A historic moment was experienced in Malmö. Switzerland, the big country of the sport, was left out of the medal games.
Heikki Luukkonen piloted Latvia to a historic World Cup achievement. IFF / Per Wiklund
The glass ceiling is broken.
Indoor basketball coach Heikki Luukkonen aptly said Friday’s World Cup sensation. Latvia, coached by Luukkonen, defeated Switzerland 4–3 in overtime in the quarterfinals.
The sport’s top four – Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic and Switzerland – has been so strong that no countries outside of that four have been seen in the semifinals since 2012.
– The tournament is over. Let’s prepare the group for the next game, Luukkonen threw coldly in the open air of the Malmö arena.
The achievement is hard for Latvia, the best in its history.
– It was now one game, one tournament. Yes, we believed in it. When we saw the division of blocks, it was pretty clear that something like this could happen. Out of the top four, Switzerland was the country we wanted to play against.
A place in the World Cup semi-finals as a pilot for an underdog country is a great achievement for Luukkonen’s CV as well. Of course, there are already two U19 world championships as the head coach of Finland’s youth.
– The Finnish association was contacted when Petteri Nykyn time was running out and a successor was being sought. From there it was reported that I am not good enough. I still have to develop and learn, Luukkonen said about his World Cup success.
Esa Jussila was selected as Finland’s head coach. Luukkonen was involved in the application process.
– They called from there and asked if I was interested. I said of course I’m interested. At some point it was announced that I am in the top 4. Next, it was announced why I am not good enough. It was a pretty short process.
Did it leave something in the tooth cavity?
– Well… no. There can always be one koutsi at a time. Let’s say that I wasn’t involved in any national team coaching then, and Latvia had already been asked several times.
– It was such a positive boost to go to Latvia and check if I could still manage in international competitions.
Latvia will face the winner of the Finland-Norway quarter-final in the semi-final.
Swiss Awakening
The elimination of Switzerland at the quarter-final stage is a big surprise, but there have been signs of prediction in the air. This year’s team had a large number of first-timers.
The results and the games have shown that it has fallen behind even the Czech Republic.
Still, Latvia deserves praise.
Rolands Kovalevskis decided in overtime and started the celebration of the Latvians. IFF / Per Wiklund
– In places 5–8, the competition has developed. On the plus side, there used to be individual players who played in the best leagues. The level has expanded, and now it was time to break the glass ceiling. Maybe it also gives faith to other countries that this is possible.
Part of the Swiss coaching team Tatu Väänänen stated that the situation has also been raised in the alpine country.
– Of course this is a wake-up call. It has already been awakened after the last two World Cup tournaments without a medal. It is a place for a bigger reflection on how much you have to invest in juniors to be able to fight for medals, Väänänen said after the loss to Latvia.
Edited at 10:30 p.m.: Corrected to the article that a country outside the “top four” last reached the semi-finals in 2012, not 1996, as previously reported.