It has already been reported that Latvian 3×3 basketball players Nauris Miezis, Kārlis Lasmanis, Francis Lācis and Zigmārs Raimo suffered a loss in the battle for bronze medals at the Paris Olympic Games on Monday, losing to Lithuania with a score of 14:21. In the main tournament, the Latvians won all seven matches, but failed in the semi-finals and the bronze medal match.
“It’s clear that expectations grew with every game won. For everyone – both those around and the players. But along with expectations, tension and pressure also grew. What it means – only those who have had such an experience can really know. On the psychological against the background of pressure and fatigue, errors in decisions appeared that were not there before,” LBS quotes Feldmanis as saying.
The coach also emphasized that in conditions where you have to work at the level of instincts, the habit of helping your partners in defense worked, which is not necessary in 3×3 basketball. “But under no circumstances do I want to blame anyone. We are not unique – three years ago in Tokyo there were Serbs in the same situation,” concluded Feldmanis.
Feldmanis also pointed out that there were games in which victories were difficult – with the Americans, also with the French national team, where the team was lucky in the end.
“It can be speculated that it would have been better not to save in them, but losing with intention usually does not lead to a good end. If we talk more broadly, it would have been worth working even more on decision-making in extreme conditions during training, but it is true that it is impossible to imitate the atmosphere of the Olympic Games on a daily basis. And more – during the games, it was necessary to protect the players even more from the pressure, from the surrounding pressure,” explained Feldmanis.
In both the men’s and women’s tournament, teams that were not expected to fight for the title played in the finals.
“In many countries, large funds are invested in 3×3 basketball, so it is logical that the competition is intensifying. Money does not guarantee medals, as evidenced by, for example, the start of the Chinese national team. But the level is growing and when teams of similar strength meet, tactics recede into the background. Mental strength and team chemistry are increasingly important. In the Olympic tournament, the Latvian national team was at a very high level, otherwise there would not have been seven victories. But on Monday, two teams were a little better,” said Feldmanis.
After the bronze final, Miezis said in a television interview that we will meet in 2028 in Los Angeles, implying that he could continue his progress in 3×3 basketball.
“At the end of August, there will be a European Championship for adults and youth, in September the Latvian team will compete in the U-23 World Cup. Nauris and Kārlis previously said that they will join Chinese clubs after the Olympic Games. There are about ten players in the national team, from which we will select a quartet for the European Championship. further plans must be clarified by first calmly analyzing what happened. Everyone, including me,” said Feldmanis.
Three years ago, Miezis and Lasmanis, together with Edgars Krūmins and Agni Čavaras, became Olympic champions.
2024-08-08 09:51:51