Former Secretary General of the Latvian Basketball Union (LBS) Edgars Šneps in conversation with
Raimonds Rudzāts, a journalist of the Latvian Television program “Sporta Studija”, looked back on 11 years spent in the organization.
Asked about 2009 and the scandal with the “Now or Never” national team, when the ambitious national team suffered three losses in the Eurobasket group tournament, but talked more about the team due to violations of the regime, Šneps replies that this situation was necessary for Latvian basketball. “I look back on 2009 as a time of rebirth of Latvian basketball, an explosion that was necessary to re-evaluate what basketball is, how we position ourselves. It was a time when the yellow press wrote about basketball as often as the sports press. The image of basketball was already ruined and artificial events were unsustainable. ”
Schnep believes that the events of 2009 are due to a rapid change in the world. “My generation grew up at a time when we were playing for fun and earning nothing. Future generations could already earn, capitalize on attention. At the age of 27, I played in Latvia, was a player of the basic national team and earned 500 lats a month. The next generation was already in the spotlight, for which it was not ready, ”says the former LBS Secretary General.
Šneps also did not agree with the opinion that Latvian basketball at the club level has degraded. “In ten years, the number of basketball clubs involved in various competitions has grown significantly. It is clear that the LBL is a mirror of the economy. Today, the opportunities are smaller than they used to be. For basketball to develop successfully, it is not necessary to have a very strong local league, especially in such a small country. Currently, in several municipalities, LBL2 teams are the main sporting event and the top of the pyramid in their territories.
Any club that exists on economic grounds, be it “Saldus”, “Jelgava”, “Jēkabpils”, is much more valuable than an artificially inflated club, in which money has been invested for some reason. A sustainable project is much more valuable than a short-term team, no matter how powerful it may be.
In Lithuania, the situation is different – there the municipality can support the local club with 400 thousand euros and not receive criticism from voters. This is not possible in Latvia. Theoretically, this may change, but then basketball must become part of our identity. So far, it doesn’t look real, because hockey is also quite popular, “revealed the former national team player.
Recalling the interview of Captain Jānis Blums after the fateful match against Montenegro in the World Cup qualifiers, Šneps is still convinced that the conflict could have been resolved in another way. “I grew up in a situation where people handle such things in the locker room. I don’t know what the situation was like in that interview. I think that [intervijas] the reason is frustration at not being on PK (just like the whole basketball community) plus personal resentment. ”
Šneps also touched on the topic with the appointment of Arnis Vecvagars as the head coach of the national team. At that time, the specialist had very little experience as the head coach, however, on the recommendation of the previous coxswain Ainars Bagatska, he was appointed to the position.
“The probability that it would be worse is higher than the probability that it would be better with another coach, even judging by where we are currently in the European Championship qualification (last place in the group with two losses). I can certainly take responsibility for the fact that I do not fully appreciate the importance of society and quality dialogue, although time [trenera izvēlei] was quite limited. It was one of the few times we did not discuss this issue in the coaching committee. It is very possible that after two months of discussions we would take Vecvagars in the same way, but avoid all kinds of speculation, ”admits Šneps.
