Project 8 sends five girls to Fargo Nationals<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cI might be born in L.A., but I\u2019m 100% Armenian,\u201d Balian said. \u201cThere are so many kids and fans here that want to be like us one day. And I know they\u2019re going to be like us one day. I know they\u2019re going to work hard. They\u2019re going to be chasing their dreams and one day I\u2019m going to come and watch them.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Rex](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/DSC_3922.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Benjamin Hanson<\/p>\n
Rex Kalamian coaches his team during a timeout during the Los Angeles International Classic at Cal State Los Angeles on Saturday, June 27, 2026.<\/p>\n
Armenia is 14 times smaller than California and 23 times smaller than Texas. Armenia head coach Rex Kalamian understands the uphill climb his team faces.<\/p>\n
Kalamian is also an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks and of Armenian descent. He was born in Los Angeles and played college basketball at East Los Angeles College and Cal Poly Pomona. He sees the potential in the kind of basketball program his country and heritage can become.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going to put any limits or restrictions on this team,\u201d Kalamian said. \u201cPrimarily because of who we are as a population. Armenia, Armenians are a resilient group and we build wherever we go, whether that\u2019s through business or through sports. What we are trying to do through Armenia basketball is build, enhance and sustain a team that can be here for decades.\u201d<\/p>\n
New generation rises for Armenia<\/p>\n
Armenia became an official basketball program in 2016 and is striving to one day reach its first Olympics. And the country is leaning on names like 21-year-old Daniel Kirakosyan.<\/p>\n
Kirakosyan might not be known to the average basketball fan. The 6-foot-3 point guard played two years of high school basketball in the United States at St. Monica Preparatory in Santa Monica.<\/p>\n
The 21-year-old\u2019s first passion was soccer growing up in Moscow, Russia.<\/p>\n
But at 6-foot-3 with his versatility and footwork, his length and soft hands would serve him well.<\/p>\n
Any speculation over Kirakosyan\u2019s potential, however, was answered four months ago when he put together the performance of a lifetime. A triple-double where he scored 84 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and dished 10 assists. He shot 36 for 45 from the field, 7 for 12 from 3-point range and 5-of-6 from the free throw line \u2014 the greatest single performance in Armenia pro basketball history.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t even expect it to happen,\u201d Kirakosyan said. \u201cI just started the game off hot and I had 25 points by the end of the first quarter and it wasn\u2019t just the scoring. I liked the fact that I had the triple-double more. It wasn\u2019t easy, but I just kept hitting shots.\u201d<\/p>\n
His performance came against U.S. Titans, a team known for rostering American-born players, including Gary Chivichyan, the first Armenian player to be drafted to the NBA. Chivichyan was taken as the 35th overall pick in the NBA G League Draft by the Lakeland Magic in 2021.<\/p>\n
Perhaps Kirakosyan could one day follow suit and become the first player for the Armenian National team to suit up in an NBA game.<\/p>\n
![\"Armenia](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/DSC_4141.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Benjamin Hanson<\/p>\n
Armenia guard Andre Spight-Mkrtchyan (center) scans the floor against Ireland during the Los Angeles International Classic at Cal State Los Angeles on Saturday, June 27, 2026.<\/p>\n
Kirakosyan has a mentor in Burbank, born Andre Spight-Mkrtchyan. Spight-Mkrtchyan has been a team captain of Armenia since the team\u2019s first game in 2016.<\/p>\n
Spight-Mkrtchyan led Armenia to his country\u2019s first gold medal at the FIBA European Championship for Small Countries that same year. Already off to a fast start with Spight-Mkrtchyan, who is Armenian through his mother, Anahit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I take into account is my love for basketball,\u201d Spight-Mkrtchyan said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter what team I\u2019m playing for. When I step on the court, it\u2019s game time and I have to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Armenia\u2019s floor general was in full form, taking charges but also taking players like Kirakosyan and Balian aside. Spight-Mkrtchyan sees the future and views his role as both a player, coach and ambassador connecting the generations from the first team in 2016 to the younger ones carrying the basketball identity of Armenia moving ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see a lot of poise, I see a lot of discipline and I see a lot of eagerness to want to get better,\u201d Spight-Mkrtchyan said. \u201cI see a lot of eagerness to want to get better. That\u2019s all you can ask for is a willingness and fight to want to get better. And I love what we have coming up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Celebrities and artists taking notice<\/p>\n
Fans of Armenia are beginning to take notice. Perhaps, there wasn\u2019t a fan in attendance more popular than pop singer Harout Pamboukjian. Pamboukjian, also known as Dzakh Harut \u2014 owing to his ability to play guitar with his left hand \u2014 sang the Armenian national anthem titled Mer Hayrenik.<\/p>\n
The 75-year-old Pamboukjian is considered one of Armenia\u2019s most famous folk and pop artists while carrying a shared love for basketball. Players took their opportunity to shake hands with Pamboukjian, who sat front row on Ireland\u2019s side of the baseline.<\/p>\n
\u201cBasketball brings people together,\u201d Pamboukjian said. \u201cIt\u2019s different when you have the national team playing and I hope this team can continue to unite our people.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Harout](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/DSC_4633.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Benjamin Hanson<\/p>\n
Harout Pamboukhian cheers during a FIBA friendly between Ireland and Armenia at Cal State LA on June 27, 2026.
\nLeadership displayed by Spight-Mkrtchyan<\/p>\n
University Gymnasium quieted down but children adorning jerseys of Spight-Mkrtchyan, Kirakosyan and Balian stayed. Jerseys were signed and Los Angeles was the center for what could become another rising step for Armenia, whose country size is similar to that of traditional FIBA powerhouse No. 9-ranked Lithuania.<\/p>\n
Kalamian knows Armenia still has a way to go before rivaling Lithuania or any of the other Baltic countries, like Latvia, ranked 13th, and Estonia, ranked 37th in the world by FIBA.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are far behind our competition,\u201d Kalamian said. \u201cThere are so many countries surrounding us that have a 50 and 60-year head start on us. We are up and coming but we have no boundaries. We are going to build, rise and do great things.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Los Angeles-Armenia basketball fusion was founded on the skills and leadership of players like Spight-Mkrtchyan, who, in addition to playing professional basketball, is a real estate agent in Glendale, Burbank and La Crescenta.<\/p>\n
Both skills for Spight-Mkrtchyan as an athlete and businessman, playing a role in helping develop the next generation of Armenian basketball players that called Southern California home.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen growth year to year,\u201d Spight-Mkrtchyan said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been working hard and getting into the gym but we are nowhere near where we need to be. Our goal is to make it to the Olympics. We aren\u2019t close to that right now and it stings us every day and that\u2019s good.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOS ANGELES \u2014 Chatter, stomps and laughter echoed across the floor and bleachers after more than 3,000 fans,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":378681,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[7,10407,17227,2044,48,52,51,47,137,50,49,7611,5760,127],"class_list":["post-378680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-california","tag-glendale","tag-high-school-basketball","tag-high-school-sports","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-county","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-san-fernando-valley","tag-san-gabriel-valley","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=378680"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378680\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/378681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=378680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=378680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=378680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}