Armenia will face Albania in the FIBA EuroBasket 2021 Pre-Qualifier on February 25.
Head coach of the team Niksa Bavcevic has talked with the press and shared his opinion on the team and the upcoming game.
Boatright won’t feature anymore
“I would like to talk about Ryan Boatright first. While I manage the team, he will not feature in it. He is not a part of our project anymore because of his behavior. He wanted to live in a different hotel than the team and eat different food, and he demanded special treatment.
Basketball is a team sport and everyone should act as a unit. The whole federation decided not to invite Boatright again, it wasn’t just me. I believe anyone in our place would have done the same.
He will be replaced by Aragad Abramian, who will be a top player in Armenian basketball in time. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have a club at the moment, but he has a big potential and shows good results in the training.”
Photo: Mediamax
Team’s losses
“In the last game of our group, we lost the chance to beat Denmark, so the game with Albania is very important for us. We have problems, because some key players won’t be able to help the team.
Two of our boys won’t be able to play for Armenia because of their game schedule in the U.S. college league. Andrew Chrabascz is injured and Albert Tatevosyan has twisted his ankle, so he might be out. The medical team is doing everything they can to help him recover for the game, but we don’t know if he will be. Luke Fischer has joined the team yesterday and trained alone in the morning.”
Photo: Mediamax
Ahead of the game with Albania
“We watched the Denmark v Albania game yesterday. Albania played well, although they gave in to the pressure and lost. They will come with 6 new players to Armenia and I would like to single out Elvisi Dusha, who plays in the UK. Two other players, Klaudio Ndoja and Gerti Shima are quite strong too.
We have studied the Albanian team well and we know what to do. We respect our rivals but we are unafraid of them. It will be a difficult game, but the boys and I will do everything to win and to be able to smile in the end of the game. I hope the fans will help us with that.”
Armenia v Albania will kick off at 7 p.m. (Yerevan time) on February 25, at Mika Sports Complex. The entry will be free.
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