Additional candidates for Armenia team are being scouted in Russia, Iran, Syria and Lebanon.

Women's basketball gained in prominence in Armenia last year as Yerevan-based HATIS club for the first time qualified for Eurocup playoffs after upsetting a more prominent team from Turkey.

This summer's championship games will be held at the Mika Stadium in Yerevan, which holds 1,160 seats and has also been the site for HATIS games.

http://www.reporter.am/index.cfm?objectid=2DBA16B4-4C02-11DF-8BA50003FF3452C2

[Crimson Glow]

Re: Armenian Basketball

It's too bad I started my basketball comeback so late. Unfortunately, the thought of trying to play for Armenia didn't even occur to me when I was in my prime. I'm "old as dirt" by athletic standards now, and though I'm 100% positive I can play as well, if not better than most of the Armenian pro-men's basketball team once my conditioning is back, there will be a lot of concern about how much I have left in the tank long term. Had I made my comeback 5+ years ago, it would have been a different story.