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Head coach of the Latvian basketball team Robert Shtelmaher In an interview with the Latvian Basketball Union (LBS), he shared his thoughts on the qualifying games of the 2022 European Championship, in which Latvia defeated Greece with 77:66 and conceded to Bosnia and Herzegovina with 73:79.
The losses in the first two games had made life difficult, risking missing the road to the finals. To what extent did this tension affect the team’s mood in the Sarajevo race?
We did not talk about the situation in the table either in everyday life or in the work process. Everyone also knew how we had played, so there was no need for additional motivational talks. No undue pressure either. Also, even before the official games, stress is enough. One handles it better, the other worse.
The distribution of “roles” between players is important in each team. How does this process take place in a situation where the lineup changes in each run and it is not clear until the last minute which players will be able to help this time?
Complicated. Of course, everyone wants to, and once invited to the national team, so they can also play and help the team. But the number of places both in the field and in the application is limited and the choice of coach is determined by many objective and subjective factors. So 15 players went to Sarajevo and thank you to everyone who responded to the invitation and did their best to represent their country. Also – thanks to their clubs. I understand that not everyone has the same emotions after these games. That’s basketball. Not everyone can have the same playing time and no one is protected from injury.
Were a few trainings enough to get complete clarity about the players’ current athletic form?
There can’t be too much information. I have worked with most of the players before, but some of them were affected by the virus this year and were also affected by microtraumas. No one lacked energy in the trainings, however, we did not work too aggressively, so the real picture appeared only in the games.
To what extent was the choice of line-ups influenced by the health status of the players?
Only shortly before leaving, there was hope that Kaspars Bērziņš would be able to help. During his training in Sarajevo, his feelings changed from day to day, but at the last minute, discomfort prevailed and we decided not to take any risks. Artūrs Ausējs injured his arm during training. The other 13 were ready to play.
Ingus Jakovičs was given a chance to change things around. Why?
Jakovičs works best in the second position, in which Aigars Šķēle and Rihards Lomažs were effective.
He also played as a match manager…
Yes, but in my opinion, Kristers Zoriks and Mārcis Vītols, although not without mistakes, managed to organize the match and, as I said, Jakovičs is a player of a slightly different style. Zorika’s performance this season and also in these games is a pleasant discovery for me. Confidence, stability, logical decisions – qualities that are necessary for a good match manager. Yes, this time there was a lack of shot accuracy, but it also happens to the most stable snipers and the absolute majority of shots were justified. Given our short preparation time, it was good that we could use the link Zoriks – Šķēle played in the club, where the two complement each other.
How did the game plan against Greece succeed?
We wanted to play aggressively, to be in control of the field, and we succeeded to a large extent. We worked well in quick transitions, we often met with free throws. Of course, it helped that we hit well.
Especially Mārtiņš Laksa, who never missed Bosnia. But – in the second match thrown only three times…
The Bosnians had seen our game and did not step away from Mārtiņš, so he did not manage to get rid of the covers against the “small” line-up. There would definitely be more opportunities in the quick transitions, but this time the whole team was slowed down by mistakes. In the positional game, there was perhaps a lack of aggravation of the situation with passes and throwing of the ball, which could give Laks the opportunity to attack more often. In the longer preparation phase, such co-operation could be better honed.
How did Rihards Lomaža’s last-minute accession affect the team’s game?
He was very aggressive and versatile on the court, endangering the basket with both long shots and passes. Outside the square – an embodiment of energy that wants to win and pull others. Sometimes you even have to slow down so that the activity does not stifle quality. But – a very valuable player.
Aggressive pressure was expected from the Bosnian national team, but it seemed that the activity of the opponents came to our basket as a surprise.
This was not a surprise, but during the game it did not seem that the loss in the fight against the baskets was as severe as the statistics showed. Until 18 minutes there were a lot of situations when we hit the defense, but we couldn’t realize our opportunities in the attack. The result got stuck and the first ones, unfortunately, were moved by the opponents. The center threw a three-pointer, we deserved penalties. There is no single reason why we did not reach the rebounds. There were individual mistakes, not unlocking their own, there were mistakes provoked by the activity of the opponents in the attack, it was simply an unfortunate coincidence of circumstances. Of course, you can remember that there have been similar problems in other games and talk about the general lack of sports shamelessness or gaps in training. But against the Greeks, we overcame these problems, even though they did not lack powerful fighters.
In this respect, it would have been interesting to see Jānis Bērziņš in action, who has never lacked energy in the fight for rebounds.
Maybe. During the preparation, we did not manage to play Jānis in the fourth position, his short involvement in the match with Greece was not successful and bigger men demanded athletic Bosnians under the basket. At the club, he plays in third position, but in an effort to speed up the game, we often tried to work with three distinct outside line players. We gained something, we lost something.
Why did the Bosnian leader Attic fail to stop?
I will not say that we defended ourselves badly. We slowed down, the accuracy of his shots from the game was only 6/14, but we gave too many second chances.
Another black box in the statistics – free throws. In two games 20/38. Is there a rational explanation?
Must look in psychology. In training, everyone threw and hit. That, too, manifests itself in tension.
There will also be tensions in the next race, where the stakes in the match with Bulgaria will be very high. In what mood did you divorce?
Positive and determined. Everyone knows what we did, everyone knows that the most important work is yet to come. Thanks again to everyone for their participation, attitude and contribution. Probably not everyone had the same emotions, but they have to be put aside until the next run. New games, new challenges. Also a new situation with the composition. Now the main thing is for the players to be in good health and have enough gaming practice. Let everyone get in good shape and mood for the February run.
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