Hagopian Gets Call to Compete for Armenia in FIBA Games, Again

Hagopian Gets Call to Compete for Armenia in FIBA Games, Again
Posted: Jun 28, 2018

BOSTON – For the second straight summer, Suffolk men's basketball's rising senior Michael Hagopian will represent the blue-and-gold as he competes for Armenia at the FIBA EuroBasket 2021 Pre-Qualifiers. 

The FIBA EuroBasket 2021 Pre-Qualifiers began with the first round in November with another round in February. The winning team from each of the three groups (A, B, C), plus the best second-placed team, will each earn a spot in the FIBA EuroBasket 2021 Pre-Qualifiers Second Round together with the bottom-placed teams from each of the eight groups of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers. 

While Hagopian was in Beantown with the Rams, Armenia played to a 2-1 record with a pair of wins over Albania, but slipped to Denmark to sit second in Group B. With the final round of prequalification taking place over the course of two days – June 28 and July 1 – in Copenhagen, Armenia looks to flip the switch and take down Denmark Thursday, June 28 to seal its spot in the second round. Game time is 12 p.m. EST and can be watched live here. For more information on the FIBA EuroBasket 2021 Pre-Qualifiers, click here. 

Hagopian, a two-time All-GNAC selection, took his talents back overseas after helping Suffolk to its most successful season in nearly a decade. The shooting guard from Watertown, Massachusetts, paced the Rams to the conference tournament for the third straight season and fourth semifinal run in program history.   

The co-captain helped Suffolk put together the most wins (15) since 2001-02 and the most conference victories (9) since 2005-06 by producing double figures in 18 games for the Rams. His highlight performance came in the form of a career night of 37 points in a 101-86 offensive onslaught of Mount Ida Jan. 27. Overall, the 6-foot-2 guard sat second on the team in points (14.6 ppg) and was the third best threat in the league from behind-the-arc, shooting an impressive 45.9 percent (78-170) from downtown. 

Last year when he traded the Rams' blue-and-gold for Armenia's red, blue and orange in the 20th edition of the FIBA European U20 Championships, Hagopian helped his country to a pair of victories in Group A.