Now safe in Netherlands, basketball team scraps 2nd leg with Russia

The Dutch Basket Association (NBB) decided to cancel the international match between Oranje and Russia in Almere on Sunday. "This is partly in view of the reactions in the Netherlands, the demonstrations and the social unrest," the association said.

The Dutch team played a qualifying match against Russia earlier in the week. The team was already there when Russia invaded Ukraine. Next week, Dutch teams were scheduled to play the 3x3 event in Russia. This is also canceled.

On behalf of the basketball association, Ronald van Dam told ANP that the international federation agreed with the decision. "But we had already taken our own responsibility. It was challenging because our players were initially still in Russia. We wanted to stay under the radar, so to speak, until they were safely back."

The fact that the team played the match in Russia is, therefore, "no recognition of Russia's actions, that was not a political statement, that was looking for a practical and safe solution for a team that was already in Russia and wanted to get home safely," the union said. 

In the official statement, the NBB further said: "We are proud of how the players and the staff dealt with the situation. Not only with the situation on-site and how a competitive game was played but also how they dealt with very aggressive and sometimes ugly messages on social media."

The basketball association said it was deeply affected by this. "It's hard to understand and makes us angry and sad. At the same time, we realize that there's a war going on, and people are dying."