EuroBasket 2011

Mike Fratello, the Ukraine coach, knows the time of reckoning is almost upon his team.

Ukraine, after more than a month of workouts, are about to travel to Lithuania for the EuroBasket.

The tournament begins in four days.

"This has been a growth process for us each time out," said Fratello, whose players have done well at times in their preparations but have struggled to maintain their top level of performance for the entire game.

They just returned from Turkey, where they competed in the Adidas Istanbul Cup and lost twice.

"I can say that if the game was 20 minutes long, we would be undefeated right now," Fratello said.

"But unfortunately, it's 40 minutes long and we have to get better."

Fratello has maintained a positive outlook since his arrival in Ukraine and there is clearly a feeling of togetherness that is now in the squad.

It's the little things, like wearing the same clothes, that make a big difference when it comes to national teams.

"I'm very proud when I watch our team wear the equipment that we have been supplied," the former NBA coach said.

"It makes us feel like all of the top-level teams. We have our meals together.

"We can go to a public appearances together. We can all wear the same equipment together.

"It's a very important thing, molding a team and keeping them in the same mindset."

The Ukrainians will go up against Russia, Slovenia, Georgia, Belgium and Bulgaria in Group D of the EuroBasket, with the opening game against Russia on August 31 and the next game against Slovenia.

The Russians and Slovenians are teams that most experts expect to finish in the top three and progress to the next stage of the competition.

"We're back for three days, get some practice in and then we travel," Fratello said.

"It's going to be a very difficult group, with only three teams moving into the next round.

"That's one of our goals, to be one of those three teams to move on to the round of 12.

"We understand that we have to play 40 good minutes to move on to the next round and it's going to take all of our players doing just that."