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Luca Banchi on values, attitude as Latvia returns to heroes' welcome after FIBA World Cup run

By GMA Integrated News

People lined up the streets of Latvia as their men's basketball team returned after a historic campaign in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Latvia, in their World Cup debut, finished fifth overall and were able to slay powerhouse squads like France, Spain, and Brazil before coming to Manila and face eventual champions Germany, Italy, and neighbor Lithuania.

 

 

 

 

Even prior to their homecoming, Latvia coach Luca Banchi had already been aware of the reception they might receive after their exceptional campaign.

"This is one of the better stories of my basketball life," Banchi said on Saturday after beating Lithuania, 98-63, in the battle for fifth.

The emotion we shared to each other, growing their confidence, leading their emotions, it's a long story," he said.

"It's a nice story," although the Italian coach said it could have been better.

Still, Banchi has come a long way with the team since joining them in 2021.

"I was in the US being an assistant coach for the Long Island Nets with the vision that maybe I can enter in the Brooklyn Nets coaching staff," Banchi recalled on Thursday after their win against Italy.

"Bubble, COVID, everything. Nothing was working as I expecting. It was a good experience."

While in Orlando during the NBA bubble, Banchi then received a call from his former player Kaspars Cipruss inviting him to be the coach of the Latvia national team.

"[It's] a country where I've never been before. [The] language, I don't know at all. No players I have coached in my career from Latvia then Kaspars Cipruss in 2000," said Banchi.

"It was like a jump in the dark."

Eventually, Banchi accepted the job.

"At the beginning it sounds crazy. But I approached this whole experience with all my energy and I realized from the very beginning that there is some kind of empathy with this environment," he said, adding that he had formed a connection with his players such as Dairis Bertans.

With the help of Bertans and other coaches, Banchi then studied Latvia's style of basketball with one mission.

"This is my mission. I have to improve basketball in this country not because I need to win games because I don't need extra wins in my career. Latvian basketball needs to stay at the level we deserve," he said.

"We go through the big names because we have identity, we have style, and as we proved tonight, we have values."

Banchi emphasized on his players' values and attitude as crucial factors on how the Latvian team, despite the fatigue of the short tournament, still showed up and played for their compatriots.

"No one single stepped down and everybody wants to play and everybody wants to win. It's a matter of value."

Banchi also said his players are ambassadors of basketball in their country as they have become role models for children, sharing that television was allowed in schools for the kids to watch their games during the tourney.

"We received many pictures, I received a video which I shared to the players. After the game with Germany, before they go to sleep, I want them to see these kids, watching, sitting in a room, watching them play," he shared.

"It means that in a few games, they have become role models. Models need to inspire people and the people tonight were expecting them to give one more demonstration to have special value. That's what they did.

They deserved to become role models. It's not a matter of wins. It's a matter of attitude because [it's] not the big names, but the values that makes the people special."

Now, Banchi and the rest of the Latvia team stands with the Freedom Monument behind. Indeed what they had was something special.

—Justin Kenneth Carandang/JMB, GMA Integrated News

Tags: Latvia basketball, 2023 FIBA World Cup, FIBA Basketball World Cup, Luca Banchi
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