Basketball|The national basketball team will face Georgia twice next week.
Playing basketball The European Championship qualifiers are played when the world’s two best leagues, the NBA and the Euroleague, are in full swing, so different men often play for the places in the prestigious competitions than in the prestigious competitions.
It opens opportunities to the national team for players who have traveled a very different path.
The 30-year-old center of Uusikaupunki’s Korihai Mikael Aalto and Salon Vilppa’s 17-year-old rear guard Samu Adler include the head coach of the national basketball team Lassi Tuovin on Tuesday to announce the group of 17 players from which the lineup will be selected for next week’s two games against Georgia.
Adler, who played his junior games in Espoo, has gone through the junior national teams and HBA Märsky to Salon Vilppas, where he is playing his first season in the Korisliiga.
In the domestic main league, Adler has played like a seasoned veteran and averaged 12.7 points per game in less than 20 minutes.
Se means that Adler’s scoring average has remained practically the same as last season in I division A, where he scored 12.8 points per game for HBA Märsky.
“Yes, over the years, you’ve gotten used to being surprised. Samu’s potential has been known, and the question has been at what point it will blossom. His confidence has been admirable to watch. He is deservedly included”, commented Tuovi at the remote media conference.
“He is an extremely brash, big and physical backcourt player. He brings us a new kind of look”, continued Tuovi.
In Vilppa, Adler has mainly played as a playmaker, but with the ball he often primarily looks for a throw for himself.
“We have let the young people do what they know how to do. There are good experiences with it. Let’s let Samu be himself and see what happens,” said Tuovi.
Tuovi didn’t want to predict what would be Adler’s primary playing spot in the national team.
“He is versatile in the sense that he does not have a home position (primary playing spot), but he can play both first and second. Such players are extremely valuable. The role then adapts with the game performances,” said the head coach.
Susijeng’s head coach Mikko Tuovi wants to give young people a chance.
There where Adler has been the standard face of the young national teams, the 30-year-old Aalto’s path has been much more tortuous and longer.
Aalto has not played a single national youth match. Sipoo’s Hukkabasket graduate made his league debut only at the age of 21 in KTP-Basket, where he spent three seasons on the bench.
After that, Aalto played four seasons in I division A in Turku before returning to the Korisliiga the following year in the ranks of Uudenkaupunki.
“He was at the rising stars camp (of the challenger national team) last summer, and rising stars don’t look at age. Aalto showed good skills in the summer, and after that it is now easier to join,” said Tuovi.
Last summer, Aalto had to miss the games of the challenger national team because of the honeymoon he had already arranged.
In the EC qualifiers, Finland will face Georgia next week in Espoo on Thursday and will travel to Tbilisi, Georgia, for an away match on Sunday.
Finland has a sure place in next year’s European Championships, because Finland will host one of the first groups in Tampere.
“There are quite a few joint events a year, so yes, they are all put to good use. Let’s go to win, but above all the goal is that the way we play and work together is even better,” said Tuovi as the goal for next week.