Strautiņš confirms he will play in Italy again next season

Latvia national basketball team forward Dairis Strautiņš has confirmed he will continue playing in the Italian league next season, though he has not yet revealed which club he will join.

The forward left Tortona's Derthona club this summer after spending the past three years there. Earlier reports, unconfirmed, suggested he could join the newly formed Roma SPQR project, but no official announcement has followed.

Offers from several countries

Strautiņš said he received offers from other countries over the summer and was interested in a change of scenery, but ultimately decided to stay in Italy because it offered the better deal. He spoke only positively about his former club Tortona, saying everything there was at a high level.

Preparation and a new role with the national team

He spent most of the summer on individual training with Ainars Zvirgzdiņš, working both outdoors in the forest and in the gym, while attending the team's open training sessions less frequently. In this national team cycle he has had to take on a bigger leadership role, which he says feels familiar since he held similar responsibilities at club level.

Strautiņš noted that after a number of player withdrawals, the team needs to keep building chemistry and play more aggressively on both ends of the floor, though he said the squad is not overly concerned about its position in the standings.

In August, Latvia will play warm-up games against Slovenia and Ukraine before facing Croatia and Israel in World Cup qualifying.