PRAGUE (Czechia) - Tomas Satoransky will bring down the curtain on a long national team career in his final game for Czechia in November.
It marks the end of a near 18-year career with the national team for the 34-year-old as he prepares to put on the Czechia jersey one last time against Belgium in Prague in the FIBA EuroBasket 2029 Pre-Qualifiers.
“My sports career would be incomplete without the national team."
“My sports career would be incomplete without the national team," Satoransky said via cz.basketball. "I would feel that I could not have done so much in it, and I would probably never have known what it is to have complete joy in the game.”
Satoransky and the Czechia side will wear a unique commemorative jersey for the game against Belgium, especially designed for this one-off occasion, as a huge crowd gathers to bid farewell to a national hero.
"They are a big part of my career," he mentioned. "They supported me throughout my professional career from beginning to end.
"I would really like to thank them, and I hope that as many of them as possible will be at my last match for the national team."
Since making his senior debut in 2008, Satoransky has been a key figure for Czechia; helping the nation qualify for five FIBA EuroBasket tournaments and featuring in four of those editions.
He also played a pivotal role in guiding Czechia to its first-ever FIBA Basketball World Cup appearance in 2019 - a landmark achievement since the country gained independence in 1993.
Then, two years later, Satoransky would guide his nation to its first-ever appearance at the Olympic Men's Basketball Tournament in Tokyo, where he averaged 10.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 8.7 assists in their three games played.
Among his standout performances, at FIBA EuroBasket 2022, he broke his own assist record by dishing 17 against Greece in the Round of 16.
He also set a new all-time European assist record in the recent FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Qualifiers by handing out 16 assists to lead Czechia to a 97–92 win over Estonia last December.
Still performing at a high level speaks volumes about the type of player Satoransky has been. Over his international career, he has averaged 12.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists in competitive fixtures.
Satoransky will make it 76 appearances, and out, in Czechia colors, and will hope to inspire one final victory to help his nation along the road to FIBA EuroBasket 2029.
FIBA