Gailītis after loss to Georgia: Poor decisions in the last five minutes

The Latvian men's national basketball team suffered a 77:87 defeat to Georgia in a friendly match played in Riga on Sunday, June 29. Head coach Jānis Gailītis commented on the performance during a press conference, highlighting inconsistent play.

Game review and coach's assessment

Gailītis noted that the team started the game moderately but improved in the middle, though the score did not reflect that. The final five minutes saw poor decision-making that cost them the win. "We need to learn how to win games, but this time we couldn't do it," he said.

He also emphasized that the team is still in the middle of the summer training process, so it would be unfair to draw deep conclusions. The players tried, but some were perhaps too cautious.

Player performances

Gailītis had no complaints about the frontcourt players. Roberts Blumbergs performed well, executing his role effectively. "These tall players have never been scoring machines, but they can help the guards. I have no issues with their performance," the coach stated.

However, he expects more from Artūrs Žagars, who played his first game this summer after missing the previous match in Estonia. Gailītis had a conversation with him, pointing out mistakes, lack of rhythm, and poor communication. "We didn't create anything from the environment to make our talent look good. Part of the responsibility lies with the key players," he added.

Looking ahead

Last Friday in Tallinn, Latvia lost to Estonia 78:88. Upcoming fixtures include World Cup qualifiers: away against the Netherlands on Friday and at home against Austria on July 6. Gailītis compared the Netherlands to Estonia – a fast, active, energetic style with many offensive movements. He also noted that Georgia applied good pressure on the ball.

Team captain Rihards Lomažs described the performance as uneven, which is normal at this stage of the camp. "We always want to win, but the main games are still ahead. There is a lack of understanding and rhythm, but that can be regained in practice. Nothing tragic happened," he said.