The importance of meeting Susijeng and its fans should not be underestimated. In the game that decided the Olympic qualification place, the performance of the coaches also caught the eye, writes Roope Visuri of Urheilu.
Roope VisuriYle Sports reporter
OKINAWA.
Susigengi did what it had to do in this World Cup tournament. Finland clinched the Olympic qualification spot by beating Venezuela in their last World Cup match.
However, it did not come without dramatic moments. Finland started strong, but then fell into its original sin of these World Cups. Like the Japan game, six losses were recorded for the first period. Now, however, the defense was together, unlike against the host.
Even in the second period, Venezuela was able to upset Susijeng due to losses, so the issue that colored the tournament in Finland came out strongly again.
The star duo of the wolf gang Lauri Markkanen and Sasu Salin emerged, however, at a spiritually important moment. Markkanen and Salin scored seven points before the halftime break and took Finland to the break with a 13-point lead.
In the second half, Susijeng’s other trademark of this tournament was seen again, when Finland had some really dark moments in the game. Fortunately for Susijeng, the team was now able to break the opponent’s runes in the early group games faster. That’s how Finland ended up with a clear victory.
The coaches put their all into the game on the bench
What was striking in the last match was the national team legend who is part of the Finnish coaching team Hanno Möttölän loading on the bench. He guided Susijeng’s players in defense by shouting as loud as he could. Möttölä was very strongly involved in the game and fanned Susijeng’s successes very strongly.
Also from the coaching team Mikko Larkas that is, feeling involved in the events of the game so that his screams could be heard far in the arena.
– Coaching also has to lead energy. We exchanged certain things with coaching to lighten each other’s burdens. We came to the conclusion that we are at least energetic. The boys deserve a good dinner today. They cheered, encouraged and created energy, Finland’s head coach Lassi Tuovi played in the background after the last World Cup game.
Perhaps Möttölä was also aware of how big things were played. During the long-time national team captain’s career, the Olympics were a distant thing. Now they are three or four wins away if the Olympic qualifying tournaments are organized next year in the same way as before.
Going into these World Cups, Finland’s minimum goal in the eyes of outsiders was an Olympic qualification place. Out of the 32 World Cup teams, only five teams would be left out of the Olympic qualifying place, while the World Cup gives seven direct places to the Olympics and nineteen places to the qualification.
Susijeng’s performances in the World Cup should therefore not cause huge cheers when a certain kind of minimum goal is reached.
Before the World Championships, there was already a lot of time to judge the hardness of Susijengi’s first group compared to many others. Based on the game performances seen at the World Cup, there is not a terrible need for jostling, although Susijeng’s group can still be considered to be of a high standard.
Still, when you look at the results and situations of the other preliminary groups, it would have been really tough for Finland to fight for second place and a place in the top 16 with their World Cup performances. Actually, there was something to be done about the three blocks.
In the B group, Susijengi could have beat Puerto Rico and in the second F group played in Okinawa, Georgia could have been knocked down. The winged Greece Finland would probably have been able to challenge. Montenegro would certainly have been a victory for Finland in many papers beforehand, but it has also been able to fight for a victory against the United States in this World Cup tournament.
Australia, who punished Finland with 26 points at the opening of the World Cup, will end its World Cup tournament this weekend as well, when the team lost to Slovenia in the extension group in Okinawa on Friday. Head coach of the Olympic bronze medalist Brian Goorjan offered a fascinating insight into the proportions of the World Cup after the loss.
– Germany and Slovenia are World Cup medal level teams. They can take gold, silver or bronze. That’s their level. We are a step behind that at the moment, Goorjan said directly about the level difference.
The fan meeting helped in a new way
Of course, the positive thing is that grabbing the Olympic qualification spot shows the growth of the young Susijengi team after a difficult start.
Seen from the spot, one event also stood out as a turning point in the WC tournament. On Tuesday, Finland had lost its third and last preliminary group game, bowing to one of the early favorites of the games, Germany. That same evening, the Basketball Association organized a fan event for about a thousand Finnish supporters who arrived in Okinawa.
Susijeng’s players signed autographs and took group photos with fans for more than an hour and a half. The serious expressions disappeared in an instant. Each player was able to think about something else and smile for a long time.
In the past, the incredible magic of Susijeng’s fan meeting has meant that Finland has won its prize game on the day the fan meeting has been organized. Now, in a certain way, the magic continued, because the face of Finland’s game changed after the meeting. Of course, the players and the coaching team worked hard in the background to develop the game, but the importance of the fan event can hardly be underestimated.
Head coach Tuovi also highlighted the importance of the fan event already on the eve of the final game.
Overall, the atmosphere at the World Cup in Okinawa was wonderful and perhaps the best of all the prestigious games where Finland has played. So now we’re talking about games other than Finland’s matches, where Finnish fans have had a mecca in previous prestigious competitions. The basketball culture of Japan and Okinawa has surely inspired many who came to the place.
Even before the World Cup, the Finnish players received a wonderful reception in Okinawa. In the training hall, there were school children’s smack messages and so on.
The passionate followers of basketball certainly left an impression on everyone who followed the World Cup games in Okinawa.
Arigato!