Luca Banchi, Davis Bertans slam referees after loss to Canada / News - Basketnews.com

Latvia's coach Luca Banchi and star forward Davis Bertans didn't like referees' decisions and criteria in the loss to Canada -- and they both made it clear in their postgame statements.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Latvia suffered their first loss in the FIBA World Cup, which was a 75-101 blowout at the hands of tournament favorites Canada.

Player of the Game EFF 32 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Points 27 Accuracy 10-17 Rebounds 6 Assists 6

The game held in Jakarta on Tuesday night decided the first place in Group H, pushing the Canadians to the top and holding the Latvians down to second place. Despite the big margin, Latvia's coach Luca Banchi wasn't particularly fond of the way the three referees officiated the contest and laid out his reasons during the postgame presser.

The Italian tactician earned a technical in the second quarter, which he called "simply part of the game", but noted that all game officials hailed from South or North America. Juan Fernandez (Argentina), Jenna Jordan Reneau (USA), and Johnny Batista (Puerto Rico) compiled the officiating team that made Banchi furious at certain points.

"The technical foul was part of the game," the 58-year-old coach said.

"My feeling is that contacts were not judged by the same criteria from the very beginning. Three referees from America doesn't sound fair," he pointed out.

"Don't look at the names they have on their shirts. [Arturs] Zagars deserved the same treatment as [Shai Gilgeous] Alexander. It's not a matter of salary, popularity or age. That's why the conversation became a bit tense at some point," he continued.

Banchi compared his reaction with those of his counterpart on the Canadian bench, Spaniard Jordi Fernandez, who was also crossing the limits of the area in which he was allowed to move.

"If the referees want to go with that criteria, I believe the other coach deserves a couple of technical fouls," Banchi argued.

Credit AP-SCANPIX

"It seems FIBA rules work for some, but not everyone. Contact shoulder to chest is legal on one side, while on the other side, it's not. But I'm looking for an excuse. We accepted their strengths and it was nice to push them to play a high-level game to beat us. We led the game for 19 minutes. That makes me very proud of those guys," he concluded.

Davis Bertans

Position:SFAge:30Height:205 cmWeight:95 kgBirth place:Valmiera, LatviaProfileNewsStatistics

Forward Davis Bertans appeared before the media in the mixed zone with the same sentiments for the game officials.

"We started really good," the OKC player said.

"There are some things that I'm going to get in trouble if I comment. So, I'm not going to comment on that. Everyone who knows basketball, understands what I mean," he added. Bertans finished with seven points on only 2/9 from the field and five rebounds. His impact was reduced to the bare minimum once Canada picked it up in the second half.

"We got in foul trouble and then it's impossible to keep playing aggressively on defense," he lamented. "When you have your bigs and guards in foul trouble, the game becomes really easy for them."

Canada and Latvia will move to a group where one of the opponents will be Spain, while the other will be determined on Wednesday in the match between Brazil and Ivory Coast. Canada and Spain (if they beat Iran) will lead the group with 3-0, while Latvia are at 2-1.

"Regardless of win or lose, we go to every single game with the mindset to fight," Bertans commented. "So, we're going to rest for the game and prepare. I'm looking forward to every single game in this tournament."

Thank you for reading us! Help us even more.