By Stefan Djordjevic/ info@eurohoops.net
The first round of Basketball Champions League group stage has been played out and it has been an exciting ride so far for the fans. And for the players as well.
A lot of guys managed to steal the spotlight in the past seven weeks. Some were former NBAers, veterans proving they still got it, ‘new’ guys making a name for themselves but there has also been a number of young players telling the world they matured and are ready to take on the mantle.
One of them is Ventspils’ Rihards Lomazs.
The 22-year-old guard is the top scorer of his squad averaging 16.4 points so far. He scored in double-digits every week and his best game was against Sidigas Avellino on Gameday 7 as he notched 25 points pushing Ventspils to victory.
Lomazs has been an authentic Latvian project as for the past six years, he has been playing in the Latvian Basketball League while also being a regular part of Latvia’s national team selections.
As far as his club career goes, Lomazs played with Latvijas U18, BK Jelgava and Jurmala/Fenikss before joining Ventspils in 2015. He averaged 5.4 points in his first season with Ventspils and couldn’t grab enough minutes in his first European competition – FIBA Europe Cup.
However, Lomazs’s growth was evident as he gained more experience in Latvia and the first two BCL seasons. Now, he is playing his best season so far as well as the first one in which he holds a double-digit average.
The young guard has proven his improvement time and time again with the national team as well. He was a part of U16, U18 and U20 Latvian teams and in his last junior competition – 2016 European Championship – led the squad with 15.6 points on average while dropping 29 points vs. Serbia and 31 vs. Spain.
He got a chance on the senior national team as well during the ongoing World Cup Qualifiers. His debut was against Turkey in the first round and he scored ten points without missing a shot while also adding four rebounds.
Lomazs’ growth has been undeniable so far and Basketball Champions League is the best place for a young player like him to learn, mature and take it to the next level.