About the impending ‘jerking’ and hatred of Schnep. Elbakyan after 3×3 Olympic gold

Before the Latvian 3×3 basketball team became Olympic champions, before it became one of the world’s leading teams, Edgars Krūmiņš, Nauris Miezis and Kārlis Lasmanis gained their training in street basketball tournaments organized by Raimonds Elbakjans and “Ghetto Games”. Since then, Elbakjans has been present for the quartet, which is now at the zenith of Latvian sports.

In Latvian sports, Raimonds Elbakjans is a colorful personality who has done a lot in promoting sports among young people. He was not ashamed to promote heated discussions with the Latvian Basketball Union (LBS) and its former Secretary General Edgars Šneps, he was also directly involved in the formation of the Olympic champions team and strengthening its composition, not allowing anyone to disrupt it.

In an interview with the portal “Delfi”, Elbakjans talks about how the Olympic gold medal will change the development of basketball in Latvia three to three, pointing out that “deck division” will take place now, but it will probably not be bad at all. In the interview “Delfi TV with Jānis Domburs”, the Latvian 3×3 basketball team also expressed concerns about the direction of development of the local economy. However, the head of Ghetto Games points out that a big problem in the International Basketball Federation’s (FIBA) 3×3 tournaments is the small number of games, which could greatly hinder the development of basketball players.

In an open conversation with a smile, Elbakyan remembers his struggles with Schnep and points out that he was very motivated by the former Secretary General of the LBS. He also hopes that Miezis, Lasmanis, Krūmiņš and Čavars will become 3×3 basketball icons.

When the Latvian 3×3 basketball team was welcomed at the airport, the name was given to the basketball players, officials and you. You said that all the praise deserves the players themselves, but you have only done your job. So at the beginning, the simplest question – what was your job that contributed to this success?