FIBA

MOSCOW, Idaho – Arkadiy Mkrtychyan will be spending the final month of his summer away from the Vandals but not away from the game, as he will compete with Team Armenia in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Pre-Qualifiers.
 
Mkrtychyan and Armenia will play six games in a little under three weeks, beginning with Slovakia at home on August 2.  Armenia will then take on Sweden on August 5 before hitting the road for three straight.
 
From there, Armenia will take on Bosnia and Herzegovina (Aug. 9) and a rematch with Slovakia (Aug. 12) before closing out the road stretch in Sweden on August 16.  Armenia wraps up pool play at home against Bosnia and Herzegovina on August 19.
 
The top two teams from each of the four groups will advance to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Qualifiers, which begin in late November.  Mkrtychyan and Armenia are already fighting an uphill battle, as Group A is the only group with four teams.
 
Mkrtychyan has been a mainstay for Idaho since stepping foot on campus three years ago.  He is one of just four Vandals in the last decade to average at least seven points per game over three straight seasons, and the only Vandal to do so in his first three years in Moscow.  Last season, Mkrtychyan finished third on the team at 8.3 points and 4.3 boards per contest as the Vandals went 19-14 and advanced to the second round of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.
 
Check back with GoVandals.com throughout the Pre-Qualifiers for updates on Mkrtychyan and Team Armenia.
 
Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Idaho men's basketball by following the team on twitter, @VandalHoops.

For more information on Idaho Athletics, visit GoVandals.com.  Fans can also find Idaho on Twitter and Instagram, @Idaho_Vandals, or on Facebook by searching Idaho Vandals.