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Nikolai Mazur Photo: FIBA
The loss to the Puerto Rican national team is to blame for their own mistakes, said the head coach of the Latvian national team Nikolajs Mazurs on Saturday after the loss in the first World U19 Cup game.
It has already been reported that the Latvian U-19 basketball team lost 75:79 (18:15, 18:19, 25:14, 14:31) to its peers from Puerto Rico on Saturday in the first game of the World Cup in Daugavpils. In the ranks of the Latvian national team, Vanags was the most productive with 17 points, 13 points and seven rebounds were for Rhodie Machoch. Tom Skush had nine points and seven assists, while Noah Williamson added eight rebounds for seven points.
Almost the entire game was led by the Latvian national team, which at one time was even in the lead with a 15-point lead, but the opponents were able to pull out the victory at the end of the match. “The key to the game – the mistakes themselves, which also decided the fate of the game. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, we gave a lot of points in a short time, allowing opponents to throw in an “empty” basket, “said Mazur about the game, who allowed the possibility that the young basketball players were worried in the first game.
“It simply came to our notice then. Zone? Opponents change defenses in each match and must be able to adapt. There was a lack of speed in the ball, there were wrong decisions. We are far from the basketball I would like to play. We must continue to work and fight to make better use of the opportunities that arise in each game, ”explained the head coach.
Krišs Helmanis, one of the potential leaders of the national unit, was injured in the preparation cycle. He joined the game from the reserve bench on Saturday because he did not have much training before the start of the tournament due to an injury. “I think he went into the game well. Definitely at the beginning of it, ”said Mazurs about Helman, who knew how to name several defects that Latvian basketball players must fix before the next match.
Mazur did not hide that the team played poorly one on one on Saturday. The same was confirmed by Helmanis. “In one-on-one situations, they eventually passed and started to score too many points. We couldn’t find help at the bottom of the basket, we sometimes made mistakes in the rotation of the players on the field, ”Helmanis remembered some of the episodes. “We seemed to throw difficult three-point shots in the attack, but there were also lighter shots that we didn’t execute.”
Helmanis did not hide that he had not yet regained his best form, which was also visible in the performance. He stated that he initially felt tired quickly, but later got used to it and tried to improve his performance.
On Sunday, the Latvian national team will meet with Iran, and two days later with Serbia. This and the eighth final will be broadcast live on TV6. Only spectators who have an interoperable Covid-19 or Covid-19 vaccination certificate recognized in Latvia (applies to all ages) will be able to attend the games in person. Tickets can be purchased on the website basket.lv.
The exclusion tournament will take place from July 9 to 11 in Riga at the Olympic Sports Center and Arena Riga.
Latvia also hosted the World U-19 Cup in 2011, when the tournament took place in Riga, Valmiera and Liepaja.
In 2011, the young Lithuanian basketball players won in Latvia, but Jons Valančūns was recognized as the most valuable player of the tournament. The tournament was attended by such well-known players as Dāvis Bertāns, Mateušs Ponitka, Rauls Netu, Kevin Pangoss, Dario Šaričs, Dags Makdermots, Tims Hardevejs junior, Jeremy Lembs, Jānis Timma and others.
Composition of the Latvian U19 national team for participation in the World Cup:
Krišs Helmanis (“Prat”, Spain), Dāvis Denafs (“Ogre”), Kristians Feierbergs (BJBS “Rīga” / DSN), Richard Kļanskis (“Orlandina”, Italy), Rhodie Machoha (Fuenlavrad “Urbas”, Spain), Richard Debtor (“Ogre”), Toms Skuja (Santantoni “Ibiza Feeling”, Spain), Kristians Šulcs (“Ventspils”), Richard Daniels Vanags (“Riga” / “A. Krauklis VEF BS”), Noa Viljamsons (“Latvia University ”), Valters Briedis (“ University of Latvia ”), Noels Enrijs Slivackis (“ Riga ”/ DSN -“ VEF ”basketball academy in Valka).
