Heila, can you look back at the trip to Liepāja and Rīga?

We started traveling at 08:00 AM. We came to Liepāja around 17:30 and were really tired. The game against “Vega 1/Liepāja” was very hard mentally. We started slow but I think the better team won in the end. Eventually our defense won the game, when we woke up in the second half.

One of the reasons why the win in Liepāja was important was to minimise the chance to play against them in the “Top 6” tournament.

True. Now when they are in the second group we don`t have to go to Liepāja again. After the game we traveled to Riga arriving here around midnight. I think we were pretty tired, because we had seven players available. It`s pretty hard if you know that you need to play for 40 minutes. If you concentrate you can do it. All players must be ready for that. And we weren`t ready against the “TTT Riga”. That was crazy!

TTT play fast transition basketball, many fast breaks.

I told my teammates two weeks ago – they are gonna run! They are gonna run!! Yes, of course. The game started with five fast breaks in a row! We weren`t ready.

Ten wins, two losses. Are you satisfied with the first round?

I`m pretty happy. We are gonna see what happens now. I think the real games will start in the next round. Everybody needs to stay healthy to play well together. I think the second round is gonna be totally different.

Are you excited to play in the Nordea Basketball league?

Of course! Competition is very good. There are post players that look like post players and the games are more physical. It`s good for the development of our younger players. They will get experience they need.

Are the young players from “Audentes” practising together with “Eclex/1182”?

When we play in the Baltic league, we are adding some extra players from “Audentes”. They are not involved only in practices this way.

Summer of 2013 was pretty good for Estonian basketball. National team won some games in the EuroBasket Women 2015 qualifiers, the men`s team qualified for the EuroBasket 2015 and young girls won the silver medals at the 2013 FIBA 3x3 World Championship.

I think our men`s team made some history. It`s good! Also the women`s team did some good work by beating Netherlands. It was a surprise. Nobody was expecting that. It`s good. But the next game against Greece was bad. They were on a higher level and outplayed us in everything.

Are you gonna play next summer for the National team?

I hope so, I don`t know yet. There is half of the season left. I am old already (laughs). Some young players are coming. I am working as well, however I still practice two times per day. I leave home at 08:30 and come back at 23:00. That`s my day! No days off for most of the time.