Foreign players play a huge role in the Taiwan basketball championship, especially high-class basketball players in the 'big' position, said Latvian national team center Anžejs Pasečņiks in a conversation with journalists, LETA reports.
The Latvian national team will begin its qualification for the 2027 World Cup on November 28 with a home match against the Netherlands, and on December 1, they will play in Vienna against Austria. Under the guidance of Luka Banki, Pasečņiks has not played for the national team in the last couple of years, but after Sito Alonso took over the national team, the center returned to the squad.
"I am very happy and I have a lot of energy. Since I haven’t been with the national team for a while, I came with very fresh emotions," said Pasečņiks, noting that Alonso expressed a desire to see the basketball player in the team. "Every coach has their own characteristics, and now the roster is different. The preparation is very short, and there are many new players in the team. It will be interesting, but not easy."
"I was lucky because last summer I was the first to inform the new team that if I was called up, I wanted to join the national team. One of my teammates, who also wanted to play for his national team, was not allowed to," Pasečņiks shared.
He did not specify the exact reason why he had not made Banki's candidate list in recent years, but he did not deny that at least this summer it was also his own decision. "I just chose not to play," the center admitted.
In the summer, Pasečņiks joined the Taiwanese club Hsinchu Lioneers. Evaluating the Taiwan championship, he noted that the opposition from rivals on the court is serious.
"In Asia, local players are generally shorter, so all foreigners are 'big', and clubs try to attract very high-quality legionnaires. Foreigners play a huge role, so it’s not a walk in the park," Pasečņiks explained, adding that in Taiwan teams try to integrate European and American styles of basketball.
On Friday, the captain of the Latvian national team, Dairis Bertāns, will play his last match for the national team, whom Pasečņiks called a worthy example.
"Professionalism - he takes great care of his body. I hope he continues to play and sets an example for young players," Pasečņiks said.
The Latvians will begin their fight for a spot in the World Cup finals, which will take place in Qatar, in qualifying group F of the European zone, playing twice against the teams of the Netherlands, Poland, and Austria.
The three best teams in group F, retaining the results of all matches, will merge in the second stage with the three strongest teams from group E (Germany, Croatia, Israel, Cyprus). The three best teams based on the results of the second stage will earn the right to play in the World Cup finals.
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