The Latvian U18 men’s national team wins the first place in the Baltic Cup
The Latvian U18 men’s basketball team celebrated their victory in the Baltic Cup, which took place in Tallinn. The team demonstrated an excellent performance, winning first place with a perfect balance. As TV channel TV3 reports, this success confirms the strength and potential of Latvian youth basketball.
Tournament progress and results
The Latvian U18 men’s national team ended the tournament undefeated, securing first place. In the decisive game for the victory in the tournament, the Latvians defeated Estonia with a score of 78:58, achieving three successes in total. Richard Aizpur was one of the team’s leaders with 32 points and six rebounds, while Rihards Czerniewski added another 14 points.
The Latvian U16 and U18 women’s national teams also successfully competed in the tournament, both winning second place. The U16 girls’ national team ended the tournament in second position with a 2-1 record. In the final game against Estonia, the Latvian U16 team was superior with 86:53. In this game, Darina Ivanova scored 16 points and ten rebounds, Katrina Peterson scored 16 points and Marta Peterson added 12 points.
Coaches’ rating and team performance
The head coach of the U18 men’s national team, Sandis Bushkevics, admitted that not all the best players could participate due to injuries and clubs, but the team showed a strong performance. “We played team basketball throughout the tournament and the result is the first place,” emphasized Bushkevics.
Elvis Brokans, the head coach of the U16 girls’ national team, admitted that two weeks were usefully spent, solving many things both in the process of training and games. He noted the need to improve possession in attack and the ability to play opponents in close defense, but was generally pleased with the team’s work and confidence.
Participation and success of Latvian national teams
The Baltic Sea Cup basketball competition took place from January 3 to 5 in Tallinn, bringing together the U18 and U16 boys’ and girls’ national teams from Latvia, Estonia, Sweden and Finland. The Latvian U18 men’s team won the first place, while the U16 and U18 girls’ teams won the second place. This tournament served as an important test and preparation for the youth teams for the upcoming European Championships.
