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Switzerland

FIBA ranking	63 2 (26 November 2024)
Joined FIBA	1932 (co-founders)
FIBA zone	FIBA Europe
National federation	Swiss Basketball
Coach	Ilias Papatheodorou
Nickname(s)	Nati (National Team) Rossocrociati (Red Crosses)
Olympic Games
Appearances	3
Medals	None
FIBA World Cup
Appearances	None
EuroBasket
Appearances	5
Medals	None
Home Away
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)

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 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

FIBA World Cup World Cup Qualification Year Position Pld W L Pld W L 1950 Did not qualify 5 3 2 1954 Did not qualify 1959 Did not enter Did not enter 1963 1967 Did not qualify EuroBasket served as qualifiers 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 6 1 5 1990 EuroBasket served as qualifiers 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2019 Did not enter Did not enter 2023 Did not qualify 4 2 2 2027 To be determined To be determined Total 0/19 15 6 9 Olympic Games Olympic Games Qualifying Year Position Pld W L Pld W L 1936 9th 3 2 1 1948 21st 8 2 6 1952 20th 2 0 2 1956 Did not qualify 1960 6 2 4 1964 7 1 6 1968 Did not enter Did not enter 1972 Did not qualify 7 0 7 1976 Did not enter Did not enter 1980 Did not qualify 4 1 3 1984 3 0 3 1988 3 0 3 1992 6 0 6 1996 Did not qualify 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 Did not enter Did not enter 2024 Did not qualify Did not qualify 2028 To be determined To be determined Total 3/21 13 4 9 36 4 32

EuroBasket EuroBasket Qualification Year Position Pld W L Pld W L 1935 4th 4 2 2 1937 Did not enter 1939 1946 5th 3 2 1 1947 Did not enter 1949 1951 13th 9 4 5 1953 11th 8 3 5 1955 14th 10 5 5 1957 Did not enter 1959 1961 1963 Declined participation 2 2 0 1965 Did not qualify 3 0 3 1967 2 0 2 1969 4 0 4 1971 4 1 3 1973 Did not enter Did not enter 1975 Did not qualify 5 2 3 1977 Did not enter Did not enter 1979 Did not qualify 3 2 1 1981 4 2 2 1983 4 3 1 1985 Did not enter Did not enter 1987 1989 Did not qualify 9 3 6 1991 4 1 3 1993 6 4 2 1995 5 1 4 1997 16 6 10 1999 3 1 2 2001 24 11 13 2003 16 6 10 2005 Division B 6 4 2 2007 Division B 8 5 3 2009 Division B 8 5 3 2011 Division B 6 4 2 2013 Did not qualify 8 3 5 2015 12 6 6 2017 6 1 5 2022 14 5 9 2025 16 6 10 Total 5/42 34 16 18 198 84 114

Results and fixtures

  Win   Loss

2024

22 February 2024 2027 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 1st round	Switzerland	72–53	Azerbaijan	Fribourg, Switzerland
19:00 (UTC+1)	Scoring by quarter: 10–20, 19–8, 21–15, 22–10
	Pts: Fofana 19 Rebs: Nzege 10 Asts: Fofana, Zinn 5	Boxscore	Pts: LeDay 22 Rebs: Donat, LeDay 6 Asts: Mammadov 4	Arena: Salle Saint-Lèonard Attendance: 1,150 Referees: Stylianos Simeonidis (GRE), Joaquin García (ESP), Alessandro Perciavalle (ITA)

25 February 2024 2027 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 1st round	Ireland	63–86	Switzerland	Dublin, Ireland
15:00 (UTC±0)	Scoring by quarter: 14–22, 15–19, 14–22, 20–23
	Pts: Flood 15 Rebs: Buivydas 7 Asts: Blount 4	Boxscore	Pts: Anabir 15 Rebs: Jurkovitz 8 Asts: Fofanfa 6	Arena: National Basketball Arena Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Valerio Grigioni (ITA), Javier Torres (ESP), Chess van Looy (BEL)

21 November 2024 2027 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 1st round	Switzerland	75–43	Kosovo	Bern, Switzerland
19:30 (UTC+1)	Scoring by quarter: 14–12, 22–6, 20–22, 19–3
	Pts: Mbala 15 Rebs: Mbala 12 Asts: Fofana, Kazadi 4	Boxscore	Pts: Tmušić 9 Rebs: Morina 8 Asts: Morina 4	Arena: Mobiliar Arena Attendance: 585 Referees: Joaquin García (ESP), Łukasz Jankowski (POL), Domen Krajnc (SVN)

