misunderstanding of the Turks in Riga and defeating the British in their game – Basketball – Sportacentrs.com

Victory over Turkey – impressive

“The first game against Turkey can be described in one word – impressive,” said the basketball coach Edmund Valeico. “In this regard, I would like to emphasize the physical fitness of our boys, they almost flew around the field. Therefore, great praise goes to the physical fitness coaches who worked with them this summer.”

“Any defense will have problems against quick movement of the ball – the ball is quite simply physically faster than the players. If it is executed at a high level, it leads to free kicks, which we executed fantastically against Turkey. Yes, the Turks admitted that it was a bad game for them, but they already played only as the Latvian national team allowed them to. And in such an atmosphere, against such a match and such accuracy of shots, any team would have problems to look good.”

“And we had such support in Great Britain as well,” Valeiko laughed. “Yes, one thing is that people like winners, but the other is that the Latvian national team is currently able to fill the stands abroad as well, and it was certainly very nice to see it. It is also a nice motivation for the players. They also don’t have to prove anything at the same time. and then in the combination you get to play with such ease as against Turkey. I really don’t know what epithets you can apply there, everything turned out fantastic. And there weren’t any bad guys in return. I haven’t seen Ergin Ataman like that in a long time, he didn’t know what to do. Shane Larkin sat on the bench and looked like he didn’t understand where he was at all. They weren’t going to Riga with -30 to lose, they didn’t even have that thought in their heads before.”

“If a team scores 111 points, then of course everything else is a little bit in the background,” said the basketball commentator. Reinis Lācis. “However, I imagine that after the match against Turkey, the coaches of the national team paid attention to certain episodes in the defense, when in some one-on-one situations, not everyone was able to cope, sometimes free throws were given away. Of course, a great victory was achieved, but this game was definitely not perfect. “

“But if we close our eyes and dream, then the game against Turkey was a living example of how Latvia could beat the world’s strongest teams in an important game,” Lācis continued. “Of course, such a match is very difficult to imitate. And here I also understand coach Ataman’s post-game comments and body language, because the big guys can’t do anything in return if the opposing team throws 20 long shots, some of which were quite difficult. In modern basketball, it’s really it may happen that you cannot find counterarguments for such a team at all.”

The chemistry and understanding of the Latvian national team on the field

“Before the game against Turkey, I was a little worried about the team’s performance. It’s clear that Kristaps Porzingis is a big star, but how will he fit into the team?” said Valeico. “But these concerns quickly disappeared. It is clear that everyone wants to score points, but the ball movement and unselfishness shown in this game is admirable. The smiles on the faces of the players, the attitude they show. I thought they were “joking” on the field. And that means that everything is fine within the team. No one is clamoring to be changed or changed there, as has sometimes been the case in other selections before. And that is one of the hallmarks of a large sample.

“I really want to emphasize this team spirit and enjoyment on the field. That cannot be created by a coach,” Valeiko continued. “I mean, the coach tries to build it and he wants to have such a team, but it all comes naturally from within the team. It can be seen that at the moment the national team has a great chemistry, which is also focused on the result, and it seems that this will also lead to the goal is the final tournament of the World Cup.”

Lācis also agreed about some concerns before the match on August 25: “Before the widely publicized match against Turkey, I was definitely a bit cautious, especially after the test match against Estonia, I didn’t expect such an outcome. Perhaps the main concern was not about the hype and pressure, because there were several high-ranking players in the national team level players, who are already used to such a situation, they were comfortable enough in such a situation. However, the fact that there will be such a good understanding on the field was a bit of a surprise.”

“They all felt each other on the field, and this can perhaps be explained by the fact that some of them already played in the national team’s 2017 model. I asked Jānis Strēlnieks about this after the Turkey game, and he answered simply: if such high-class players as Kristaps and Dāvis come, then the whole game becomes easier for the others as well, and if all five on the field are able to throw a long shot, it also opens up the game and opens up wider opportunities. In short, talent solves many problems,” said the Bear.

Victory over Great Britain – in a completely different style

“Latvia’s coaches said after the game that this is exactly what they expected from Great Britain. Namely, physical and aggressive defense, because the British had no other choice. But in this respect too Latvia showed one of the signs of a great team, because even when the shots did not fall, they found a way to win,” said Valeiko. “It’s clear that the team was prepared for such a scenario, it was definitely already dealt with, and it was also reflected on the field – there was no burning, no huge rescue was needed, everything was settled calmly.”

Porzingis played his most productive game directly against Great Britain, scoring 29 points. “Porzingis is perhaps more used to playing against such a physical defense,” Valeiko explained. “If we look at the big stars now in European matches – Doncic a little less this time, but Jokic and Adetokunbo looked impressive. They are used to playing at this pace and taking the initiative, and Porzingis reminded us what a superstar he is.”

“The Porzingis factor was obvious,” Lácis agreed. “But I would also like to single out Rihard Lomaž. Not exactly because he scored so-and-so points, but the manner in which he did it, that is, very smartly sensing the opponent’s defense and using their aggressive play against them. I would also like to add that those players whom the coach trusted in the second half were very ready for such ugly basketball.Lomaž’s provoked remark in the attack, Dair Bertan’s strong breaking through the screens come to mind. At the right moment, Latvia was ready, if I may say so, to go down to such a game, and, in my opinion, this did not really allow the British to expand. We also collected more rebounds, they had more technical notes.”

In the two wins, Lăcis highlighted the fact that all the players involved gave their contribution: “There was no one who played mediocre, and that was a big added value. It is difficult to get everyone playing at a good level in the 12-man squad, and against Great Britain it was especially great importance. One thing is that shots don’t fall or something doesn’t happen, but no one went out with some kind of unfulfilled ego or an unfinished job in defense. Rolands Šmits, Mareks Mejeris, Andrejs Gražulis – they didn’t collect many points on the road, but they did all the little things well , went for balls in attack. The British had a couple of big guys who tried to punish with physical play, but actually our tall men did quite well and maybe even better.”

The Latvian national team still has four games remaining in the PK selection cycle – in November against Greece and again Great Britain, and in February against Turkey, this time away, and Greece at home.

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