U18 FC Bayern Munich center Desmond Yiamu is playing at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Munich less than a year after fleeing his native Ukraine due to the ongoing war. He was living with his parents and older brother in Kharkiv, Ukraine, when Russia launched its invasion last February.

"I thought everything would be okay, but we had to flee,” Yiamu said.

The family left its house in Kharkiv on March 7, 2022, and traveled by train through Hungary to Berlin and then to Munich, where Yiamu’s father’s brother was living.

When asked what he took with him from home, Yiamu said: “Basketball shoes, jerseys and some clothing.”

Now nearly 11 months later, the house where the 16-year-old lived is no longer standing.

Yiamu still has friends back home and remains in contact with them.

"\[The war\] is horrible and I really hope it stops really soon,” Yiamu said.

Yiamu explained that he and his family do not want to go back to Ukraine. Although Yiamu was born there, his parents both hail from Nigeria and moved to the eastern European country more than 20 years ago to study at the university.

Yiamu is still very new to basketball. After previously playing left back in football, he only started playing basketball in 2019. But he quickly took to the game and rose in the ranks in Ukraine.

Last summer, he played for his homeland at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2022 Division B and averaged 12.1 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists in his first international competition.

After arriving in Munich, Yiamu went to the Bayern campus in April and contacted the club’s U16 coach and started training with the team. This season he is playing with the U19 team and is averaging 7.7 points and 5.9 rebounds in 20 minutes.

Bayern’s coaches included Yiamu in the roster for the ANGT Munich, and he has peaked a lot of interest with his strong play as one of the team's top players with 10.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals through Bayern's first three games.

“I like playing in this competition because there are a lot of good players, and it’s a good chance to watch other good players and good teams,” Yiamu said.

The big man prospect admitted that he had never heard of the ANGT while in Ukraine but he had high hopes in basketball: “I always wanted to be a professional player from when I started."

That was back in 2019 when Desmond Yiamu’s world was still in order.

Bayern’s Yiamu focuses on basketball after fleeing Ukraine

The final day of the EuroLeague Adidas Next Generation Tournament is underway in Munich, Germany. Follow U18 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan and U18 FC Bayern Munich next in the battle for the seventh place. Here's your guide to some of the young and talented [players to watch](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/ngt/news/j2223-angt-munich-players-to-watch/) from the eight clubs in the tournament.

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Follow live commentary of the ANGT Munich qualifier all weekend long.

ANGT Munich blog: Milan vs. Bayern

U18 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan v U18 FC Bayern Munich (2023-01-22T09:00:00.000Z)

Day 2 of the EuroLeague Adidas Next Generation Tournament is underway in Munich, Germany. Follow U18 Next Generation Team Munich and U18 FC Bayern Munich next. Here's your guide to some of the young and talented [players to watch](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/ngt/news/j2223-angt-munich-players-to-watch/) from the eight clubs in the tournament which takes place from January 20 to 22, 2023.

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ANGT Munich blog: NGT Munich 87-71 Bayern

U18 Next Generation Team Munich v U18 FC Bayern Munich (2023-01-21T18:00:00.000Z)

Day 2 of the EuroLeague Adidas Next Generation Tournament is underway in Munich, Germany. Follow U18 Panathinaikos Athens and U18 Zalgiris Kaunas next. Here's your guide to some of the young and talented [players to watch](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/ngt/news/j2223-angt-munich-players-to-watch/) from the eight clubs in the tournament which takes place from January 20 to 22, 2023.

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ANGT Munich blog: Panathinaikos 65-73 Zalgiris

U18 Panathinaikos Athens v U18 Zalgiris Kaunas (2023-01-21T16:00:00.000Z)

Day 2 of the EuroLeague Adidas Next Generation Tournament is underway in Munich, Germany. Follow U18 ratiopharm Ulm and U18 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan next. Here's your guide to some of the young and talented [players to watch](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/ngt/news/j2223-angt-munich-players-to-watch/) from the eight clubs in the tournament which takes place from January 20 to 22, 2023.

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ANGT Munich blog: Ulm 84-67 Milan

U18 ratiopharm Ulm v U18 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (2023-01-21T14:00:00.000Z)

Day 2 of the EuroLeague Adidas Next Generation Tournament is underway in Munich, Germany. Follow U18 ALBA Berlin and U18 Real Madrid next. Here's your guide to some of the young and talented [players to watch](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/ngt/news/j2223-angt-munich-players-to-watch/) from the eight clubs in the tournament which takes place from January 20 to 22, 2023.

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ANGT Munich blog: ALBA 47-113 Real 

U18 ALBA Berlin v U18 Real Madrid (2023-01-21T12:00:00.000Z)

Day 2 of the EuroLeague Adidas Next Generation Tournament is underway in Munich, Germany. Follow U18 Panathinaikos Athens and U18 FC Bayern Munich next. Here's your guide to some of the young and talented [players to watch](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/ngt/news/j2223-angt-munich-players-to-watch/) from the eight clubs in the tournament which takes place from January 20 to 22, 2023.

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ANGT Munich blog: Panathinaikos 75-59 Bayern

U18 Panathinaikos Athens v U18 FC Bayern Munich (2023-01-21T10:00:00.000Z)

 ANGT Munich live blog: Zalgiris vs. Munich Next Gen 

Day 2 of the EuroLeague Adidas Next Generation Tournament is underway in Munich, Germany. Follow U18 Zalgiris Kaunas and U18 Next Generation Team Munich next. Here's your guide to some of the young and talented [players to watch](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/ngt/news/j2223-angt-munich-players-to-watch/) from the eight clubs in the tournament which takes place from January 20 to 22, 2023.

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ANGT Munich blog: Zalgiris 75-73 Munich Next Gen

U18 Zalgiris Kaunas v U18 Next Generation Team Munich (2023-01-21T08:00:00.000Z)

The EuroLeague Adidas Next Generation Tournament gets going from January 20 to 22, 2023 in Munich, Germany. Follow U18 Real Madrid vs. U18 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan below. Here's your guide to some of the young and talented [players to watch](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/ngt/news/j2223-angt-munich-players-to-watch/) from the eight clubs in the tournament.

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ANGT Munich blog: Real Madrid 92-62 Milan

U18 Real Madrid v U18 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (2023-01-20T18:00:00.000Z)