Čoders unhappy with performance despite Valmiera's season-opening win

Latvian-Lithuanian basketball league champions Valmiera Glass/ViA opened their season against a Riga club, building a 12-point lead after the first quarter. However, the Riga debutants fought back, winning both the second and third quarters and sharply cutting into that lead. By the end of the game, Valmiera managed to withstand the pressure and secure the win.

After the match, head coach Čoders said only the final result brought satisfaction. "The only positive we can probably take from today is that we won," he said, adding that the overall quality of the game was very unsatisfactory. According to the coach, the way the team started the match was the complete opposite of what had been discussed and prepared for beforehand.

Poor long-range shooting

One of Valmiera's biggest problems was three-point shooting — the team made just four of 26 attempts, a 15.4% success rate. Čoders noted there was a brief upturn at the start of the third quarter when the team became more aggressive, but he said the shooting struggles overall stemmed from the team arriving insufficiently prepared for the game.

The coach said the match could serve as a lesson that will help the team regroup and improve how players support one another going forward. "Still, the main thing is that we got the win," he emphasized.

Valmiera Glass/ViA will play their next match on Friday, hosting Ventspils at home.