It was already reported that the Latvian basketball players lost to the Philippines with a score of 80:89 in the second qualifying game, but the failure will not prevent them from fighting for a ticket to the Olympic Games this weekend.
“The opponent played a great game with great execution. They played a physical game and were creative in attack. I thought we would strengthen the team, but the start of the game was bad, the team started to panic and we started to rush,” Banki said at the post-match press conference.
On Saturday, Latvia will play a semi-final match against one of the teams from another group.
“We need to reboot and focus on the semi-final. We need to improve not only the quality of the game, but also be mentally strong. This game should be a turning point in the tournament so that we realize things that would help us continue the fight for a ticket,” Banki emphasized.
Compared to the previous game, Artur Zagar did not play and Marek Meyers had limited time on the pitch.
“Unfortunately, Artur was unable to play due to injury. This morning he was examined and the medical staff advised to take care of him. It was too risky for him to play today. Marek, on the other hand, started collecting violations too quickly. All decisions are related to injuries, violations, as well as technical and tactical decisions,” Bánki explained.
The Philippines basketball team plays in the so-called “triangle attack”, which is not typical for European basketball.
“It’s hard to switch to a completely different game overnight. They made almost all of their shots in the first three quarters. I thought the defense they picked did a good job of keeping us out of the box, too. It forced us to take a lot of long shots, but the conversions were low. They controlled the rebounding battle with their height,” Banks said.
In the first game of the tournament on Tuesday, the Latvian team beat Georgia with a score of 83:55.
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2024-07-04 05:29:08