SPORTS
Moses putting the street into Azerbaijani Basketball
Baku, June 24, AZERTAC
Marshall Obrain Moses may be new to Azerbaijani Basketball and the 3x3 version of the game, but that did not stop him making a strong impression on the first day of action at Baku 2015.
At 198cm and 107kg, the big man has only been training with his new teammates for three and a half weeks, but his performances on Tuesday thrilled the European Games crowds.
After scoring six and five points respectively in Azerbaijan's wins against Czech Republic and Switzerland, the 26-year-old said he could adapt to the 3x3 game quickly as he learned to play on streets of his home town of Aiken in South Carolina, USA.
"I actually learned to play in the street," Moses said. "We played 'make it and take it' though, so scoring and giving the ball back to the other team is new to me.
"We've been working really hard here, we have a great group of guys. They help me understand 3x3, they're used to it. They're great."
Moses, who played in Turkey with club side Istanbul Teknik Universiteti BK last season, said that winning a European Games gold medal would be "the greatest accomplishment of (his) basketball career".
And he understands how important it could be in terms of leaving a legacy for his sport in the host country.
"We have a lot of pressure actually but I think that for Azerbaijan, it (winning gold) would be huge," Moses said. "What they tell me is that basketball isn’t the most popular here so this could excite the country, excite the fans and bring some basketball here."
Moses is due to line up for Azerbaijan against Andorra at 19:55 on Wednesday night at the Basketball Arena.