Latvia shocks Spain, stays in fight for quarterfinals / News - Basketnews.com

Davis Bertans leads Latvia past Spain in the FIBA World Cup 2023 Second Round.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Latvia continues to be on a roll after eliminating France from the FIBA World Cup 2023 title contention in the First Round.

Player of the Game EFF 21 Rodions Kurucs Points 13 Accuracy 5-8 Rebounds 8 Assists 2

The Baltic state defeated reigning world champions Spain 74-69 at the start of the Second Round and kept their quarterfinals hopes alive. Latvia and Spain both have a 3-1 record in Group L.

After this match, Canada is currently leading Group L. If they manage to defeat the Brazilians today, they will secure the top spot in the group. However, if Canada loses, all the teams in the group will have the same win-loss record (3-1).

In the latter scenario, where all teams have the same record, the two teams that won on Sunday would advance to the quarterfinals.

If Canada wins, the Latvians must defeat the Brazilians on Sunday and hope that the Spanish team fails to win their match.

Despite having an 11-point deficit before the last tally vs. Spain, Kristers Zoriks and Davis Bertans inspired the Latvian national team to a come-back effort, nailing three triples over the final 10 minutes of the game.

Bertans, an Oklahoma City Thunder forward, scored a game-high 16 points and added 3 rebounds over 34 minutes.

Willy Hernangomez was the top scorer for Spain, posting 14 points and 4 boards.

Game highlights:

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