Maryland’s Ukrainian Hoops Player Pavlo Dziuba Receives Standing Ovation

Maryland sophomore forward Pavlo Dziuba is a rarely used bench player for the Terrapins. But when he entered the Maryland-Minnesota men's basketball game on Wednesday night in the final 41 seconds of regulation, the crowd immediately erupted in support.

The 19-year-old is from Kyiv, Ukraine. The crowd’s cheers in the Xfinity Center were in support of Dziuba and his home country amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

Dziuba wore shoes decorated with the Ukrainian flag and colors for Wednesday night’s game, which was the Terrapins’ final home game of the season.

Dziuba has played in only eight games during his first year at Maryland (he transferred from Arizona State after his freshman season), but those 41 seconds of playing time on Wednesday allowed the home crowd to show support for their fellow Terrapin. 

Dziuba appeared on ESPN earlier Wednesday to talk about dealing with his emotions regarding the crisis in his home country.

“Just super stressed and super nervous [that] it’s gonna be the next few days [of fighting in Kyiv] because I don’t know if the whole Kyiv is gonna be like that,” Dziuba said. “I’m proud of my country that they’re defending and doing everything they can to save it.”

With the 84–73 win over Minnesota, the Terrapins move to 15–15 overall this season.