From Pre-Qualifiers to World Cup record: Grazulis remains excellent for Latvia

MANILA (Philippines) - The World Cup has been a coming out party for several Latvian players, however, Andrejs Grazulis has been Luca Banchi's go-to big man ever since he became the team's head coach.

With 41 seconds left in the World Cup Classification Game, Italian guard Marco Spissu hits a three-pointer to make it only 84-82 in favor of Latvia. If they could only get one stop… Prevent the Latvian Laser Davis Bertans from getting a good look. Dismiss the ball handling wizardry of rising star Arturs Zagars.

Nope! It's Andrejs Grazulis who rises up from deep to hit the final nail in the coffin. 87-82. Game over.

The shot closed out a 12-of-13 performance from the field for the 30-year-old, the best Field Goal Percentage (92.3%) for a player with at least 10 attempts in a FIBA World Cup game over the last 30 years.

Furthermore, the 28 points he scored not only mark a single-game record for any player on the World Cup rookie Latvia, but also his own personal best when playing for the red-and-whites.

It's a streak he's been on ever since Latvia beat Brazil to reach the Quarter-Finals. A vast array of soft push shots that must leave opponents demoralized helped his cause against Brazil's zone defense. Latvia tore it up from inside the paint, with Grazulis making smart cuts, reading the court and going 9-of-12 from the field, while also handing out 5 assists.

Time flies as now his effort against Brazil is only his previous career-high for Latvia of 24 points.

A few days later he's already leading the team with 14.7 points per game, ahead of Bertans, Zagars and also their BC Zalgiris stalwart Rolands Smits, who spends the most time as a tag team partner for Grazulis on defense. He's excelling on a team of previously anonymous players.

 
For Grazulis and head coach Luca Banchi, it has come full circle.

Back when Banchi took over the Latvia head coaching gig in 2021, the team had to start its journey from the World Cup Pre-Qualifiers. It became a mantra of sorts for the Italian coach, who frequently states that Latvia started its journey from "the basement" and thus must remain humble.

Though Banchi's arrival did influence the rise of responsibility for a younger generation, he inherited Grazulis as a dependable energy backup big. It was his role in FIBA EuroBasket 2017 and the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Qualifiers, so it could have seemed destined to stay the same.

Or at least that was the case until Latvia's second Pre-Qualifiers game against Belarus. Arena Riga had a nervous energy after a layup by Dairis Bertans helped Latvia regain a 45-44 lead right before halftime. With names like the Bertans brothers and Janis Strelnieks on the roster, flailing against Belarus certainly wasn't in the plans.

Banchi turned to Grazulis as his power forward to start the second half. Then he left him out there as a small ball center, after the reserve big started to grab one offensive rebound after another. Latvia won 92-83, with Grazulis playing nearly 16 minutes in the second half in a 9-point and 5-rebound effort.

Four days later Grazulis already was among the team leaders and closed out the Pre-Qualifiers with his previous career-high of 22 points. Naturally, the local press asked the player afterwards about his uncertain role on the team. Grazulis remained as easygoing as usual.

"It doesn't change a thing for me. Just to get on the court for the national team gives me joy. I respect the coach's decision," said Grazulis, with coach Banchi sitting to his left and catching on to the key words in Latvian. Then, just so slightly but audibly, Banchi whispered "whatever the coach asks", a tongue-in-cheek remark, if anything else.

Boy, was that prophetic. 

The rest is history. Andrejs Grazulis became one of the three Latvian players to participate in every World Cup Qualifiers game and has been an invaluable part of their style of play in the World Cup itself. He unlocks their switching identity on defense, plays within the system on offense and apparently is physically uncapable of missing a shot.

So, where did his mind go to when talking about his historic performance in the press conference? The games, with which it all started.

"I played all of the games, even in the Pre-Qualifiers, where we had some tough games. I believe that's one of the keys, why our team is playing the way we play. We have our identity," says Grazulis.

"It's always nice to win. That's a feeling we like to keep on the team. I'm just happy. The main thing is being confident and playing whoever comes."

Of course, Banchi was right there next to him. Again expressing his pride for this group of guys that always follow Latvia's values.

FIBA