One step away from the miracle, the former Danish coach: “We should be proud of this result, because they all ruled us out before the selection” / News

Photo: BNS

Photo: BNS

Photo: BNS

Photo: BNS

Photo: BNS

The Danish national team, which was ruled out in the FIBA ​​2022 qualifiers and seen as an outsider by many in Group C, proved to everyone that it can play basketball and was one step away from a miracle.

Probably no one could have thought that in the last round of the qualifying tournament the Danes will have a real shot at entering the European Championship, but Erez Bittman’s students showed character again tonight and only after a dramatic 76:77 fight loss. against the Lithuanian national team.

The victory over Lithuania would have opened the door to the Old Continent championship for Denmark, but the Scandinavians, who attacked imprecisely in the decisive attack, fell behind the Old Continent championship.

At the post-match press conference, Danish strategist Bittman was overwhelmed by two feelings: The 52-year-old stuntman was proud of his students, but disappointed that he couldn’t win.

“It is difficult to choose the right word for this match. Reaching the bubble for the second time in a row and how to fight Lithuania against equals … This is a story that no one would believe if it had not happened.

I do not want to criticize the FIBA ​​selection system, but rather that a country as small as Denmark, which played in the small country tournament 6-7 years ago, reaches the decisive match and fights again until the last seconds against Lithuania. … I can only dream what it would have been like today, matches if they had been played in Copenhagen against 7-8 thousand people, what an atmosphere there would be.

We know that we are very, very disappointed, but we have to be proud of this result, because before the selection, everyone scored us and placed us in last place 32 of all the teams involved. 93-94 percent of the people before this duel said that Lithuania would win easily, but our guys were amazing. the way they played, the spirit they showed on the parquet.

Kevin Larsen and Jonas Zohore, who play in the second-capacity league in Spain, with all due respect, were better than the senior Lithuanians who compete in the Spanish ACB Championship. This shows that the league you are playing in does not reflect your ability. In the national team, you raise your level of play. Kevin, John and the other guys did a great job.

In the end, we were in a free kick, a rebound or a mistake for entering the European Championship. Now I am surrounded by double feelings, partly I am proud of my team, but I am very disappointed on the other hand, ”said Bittman.