Switzerland men's national basketball team

The Switzerland men's national basketball team (French: Équipe de Suisse de basketball, German: Schweizer Basketballnationalmannschaft, Italian: Nazionale di pallacanestro della Svizzera, Romansh: Squadra naziunala da ballape da la Svizra) represents Switzerland in international basketball. The managing body for the national team is Swiss Basketball.

Switzerland
FIBA ranking58 Increase 1 (27 February 2023)[1]
Joined FIBA1932 (co-founders)
FIBA zoneFIBA Europe
National federationSwiss Basketball
CoachIlias Papatheodorou
Nickname(s)Nati
(National Team)
Rossocrociati
(Red Crosses)
Olympic Games
Appearances3
MedalsNone
FIBA World Cup
AppearancesNone
EuroBasket
Appearances5
MedalsNone
First international
 Switzerland 19–39 France 
(Geneva, Switzerland; 5 March 1932)
Biggest win
 Switzerland 68–19 Scotland 
(Paris, France; 11 May 1951)
Biggest defeat
 Switzerland 53–130 Spain 
(Geneva, Switzerland; 24 November 1988)

Switzerland has competed at five EuroBasket tournaments (1935, 1946, 1951, 1953, 1955) in their history. The national team has also made three appearances at the Olympic Games (1936, 1948, 1952). However, Switzerland has struggled over the past decades to once again qualify to international competitions. They also continue their pursuit to clinch their debut trip to the FIBA World Cup.

History

EuroBasket 1935

Switzerland hosted the first European Basketball Championship in Geneva at EuroBasket 1935. The national team finished fourth in the ten team tournament, defeating Romania and Italy in the preliminary round to advance to the semifinals. There they lost to Latvia, resulting in a playoff for third place against Czechoslovakia which the Swiss lost 25–23.

EuroBasket 1946

Switzerland did not play in the European championship again until the post-war, at EuroBasket 1946, which they hosted. There, they placed second in their three-team preliminary group after losing to the eventual champions Czechoslovakia 20–17, but defeating Belgium 38–33. That preliminary round finish put the Swiss into a 5th/6th place playoff against the Netherlands, which Switzerland won 36–25.

EuroBasket 1951

The next Swiss entry into the European Basketball Championship was at the EuroBasket 1951 tournament in Paris. Switzerland finished the preliminary round with a 1–3 record, 4th in their group. They fared little better in the first classification, taking 3rd in the group with a 1–2 record. In the second classification round, the Swiss won the classification 13-16 and 13/14 games to finish in 13th place of 18 teams, with a 4–5 record.

EuroBasket 1953

EuroBasket 1953 in Moscow was the fourth appearance of the Swiss. The tournament began poorly for the team, as they finished last in their preliminary pool at 0–3. It got somewhat better for them after that, as they took second in their first classification pool with 2 wins and a loss. They dropped their 9-12 semifinal to Belgium, but defeated Finland in the 11/12 final to take 11th of 17 overall.

EuroBasket 1955

Switzerland competed next at the EuroBasket 1955 tournament in Budapest. Their 2–2 record in preliminary round put them in 3rd of the five-team group and relegated them to the classification rounds. They had similar results there, again taking a 2–2 record and 3rd of 5 teams. They won their classification 13-16 semifinal, but lost to Austria in the 13/14 game to finish 14th of 18 teams.

Later years

The 1952 Summer Olympics and the 1955 EuroBasket are the last major international basketball tournaments that the country qualified for. Since then, it lost its international significance despite occasional strong showings at qualification games. E.g. Switzerland surprisingly beat former European Champion Russia at the qualification for the 2015 EuroBasket.

