Other events in Baltic States

Latvian basketball player Kaspars Kambala, who received a two-year suspension in 2006 for using cocaine, says that he is currently in the best shape of his life, according to the newspaper Kurzemes Vards.

As reported, during his suspension, Kambala began a career in professional boxing, however, he has since joined the Latvian national men's basketball team and is currently practicing together with the team.

''I have been training all this time individually in Las Vegas and, in my view, I am in the best shape of my life. To be honest, I can even say that basketball practices are much easier than training for boxing,'' said the Latvian basketball player. ''I can say that I am done with boxing, because if I wished to achieve something in boxing in the United States, I would have to practice very hard for another two years to gain experience. Yes, I did not lose any of my boxing matches, however, there was still a very long road ahead before I would have achieved a high level in boxing.''

Kambala does not believe that he has lost his basketball skills during his suspension. ''I have had a basketball in my hand since I was three, you do not forget things like this.''

''At the moment, I can only say that I have had offers from basketball clubs. I have not ruled out the possibility of playing for a Latvian club. The most important is that I get to regularly play at a high-level,'' said the basketball player. ''The most important thing that must be included in the contract is that I can practice with the club before my suspension ends. I wish for this to take place as soon as possible.''

As reported, Kambala was suspended by FIBA for 24 months after a positive anti-doping control in December 2006 – the player allegedly had used cocaine.

Kambala, who played for the Turkish club "Fenerbahce-Ulker", took the doping test before a "Euroleague" game with the Greek club "Aris" on December 13, 2006.

Kamabala's suspension will end on December 13 of this year.