By Antonis Stroggylakis / astroggylakis@eurohoops.net
Jakarta, Indonesia – Latvia forward Davis Bertans elaborated further on his position regarding the potential use of naturalized players by his national team.
In a recent interview, Bertans mentioned that as long as he’s active on an international level, no naturalized player will be included on the roster of the national team. Ahead of the important World Cup clash vs. Spain Friday (1/9), he explained further why he detests even the idea of having a non-Latvian join the squad.
“The first thing is if you put a passport to somebody that means a person is taking the place from a Latvian player that works very hard their whole life to make the national team,” Bertans said. “Even if they don’t get minutes on the court.”
Watch the upcoming World Cup on the official streaming service of FIBA! Join Courtside 1891 and never miss a second of the action!
Bertans used the example of Latvia guard Arturs Zagars. At 23 years of age and in his first appearance with his national team in a big summer competition, Zagars is averaging 12.3 points and a team-high 6.7 assists, having a pivotal role in running many of the offensive plays.
He was the leading scorer for Latvia in the triumph over France with 22 points, apart from dropping five dimes.
“As you see, we have Arturs Zagars this year,” Bertans said. “Previously he didn’t play much and he’s basically one of the key guys on the team. This is going to be a great experience for him and a learning experience. Also, that’s gonna give him a great shot at being one of the leaders in the future.”
Around half of the World Cup teams have included a naturalized player on their roster, especially groups of small countries.
“If you put somebody in his place and he doesn’t play a single minute in this championship, first of all, that might ruin his career,” Bertans added. “Second, it won’t give him a chance to play with the national team that’s been going for many years.
Bertans has no problem admitting that Latvia is far from the favorite against Spain. In fact, he likes it as he and his teammates feed off of people thinking of them as underdogs.
“Well, we’ve been considered underdogs in all our games for… years,” Bertans. “Even when the World Cup Qualifiers started. We are used to that. We embrace it. And we want to prove everybody wrong. That’s been our mentality and it’s been working for us.”
Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL