The Latvian basketball team did a great job in this World Cup to popularize this sport in their country, so they deserve to become a model from which others can be inspired, head coach Luka Banki praised his team after the victory over Italy.
Content will continue after the ad
Advertising
It has already been announced that the Latvian national team beat the Italian national team in the World Cup semi-final battle for 5th to 8th place with the result 87:82. On Saturday, the Latvians will meet Lithuania or Slovenia in the fight for the fifth place.
“It was a good win despite the fact that we had very little time to recover mentally and physically,” said Banki, who noted that playing two games in two days had an impact on the preparation process. “We couldn’t play our usual routine. This was an opportunity for us to dig deeper into our values. We started the game sloppily, but later the players showed that this game was important to them. They found a rhythm and the team played as I expected. The fight was tough and fierce, which will give us the opportunity to play in the final. It will be exciting.”
Banki knows the coaches and players of the Italian national team very well, because they are his compatriots, however, during the game he devoted his emotions not to the principled duel, but to motivating his team.
“In the battle for 5th to 8th place, the emotions were not the same as before. The most important thing for me was to channel all my energy to be ready for such a difficult game. We all saw the first ten minutes. I tried to give them confidence and guide them in the right direction. They found the resources and the rhythm we needed. It was a great pleasure to see how the team got along. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is. I’m very proud,” said the coach.
During the World Cup, Banki has mentioned many times the values of the Latvian basketball team, which help them win important victories. He believes that after this tournament, basketball players will become role models for others, as they will inspire many.
“Five out of six head coaches of big Latvian clubs worked in the Latvian national team. They helped, shared their experience, because my mission is to give impetus to the basketball of this country. It is not because I need to win games. My career does not need additional victories, but Latvian basketball needs to stay at this level. We need such victories to show everyone that we are alive, that we exist, that we can defeat such great powers,” the coach continued. “Tonight we proved that the players have values. It would be difficult for anyone to find the energy and motivation to go on the court and sacrifice their bodies. These people make a living for their families through basketball, but here we are, 22 hours after a dramatic loss, being asked to go on the court and fight for the fifth place. It’s risky, it’s not showing respect. But everyone wanted to play and wanted to win. The players are doing a great job to promote basketball in their country. Yesterday the schools allowed to watch the game against Germany, they sent me a video of it. I forwarded it in random chat, for the players to see it. They needed to see that they became role models. And role models need to inspire people. And people today hoped they would see proof of those values again. These basketball players deserve to be role models. Loud words don’t make you special, values do .”
2023-09-07 12:11:34
#basketball #players #Latvian #national #team #deserve #role #model
