Several leading basketball players of the most titled women’s basketball team “TTT Rīga” have been without practice for a month, but the return seen in training allows us to hope for a good performance in the upcoming International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Euroleague main tournament games. coach Mārtiņš Gulbis.
On the first day of December, the Latvian team will meet with the hosts of Spir Citylift in Girona, two days later a fight with the Italian club Skio “Famila” is expected, but on December 4, the Russian team from Yekaterinburg, UGMK, won last season.
“Covid-19 tests are definitely more relevant today than basketball on the field,” says Gulbis about the added value of sports in a pandemic. “We have to take this test three times, which will take place today before training.”
Gulbis said that the test performed on Friday will be the second in a row, but the third is expected in Girona immediately upon arrival. The team will have to spend time in the hotel until the results of the test answer.
“We have not yet completed the full training, but we do not plan to do it until the game. In the last match, Aija Klakoca broke her leg muscle, but she is slowly returning to the team, ”says a specialist about the team’s readiness, noting that basketball players will slowly try to regain the taste of the game.
Gulbis did not hide that the team did not have much practice due to the pandemic. The unstoppable Douglas Baltic Basketball League Championship has made its contribution, but it has not been possible to hold test matches with the youth boys for a month.
“For some reason, some foreign players have not played for more than a month. At the moment, we can’t go anywhere, have a test game and test ourselves, ”Gulbis lists the difficulties in the preparation process before the responsible games. We have about 10-12 games left before this “bubble”. We wanted to fly to Finland and spend the games there, but of course everything was canceled. ”
“We also tried to negotiate with the Belarusian team to come to Latvia. One week before arrival, seven basketball players had a positive Covid-19 test at the club. There are things that are a little depressing all the time, but after seeing in training, I am sure that the girls will be ready for games. ”
Although this is Gulbis’ first season in women’s basketball, the specialist pointed out that he expects victory in all games, but at the same time he is aware that what he sees in training can be drastically different from what is needed in episodes of the game. “TTT Rīga” players have got acquainted with the game of opponents in several previously organized video analysis sessions.
Before this season, the long-term player Kate Krēsliņa left the team, and for the first time she had decided to try her hand outside Latvia, going to Castors Braine. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the women’s championship in Belgium has been suspended, but “TTT Rīga” and the Belgian team previously agreed that the chair will be able to help its former team in the first run.
“Another change in our composition” Ieva Pulvere’s six-month-old son experienced an unsuccessful fall, so she will not be able to help us in these games. They had to react quickly in order to attract another high-class player. It just so happened that Kate had gone to the national team, which she had joined a week earlier. A good agreement was reached with the president of the Belgian club and also her agent, ”says Gulbis about the return of the Chair to the Riga unit.
Swan has already had experience in the conditions of the “bubble” in the qualifying games of the European Championship together with the women’s team, so the specialist is not worried about living conditions, but concentrates on his work to demonstrate the best possible performance on the field.
“TTT Riga” will go to the Spanish city of Girona on Saturday at midnight.
“It was planned to go faster, so that the players would not be so mentally tired after the road. Let’s fly from Tallinn, whose flights do not cancel so often. If the airplane is 30% full, the flights will not be canceled. We didn’t want to risk our flight, so we will go to Tallinn at night and fly from there, ”Gulbis opens the way to Spain.
The flight will initially take the team to Frankfurt, but then to Barcelona, from where the rest of the bus will be measured to nearby Girona.
The games of the first round will take place from November 29 to December 5, but the matches of the second round could take place from January 17 to 23.
In September, the FIBA board decided that the playoff format would be changed in the Euroleague tournament. This decision is based on an assessment of the prevalence of Covid-19 in Europe, as well as a priority for the safety of players and other stakeholders.
The new play order stipulates that the qualifying tournament took place in the same city with one game. In the group tournament, the teams will be divided into four groups of four each.
The top two teams in each group will advance to the quarterfinals, but the third place winners will not continue to fight at the lowest Eurocup. Meanwhile, the quarter-finals will take place in one arena, with the teams playing only one game. The quarterfinals are scheduled for March 14-20.
The final 4 winner of the quarter-final tournament will continue.