24 November 2024 2027 FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers – 1st round	Azerbaijan	55–85	Switzerland	Baku, Azerbaijan
14:00 (UTC+4)	Scoring by quarter: 20–15, 15–22, 8–24, 12–24
	Pts: Aydın 15 Rebs: Aydın 12 Asts: Mammadov 5	Boxscore	Pts: Ročak 19 Rebs: Granvorka 7 Asts: Fofana 11	Arena: Baku Sports Palace Attendance: 1,300 Referees: Tolga Edis (TUR), Kirile Tvauri (GEO), Vlad-Theodor Cotrobas-Dascălu (ROU)

2025

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

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

Team

Current roster

Roster for the 2027 FIBA World Cup Pre-Qualifiers matches on 21 and 24 November 2024 against Kosovo and Azerbaijan.

Switzerland men's national basketball team roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr. G 0 Boris Mbala 28 – (1996-01-19)19 January 1996 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Lions de Genève F 1 Michel-Ofik Nzege 32 – (1992-10-14)14 October 1992 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Toros de Aragua SF 3 Yoan Granvorka 27 – (1997-06-09)9 June 1997 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Feyenoord F/C 5 Paul Gravet 28 – (1995-12-18)18 December 1995 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) Lions de Genève G 6 Jonathan Kazadi 33 – (1991-06-09)9 June 1991 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) Fribourg PG 7 Selim Fofana 25 – (1999-07-08)8 July 1999 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Iraklis F/C 8 Toni Rocak 25 – (1999-04-22)22 April 1999 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) Cibona SG 9 Roberto Kovac 34 – (1990-05-02)2 May 1990 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Fribourg PG 11 Yuri Solcà 24 – (2000-08-29)29 August 2000 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) Massagno F/C 12 Laurent Zoccoletti 25 – (1999-11-17)17 November 1999 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) Piacenza PG 18 Jamal George 21 – (2002-11-28)28 November 2002 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) Pully PF 19 Noé Anabir 29 – (1995-05-28)28 May 1995 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Lions de Genève G/F 21 Dylan Ducommun 20 – (2004-01-30)30 January 2004 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) Union Neuchâtel	Head coach Ilias Papatheodorou Assistant coach(es) Dimitris Menoudakos Patrick Pembele Legend (C) Team captain Club – describes last club before the competition Age – describes age on 21 November 2024

Depth chart

Head coach position

• Sébastian Roduit – (2008–2012)
• Petar Aleksić – (2013–2017)
• Gianluca Barilari – (2017–2021)
• Ilias Papatheodorou – (2021–present)

Notable players

• Thabo Sefolosha – First Swiss-born player to get drafted and play in the NBA.
• Clint Capela

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

• Erima
• 2017: Li-Ning
• 2018: 14Fourteen

Sponsor

2017: Tissot

See also

• Sport in Switzerland
• Switzerland women's national basketball team
• Switzerland men's national under-20 basketball team
• Switzerland men's national under-18 basketball team
• Switzerland men's national under-16 basketball team
• Switzerland men's national 3x3 team

References

1. "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 26 November 2024. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
2. "Switzerland during the 2027 FIBA World Cup European Pre-Qualifiers in November 2024". Retrieved 21 November 2024.
3. "Un entraîneur de renom à la tête de l'équipe de Suisse". Lematin.ch. 13 July 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021. (in French)
4. ^ FIBA EuroBasket 2017, FIBA.com, Retrieved 31 August 2017.

External links

• Official website (in French, German, and Italian)
• Switzerland FIBA profile
• Switzerland National Team – Men at Eurobasket.com
• Switzerland Basketball Records at FIBA Archive

Videos

• Switzerland v Iceland – Full Game – EuroBasket 2022 Pre-Qualifiers Youtube.com video

v t e National sports teams of Switzerland
A1 Team Alpine Ski Badminton Ball hockey Bandy Baseball Basketball M M U-20 M U-18 M U-16 M 3x3 W W U-20 W U-18 W U-16 W 3x3 Cricket Field hockey M W Floorball M W W U-19 Football M M U-23 M U-21 M U-20 M U-19 M U-18 M U-17 M U-16 W W U-19 W U-17 Futsal M Beach W Beach Gymnastics Handball M W W-J Ice hockey M M U-20 M U-18 W W U-18 Netball Pitch and putt Roller hockey Rugby union M M7 W7 Softball Squash Tennis M W X Volleyball M M U-21 M U-19 W W U-21 W U-19 Water polo
Olympics Paralympics European Games

• Switzerland national basketball team
• Men's national basketball teams
• 1932 establishments in Switzerland