Finnish basketball player Lotta-Maj Lahtinen plays in AE Sedis Basquet this season. Lahtinen says that he is happy and proud that he has a contract and his knee is fine.
Riku Porvari,
Jouko Vuolle
A basketball player Lotta-Maj Lahtinen signed a player contract with AE Sedis Bàsquet of the Spanish premier league Liga Femenina over the weekend.
– A really fast start to the season. I arrived last week and the first time I got to the field was a game day, says Lahtinen.
The team had their last practice game on Saturday, as their season starts on Sunday, September 24. Lahtinen says he is especially happy that he found himself a club before the start of the season.
He signed a contract with the Belgian Kangoeroes Basket Mechelen just over a year ago, but Lahtinen’s season ended with an injury before it even started.
– I had a terrible cold to play, but I had to watch the whole season from the sidelines. I’ve been rehabilitating myself for a long winter, so I’m even more happy and proud of myself when I have a contract, my knee is fine and I get to play in a really tough series.
Sedis Basquet reached the quarterfinals last season, but missed the first round of the playoffs. Lahtinen says that the goal in the starting season is of course the championship.
– First to the playoffs, from which we will start to improve last season’s ranking. Spain has such a competitive league and all the teams are so even that anyone can beat the top teams.
The bronze medal at the Universiade was achieved with a united spirit
After his injury last season, Lahtinen returned to the playing fields in a Finnish shirt this summer. He was part of the Universiade team, which made Finnish basketball history. The women’s team won bronze at the Chengdu Universiade.
– I believe that it was the sum of many things. We had trained really well throughout the summer with a good group. The preparation went well when the coaching team had taken care of everything in advance.
According to Lahtinen, some of the players on the Finnish team knew each other from before, so the chemistry was good. He says that togetherness off the field helps on the field as well, and at the games everything came together.
– I already played in the previous Universiade in Naples. I would say that we had a really good feeling and mood within the team again. That chemistry has a lot to do with how we play together on the field.