Competitive record

Results and fixtures

  Win   Loss

2021

25 November 2021 Austria  8064  Switzerland Schwechat, Austria
20:15 (UTC+1) Scoring by quarter: 18–15, 26–14, 21–20, 15–15
Pts: Vujošević 20
Rebs: Mbemba 12
Asts: Vujošević 6
Boxscore Pts: Kovac 13
Rebs: Cotture 8
Asts: Cotture 6
Arena: Multiversum
Referees: Blaž Zupančič (SVN), Nikola Perlić (CRO), Jan Baloun (CZE)
28 November 2021 Switzerland  6643  Cyprus Fribourg, Switzerland
17:00 (UTC+1) Scoring by quarter: 21–11, 20–20, 11–4, 14–8
Pts: Kovac 16
Rebs: Fofana, Jurkovitz 7
Asts: Cotture, Jurkovitz 3
Boxscore Pts: four players 6
Rebs: Mantovani 6
Asts: Michail 2
Arena: Salle Saint-Lèonard
Attendance: 1,725
Referees: Ciprian Stoica (ROU), Franko Gracin (CRO), Alberto Sánchez (ESP)

2022

24 February 2022 Switzerland  8372  Ireland Fribourg, Switzerland
19:30 (UTC+1) Scoring by quarter: 28–14, 13–23, 20–15, 22–20
Pts: Mlađan 24
Rebs: Jurkovitz 10
Asts: Zinn 10
Boxscore Pts: Badmus 20
Rebs: Blount 9
Asts: Flood 5
Arena: Salle Saint-Lèonard
Attendance: 768
Referees: Alfred Jovović (CRO), Anastasios Kardaris (GRE), Javier Sánchez (ESP)
27 February 2022 Switzerland  8061  Austria Fribourg, Switzerland
16:00 (UTC+1) Scoring by quarter: 23–18, 17–18, 26–7, 14–18
Pts: Kovac 18
Rebs: Jurkovitz 7
Asts: Cotture 5
Boxscore Pts: Murati 14
Rebs: Ogunsipe 6
Asts: Klepeisz 3
Arena: Salle Saint-Lèonard
Attendance: 1,417
Referees: Petros Papapetrou (GRE), Ofer Manheim (ISR), Alessandro Perciavalle (ITA)
30 June 2022 Cyprus  7163  Switzerland Nicosia, Cyprus
21:00 (UTC+3) Scoring by quarter: 22–21, 21–19, 11–6, 17–17
Pts: Stylianou 14
Rebs: Mantovani 7
Asts: three players 3
Boxscore Pts: Kazadi, Nzege 17
Rebs: Mbala 12
Asts: Kazadi 8
Arena: Eleftheria Indoor Hall
Attendance: 800
Referees: Mart Uuehendrik (EST), Jan Baloun (CZE), Ofer Manheim (ISR)
3 July 2022 Ireland  8288  Switzerland Dublin, Ireland
17:15 (UTC+1) Scoring by quarter: 25–25, 22–20, 18–30, 17–13
Pts: Badmus 23
Rebs: Igiehon 7
Asts: Flood 4
Boxscore Pts: Kovac 22
Rebs: Kazadi 8
Asts: Kazadi 9
Arena: National Basketball Arena
Attendance: 1,300
Referees: Stoica Ciprian (ROU), Alberto Sánchez Sixto (ESP), Stylianos Symeonidis (GRE)
25 August 2022 Switzerland  7464  Austria Fribourg, Switzerland
19:30 (UTC+2) Scoring by quarter: 17–13, 16–21, 27–20, 14–10
Pts: Zinn 14
Rebs: Kazadi 8
Asts: Zoccoletti 4
Boxscore Pts: Murati 11
Rebs: Rados 6
Asts: Klepeisz 6
Arena: Salle Saint-Lèonard
Attendance: 653
Referees: Petr Hrůša (CZE), Valerio Grigioni (ITA), Anastasios Kardaris (GRE)
28 August 2022 Croatia  8453  Switzerland Opatija, Croatia
20:00 (UTC+2) Scoring by quarter: 22–10, 28–16, 20–15, 14–12
Pts: Matković 17
Rebs: Matković 12
Asts: Gnjidić, Simon 5
Boxscore Pts: Fofana 10
Rebs: Rocak 5
Asts: Kazadi 3
Arena: Sportska dvorana Marino Cvetković
Attendance: 1,600
Referees: Petros Papapetrou (GRE), Geert Jacobs (BEL), Alessandro Perciavalle (ITA)
10 November 2022 Poland  7964  Switzerland Lublin, Poland
19:45 (UTC+1) Scoring by quarter: 17–15, 15–22, 27–8, 20–19
Pts: Balcerowski,
Sokołowski 13
Rebs: Olejniczak 7
Asts: Pluta 5
Boxscore Pts: Kovac 16
Rebs: Nzege, Kubler 6
Asts: Fofana 5
Arena: Globus Arena
Attendance: 2,884
Referees: Igor Mitrovski (MKD), Zdravko Rutešić (MNE), Nikola Bejat (NOR)
13 November 2022 Austria  6575  Switzerland Graz, Austria
17:05 (UTC+1) Scoring by quarter: 15–18, 20–19, 14–15, 16–23
Pts: Ersek 21
Rebs: Mbemba 9
Asts: Kaferle, Vujošević 3
Boxscore Pts: Polite 22
Rebs: Gravet, Polite 5
Asts: Solcà 3
Arena: Raiffeisen Sportpark
Attendance: 1,550
Referees: Özlem Yalman (TUR), Gellért Kapitány (HUN), Mihkel Männiste (EST)

