The basketball player of the generation of bellows Kambala returns to training after a 20-year break / Article / LSM.lv

Legendary basketball player and boxer Kaspars Kambala on Wednesday spent his first day of training at the Latvian Academy of Sports Pedagogy (LSPA), returning to training after a break of about 20 years. However, the former athlete did not hide in the conversation with LSM.lv – it is interesting, and he will probably learn something he did not know before.

Although Kambala has not hidden the basketball in the attic, because he will participate in the Latvian Cup as a part of Grakalne “Runču”, it is not a return to basketball – Kambala has finished his basketball career. Another thing with boxing – he is going to wear gloves only when the last fight, in which he won, is over. It is not yet clear when this will happen and with what.

Kambala is not going to say goodbye to sports, allowing the opportunity to show himself in another quality – as a coach. That is why he has returned to training, so that if someone starts training, even as a private trainer, the papers are in order. To obtain a category C coaching certificate, Kambala will have to study at LSPA for ten months.

To be able to train a team, with category C will not be enough, but so far Kaspars does not have such a far-reaching plan to look for a category B or even category A coach certificate. “Never say never,” a basketball legend laughed in a conversation with LSM.lv, thus indicating that such distant future plans are still in the fog.

Kaspars last started training 20 years ago, when He has mastered casino management in Las Vegas, later he did not find it difficult to improve himself in the field of education, but recently he was addressed by the head of “Paf Bet” Rihards Streiķis, offering such an opportunity. And Kambala has realized that now is the right time to get an education document.

However, already in the first lecture, which was anatomy, Kaspars came to sleep because he was not used to getting up so early, and he also woke up half a day because he went to a meeting with journalists. However, in the future Kaspars promises to be a more diligent student, because he has to study only one day a week, moreover, it is really an opportunity to learn something new, or to learn to call his knowledge gained in practice in the right words.

Kambala has become the first Paf Bet Fellow to be helped by the company. As Streikis told LSM.lv, many professional athletes feel thrown out of the boat at the end of their careers and do not know what to do next. It is investment in education that would allow them to continue their professional sport. The strike emphasizes that Kambala is the first, but certainly not the last, scholarship holder.

Kambala started his career as a professional basketball player in Latvia, but later moved to the USA, where he studied at Houmsted High School and played for the school team. He later studied at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas and played in the NCAA Championships, but began his professional career in Europe. Kambala has played in clubs such as Istanbul’s Efes Pilsen, Istanbul’s Fenerbahce, Madrid’s Real and Kazan’s Unics.

Kambala was disqualified in 2007 when he was caught using cocaine, during which time Kaspars began his boxing career. After his disqualification, he put an end to his boxing career and returned to basketball, continuing his career in Cransoyarsk “Yenisei”, later playing in clubs in Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran, In Northern Cyprus. Kambala has also played for the Latvian basketball team several times. Say goodbye to baskeball Kambala in 2019, marking with 20 points gain for “Jūrmala / Betsafe” in the game against Tallinn “Kalev / Cramo” in the joint Latvian-Estonian league.

Journalist Armands Puce has written a book about Kambala, “Kambala…, amen!”, Which was once redeemed, so this year it will be resold again, but it will no longer be on store shelves.

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