Latvia stun another Goliath, beat reigning champs Spain

JAKARTA (Indonesia) - Latvia showed remarkable resilience in an excellent fourth quarter comeback against Spain to win 74-69 and create confusion in Group L.

It was a defensive-minded battle from the very first minutes of the game, with Latvia battling their hearts out just to maintain realistic chances of advancing to the Quarter-Finals with a stunning fightback.

Turning point: Just when it seemed like Latvia were done, they erased an 11-point lead for Spain within less than five minutes of the fourth quarter and then got up 65-63.

They put an exclamation mark on their brilliant run with a three-pointer by Davis Bertans and a smooth hook from Rodions Kurucs who put them up 70-65. It proved to be too much for Spain to recover.

TCL Player of the Game: Not only did he hit that clutch three-pointer, but Davis Bertans also had 16 points for the game, 3 rebounds and a lengthy 33:59 minutes on the court, the highest mark on his team.

Willy Hernangomez was his usual self down low as his bruising style of play was good for 14 points and 4 rebounds, while also converting 6-of-11 shots from the free throw line.

Stats don't lie: Latvia had more players to rely on when things got tight in the fourth quarter as five separate Latvians scored in the double digits. Spain's offense died down, with their only consistent offense coming from their big men Willy Hernangomez (14 points) and Usman Garuba (11 points).

Bottom line: Latvia now look forward to Sunday when they could make history in a game against Brazil. At this point, a lot still depends on whatever happens in the other Group L games, yet the Latvians have a decent shot at their first ever Quarter-Finals in their World Cup debut. 

Spain received a decent blow, however, still can control their own destiny against Canada, given the 26-point deficit that Latvia have taken with them from their loss against the Maple nation. 

They said: "There was the usual issue of the short blanket. When we had to play defense, we were struggling on offense. When we had to play offense, we were struggling on defense. We need efficiency on both sides of the floor, with the five players who are on the floor. This will, for sure, be the subject we hammer in for the next game." - Sergio Scariolo, Spain head coach

"Latvia played a very solid game and, obviously, played harder than us in the first half. I think that in the third we tried to be more aggressive on defense, we played very well on offense. Their defense was very aggressive in the last quarter and they beat us. Now we'll try to forget this game and focus on the next one." - Rudy Fernandez, Spain

"I'm really proud with the way we stayed in the game, despite the little moment where we shook as a team during the third period. In general, it was a very tight game with 14 lead changes. To see the guys fight and compete with such a powerful team, a world and European champion, makes me very proud." - Luca Banchi, Latvia head coach

"We really don't care who is going to be the top scorer and who is going to take the most shots. We're just gonna let the game come to us and whatever the other team gives to us, whether it's Zagars, Grazulis, Smits. We have had different players going off in each game. That's the biggest weapon we have." - Davis Bertans, Latvia

 
FIBA