Сергей Базаревич: «В Латвии выросло великолепное поколение игроков»

Всё правильно сказал "База": один Кристапс круче, чем все лидеры нашей сборной. Другое дело, что в командных видах спорта-один в поле не воин. У Латышей второй сильный игрок это Бертанс Д, и пожалуй, всё. У нас же нет звёзд, но команда более ровная, и обойма из 7 игроков стабильных, пусть и среднего класса. Не очень понятно, почему Россия идёт в матче андердогом за 2,12? Я бы наоборот, такой кэф на латышей давал.

И что он давал на турок и сербов до этого?

With all due respect, it’ pretty obvious that you’re not exactly a basketball guru. Aside from KP and Davis (who played in the NBA finals vs. GSW), there’s plenty of talent on the Latvian roster. And there’s even more NBA-tier talent outside of our current lineup. Dairis Bertans, Timma and Strelnieks are all Euroleague players. Strelnieks and Timma were approached by some of the best European club teams, including Barcelona and CSKA. Strelnieks signed a deal with Olympiacos, while Timma opted for more playing time in Baskonia, which is splashing cash all over the place and has signed a bunch of great players, and is looking to become one of the powerhouses in Euroleague next season. Smits received the Eurocup Rookie of the Year award last season and was approached by Barcelona, which is going to buy him out from Fuenlabrada for €700k. Then we have 1st round NBA draft picks in Pasecniks (Gran Canaria/76ers) and Kurucs (Barcelona). All of our 2nd string rotation players are playing at a decent level as well. ACB, Eurocup, VTB, etc. Basketball in Latvia is on the rise and we are pumping out more NBA prospects than Lithuania. So, believe it or not, we really do have a great, up-and-coming generation of players and you will see why we’re the favorites during the game.