2023

23 February 2023 Switzerland  5664  Croatia Fribourg, Switzerland
19:30 (UTC+1) Scoring by quarter: 21–13, 17–19, 11–15, 7–17
Pts: Gravet, Polite 11
Rebs: Cotture 8
Asts: Kazadi 9
Boxscore Pts: Prkačin 15
Rebs: Branković, Prkačin 8
Asts: four players 4
Arena: Salle Saint-Lèonard
Referees: Gintaras Vitkauskas (LTU), Stylianos Simeonidis (GRE), Can Mavisu (TUR)
26 February 2023 Switzerland  7080  Poland Fribourg, Switzerland
17:00 (UTC+1) Scoring by quarter: 27–21, 15–14, 16–23, 12–22
Pts: Kazadi 14
Rebs: Polite 7
Asts: Kazadi 8
Boxscore Pts: Balcerowski 31
Rebs: Balcerowski 9
Asts: Ponitka 14
Arena: Salle Saint-Lèonard
Attendance: 1,789
Referees: Mart Uuehendrik (EST), Petr Hrůša (CZE), Zoran Mitrovski (MKD)

Team

Current roster

Roster for the EuroBasket 2025 Pre-Qualifiers matches on 23 and 26 February 2023 against Croatia and Poland.[2]

Switzerland men's national basketball team roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameAge – Date of birthHeightClubCtr.
F 1 Michel-Ofik Nzege 30 – (1992-10-14)14 October 1992 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Aalst Belgium
G/F 2 Anthony Polite 25 – (1997-06-21)21 June 1997 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in) Hamburg Germany
F 5 Paul Gravet 27 – (1995-12-18)18 December 1995 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) Fribourg Switzerland
G 6 Jonathan Kazadi 31 – (1991-06-09)9 June 1991 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) Fribourg Switzerland
PG 7 Selim Fofana 23 – (1999-07-08)8 July 1999 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Podgorica Montenegro
SG 9 Roberto Kovac 32 – (1990-05-02)2 May 1990 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Massagno Switzerland
PG 11 Yuri Solcà 22 – (2000-08-29)29 August 2000 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) Fribourg Switzerland
PF 13 Killian Martin 24 – (1998-04-03)3 April 1998 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Union Neuchâtel Switzerland
C 17 Vigdon Memishi 23 – (1999-10-15)15 October 1999 2.13 m (7 ft 0 in) Union Neuchâtel Switzerland
PF 20 Arnaud Cotture 27 – (1995-08-09)9 August 1995 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Fribourg Switzerland
PG 24 Robert Zinn 28 – (1995-02-22)22 February 1995 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) Lugano Switzerland
SG 30 Noah Burrell 25 – (1997-05-28)28 May 1997 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Vitré France
F 40 Eliot Kubler 24 – (1998-07-10)10 July 1998 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Vevey Switzerland
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Greece Dimitris Menoudakos
  • Switzerland Patrick Pembele
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Club – describes last
    club before the competition
  • Age – describes age
    on 23 February 2023

