Latvia stun Spain to sour Rubio's heroic return

MUNICH (Germany) - Ricky Rubio nearly made a comeback as a hero in a win, hitting clutch shots down the stretch, but Latvia had all the answers to stay in front of Spain and claim another triumph over the 2022 champs in the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers opener.

It finished 79-75, Latvia stunning over 10,000 fans in the stands of the Pabellon Principe Felipe in Zaragoza. 

Turning point: Latvia were in front for most of the game, but once Spain caught them near the end of the third quarter, they went back and forth the rest of the way.

It came down to clutch shooting. Janis Timma made a big three-pointer from the corner to make it +5 Latvia, Rubio answered with a three of his own. Rihards Lomazs hit another three-pointer for Latvia, only for Rubio to draw a foul on a triple as they entered the final minute.

With his shots from the charity stripe, it was a three-point game, and it seemed Spain could sneak into overtime as Kristers Zoriks missed both of his shots from the free throw line. But with 14 seconds to play, coach Luca Banchi was not interested in a potential game-tying three by the hosts, so Latvia fouled immediately and it was a smart decision.

Spain could not crawl back in a dramatic finish, Latvia celebrate their second straight win over the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 champions.

Game hero: His final stats say 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, but Rodions Kurucs was easily the player of the game for his final quarter contribution. When Spain were looking like the hotter team, the big forward answered with a pair of big dunks, a pair of big defensive rebounds, and perhaps crucially a pair of big steals.

No wonder he had the highest +/- on the team, a stunning +17 in a four-point game for the man who is making a living in Spain, of all places, playing with UCAM Murcia.

Stats don't lie: Spain struggled shooting the ball, hitting just 37.1 percent of their field goals and missing 12 of their 34 free throws on the night. Latvia were 57.7 percent from the field and 9-of-13 from the free throw line, winning those respective stat columns.

Bottom line: Is it becoming a coaching rivalry? The two Italians are always full of praise for each other, but Banchi went to visit Scariolo when he got the coaching call in Latvia, trying to embed Scariolo and Spain's system into Latvia's backbone.

Then, Banchi's men eliminated Scariolo's squad from the World Cup. Then, Banchi was the coach who replaced Scariolo at Virtus Bologna. Now, Banchi defeated Scariolo in Spain. Sounds like a rivalry.

Spain spent a nice couple of days in Zaragoza, but now have to travel to the north, facing Belgium in Charleroi. The hosts will be all fired up with a chance to go to 2-0, having defeated Slovakia 75-60 on the opening day.

Latvia return to Riga after this one, they are hot favorites on Gameday 2 with a home game against the group underdogs Slovakia on Monday. Expect a fine atmosphere over there, a sort of homecoming for most of the team that made it all the way to the Quarter-Finals of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.

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FIBA