The head coach of the Armenia national basketball team, Tigran Gyokchyan, answered the questions of the ANOC press service before the semifinals of the European Championship for Small Countries.

-Mr. Gyokchyan, what would you say about the first game which was with Moldova?
-The Armenia national team started the European Championship for Small Countries in a different way. Our team played very well against Moldova. We had examined the opponent rather closely and knew its weak and strong sides. The analysis gave its result which was a convincing win.
-We lost to Andorra. Why?
-We lost to Andorra because they took us by surprise. We knew little about them. Though we had followed them during their first game, the strong players hadn’t been included in it. Our game with Andorra showed that Andorra’s team is very organized and has a Spanish play style. However, Armenia could have played better and succeed.
-Armenia won Wales with an obvious advantage. How did it happen?
-Everyone saw that there was no struggle in the game with Wales though our team was seriously prepared for the game. They were eager to win after the defeat. During the preparatory stage Armenia played a few games and, besides, the team is taking part in such an international tournament for the first time. It’s natural that the basketball players can’t play in the team during the whole year. Everything will fall into place with time and the team will start growing.
-What about our opponent in the semifinals – Ireland’s team?
The Ireland team is organized and plays aggressive basketball. They are one of the best teams of the championship. But the Armenia national team is also one of the favorites. We will do our best to win Ireland. We have already examined it and we are going to achieve positive results in the game with it.

ANOC press service