Depth chart

Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2
C Clint Capela Jonathan Dubas Marko Mladjan
PF Michel Ofik Nzege Arnaud Cotture Toni Rocak
SF Boris Mbala Natan Jurkovitz Florian Steinmann
SG Anthony Polite Selim Fofana Roberto Kovac
PG Jonathan Kazadi Robert Zinn Bryan Colon

Head coach position

Notable players

Past rosters

1935 EuroBasket: finished 4th among 10 teams

3 René Karlen, 4 Raymond Lambercy, 5 Mottier, 6 Jean Pare, 7 Radle, 8 Sidler, 9 Marcel Wuilleumier (Coach: ?)


1936 Olympic Games: finished 9th among 21 teams

1 Fernand Bergmann, 2 Pierre Carlier, 3 René Karlen, 4 Georges Laederach, 5 Raymond Lambercy, 6 Jean Pollet, 7 Jean Pare, 8 Marcel Wuilleumier (Coach: ?)


1946 EuroBasket: finished 5th among 10 teams

3 Georges Stockly, 4 Fernand Keller, 5 Theo Winkler, 7 Georges Gallay, 8 Henry Gujer, 10 Robert Geiser, 12 Jean Pollet, 13 Jean Pare, 15 René Wohler, 20 Louis Sanguin (Coach: ?)


1948 Olympic Games: finished 21st among 23 teams

3 Georges Stockly, 4 Henry Gujer, 5 Jean Pollet, 6 Maurice Chollet, 7 Claude Chevalley, 8 Pierre Albrecht, 9 Marcos Bossy, 10 Robert Geiser, 11 Jean Tribolet, 12 Claude Landini, 13 Jean Pare, 14 Bernard Dutoit, 15 Henri Baumann, 16 Gérald Piaget (Coach: ?)


1951 EuroBasket: finished 13th among 17 teams

3 Georges Stockly, 4 Henry Gujer, 5 Theo Winkler, 6 Arthur Bugna, 7 Henri Baumann, 8 Roger Domenjoz, 9 Marcos Bossy, 10 René Wohler, 11 René Chiappino, 12 Bernard Dutoit, 13 Albert Hermann, 14 Roger Prahin, 15 Francis Perroud (Coach: ?)


1952 Olympic Games: finished 20th among 23 teams

3 Georges Stockly, 4 Pierre Albrecht, 5 Jacques Redard, 6 Gérald Cottier, 7 Henri Baumann, 8 Roger Domenjoz, 9 Marcos Bossy, 10 René Wohler, 11 René Chiappino, 12 Marcel Moget, 13 Maurice Chollet, 14 Roger Prahin, 15 Bernard Schmied, 16 Jean-Pierre Voisin (Coach: ?)


1953 EuroBasket: finished 11th among 17 teams

3 André Laverniaz, 4 Pierre Albrecht, 5 Jacques Redard, 6 Henri Devaud, 7 Albert Hermann, 8 René Hofmann, 9 Marcos Bossy, 10 Gérald Cottier, 11 René Chiappino, 12 Jean Emery, 13 Pierre Wittwer, 14 Michel Currat, 15 Jean-Pierre Voisin, 16 Ruggero Balmelli (Coach: ?)


1955 EuroBasket: finished 14th among 18 teams

4 Pierre Albrecht, 5 Jacques Redard, 6 Michel Currat, 7 Henri Baumann, 8 V Bally, 9 C Sevelley, 10 Gérald Cottier, 11 Marcos Bossy, 12 René Chiappino, 13 M Etter, 14 C Lambrecht, 15 Jean-Pierre Voisin, 16 P Worte, 17 M Robert (Coach: ?)

Kit

Manufacturer

2017: Tissot[4]

See also

Notes

    References

    1. "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 27 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
    2. "Switzerland during the EuroBasket 2025 Pre-Qualifiers in February 2023". Retrieved 23 February 2023.
    3. "Un entraîneur de renom à la tête de l'équipe de Suisse". Retrieved 13 July 2021. (in French)
    4. FIBA EuroBasket 2017, FIBA.com, Retrieved 31 August 2017.

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