Latvia will define the path of Spain in this Asian World Cup. The victory against the Latvian team, which is making its first appearance in a world competition, will give us an automatic pass to the quarterfinals and see Scariolo’s team already in the top eight. Without a doubt, it is the defining match of this tournament.
Almost like all or nothing. And we are going to focus only on winning. But for this, several registers will have to be attended to. Let’s situate reality. Let’s not paint Latvia as an ogre. Just two years ago, if two years, they took a huge hit, being left out of the European Championship in Berlin (which Spain won) eliminated by a mediocre Bulgaria. That was an earthquake there. I make a confession. They killed the coach and wanted Zan Tabak (of whom I was an assistant in Slovakia) to be the coach. Zan said no and Banchi entered. The twists and turns of life.
But they are protagonists of the hardest blow to the face to date at the World Cup. The premature elimination of France. In a game that was always behind until the final moment. And it helped them to be in this second phase.
They are a team that lives and dies triple. They throw 35 tries per game. They touch 40% in that distance. They are a team that plays cheerful and attacking (the Latvians are not wonderful defensive players). And they are on the track without their great figure, Kristaps Porzingis, but he does show his loyalty to the team by living there with the group. It’s very uplifting for the NBA player to do that. A good example. They have also lost the youngest of the Bertans, Dairis, with a past in the ACB league, in the last game they played.
Its best players have been formed or have played in Spain. Porzingis, Ronalds Smits, Davis Bertans, Rodion Kurucs, Anzejs Pasenicks, Arturs Zurucs or Arturs Zagars. Several are even considered training players in our leagues. In other words, they could be Arturo, David or Rolando. Because they speak perfect Spanish. We will hear it fluently today in the internal conversations of the meeting. You’ll see.
I expect an open match, because without a doubt it is the most important match of the World Cup for our team, as Scariolo rightly says in that ad from one of the team’s technical sponsors. It is key to control the rebound (where we are statistically superior) and continue to deliver the ball to ourselves as well as we have done to date. No egos. Without excessive prominence. That must be our Spain.
Alberto Blanco is the general and sports director of Cceres basketball
Filed in: Latvia Slovakia France Bulgaria Liga Endesa
2023-08-31 09:09:00
#Alberto #Blancos #opinion #SpainLatvia #Friday
