Last season, the Latvian champion team surprised by reaching the quarter-finals of Europe’s second strongest club tournament. This was already done with limited resources, but this season the club’s budget decreased even more and under the leadership of coach Ziebart, a new team was formed with a different concept. “Not only the financial resources, but also the local players’ resources are not enough to achieve more in the long term,” Juris Švanders, the chairman of the club’s board, explained that the team is being formed with the aim of including as wide a range of young players as possible in the club’s system.
For half of the ten players who went to Sassari, it was their first European Cup experience. Three of them – 17-year-old Anna Liepiņa and one year younger Sindija Mishčenko and Marta Ploriņa – also made their debut on the pitch. The weight of the game had to be carried on the shoulders of the most experienced players – Keti Wichman, Ilze Jākobson, who was temporarily recruited, as well as Karlīne Pilāberi and Mija Lloyd, who spent the preparation phase with minor injuries.
Opponents gained the advantage several times with breakthroughs, however, the Riga team always knew how to fight back and in the decisive quarter only six points separated the teams. In the end, cramps prevented Loida from playing, the other leaders also got tired, so they failed to fight for the victory. True, the dynamics of the performance allowed the coaches to express their determination for revenge in the home game.
Before that, Sosnovecs will visit Riga next week Basinwho defeated the Belgian by 88:55 in the parallel first round game Mechelen.
Basketball
FIBA EuroCup for Women
Sassari Dinamo (Italy) – TTT Riga (Latvia) 83:74 (20:16, 36:36, 63:54; Karangelo 24, Taylor 21, Begiča 20 – Loida 29, Vihmane 18, Jākobsone 16)
17.X TTT Riga – Zaglebie (Poland)