Team Profile: Latvia to go as far as top talent will take them

JAKARTA (Indonesia) - Latvia are set to take part in their most important tournament to date - the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

There won't be any time for the Baltic team to ease into things in their first participation at FIBA's flagship event as they'll square off against a couple of title contenders, France and Canada, as well as Asian powers Lebanon in Group H.

The Roster

Latvia trimmed their 24-man preliminary squad to 16 with their latest roster announcement. The biggest star Kristaps Porzingis announced on August 15th that a foot injury will stop him from playing with his National Team. Latvia will now rely on the brothers Davis and Dairis Bertans who are prominent names along with European-based Rodions Kurucs, Mareks Mejeris, Janis Timma and Rolands Smits to survive Group H.

Dairis Bertrans

The Question

How will Latvia respond to being on the big stage for the first time, and especially in one of the toughest groups in the competition?

Latvia have faced solid competition in the preparation games, going up against Sweden, Georgia, Dominican Republic, Finland, Puerto Rico and Lithuania. As warmup schedules go, this has been solid.

Yet it remains to be seen how how much confidence Latvia will carry into the World Cup, and how much chemistry the team develops in the buildup.

The Hope

Latvia looked like a team ready for the bright lights while putting together a string of 11 wins in a row in the Qualifiers. Three-point shooting was key, as they converted on 37.5 percent of their three-point attempts while making a total of 134 threes, both of which were second-best in the European Qualifiers.

Davis Bertrans

As the saying goes, "you live by the three, you die by the three". If Latvia can continue to live by the three, they could find themselves scoring points in bunches, which could lead to success.

The Fear

Now without Porzingis' impact and the potential damage he causes, Latvia's offense is in danger of becoming stagnant with other players having to provide enough scoring to advance out of the First Round.

Latvia have plenty of height, but the one thing that might be missing is a true floor general and primary ball handler. They'll be without Rihards Lomazs, whose 28 made three-pointers were most on the team in the European Qualifiers, and Janis Strelnieks. Both are rehabbing from serious injuries - torn knee ligaments and a ruptured Achilles tendon, respectively.

 IN THE LAST 10 FIBA EVENTS

YEAR	EVENT	LOCATION	ACHIEVEMENT
2017	FIBA EuroBasket	Istanbul (TUR)	5th
2015	FIBA EuroBasket	Lille (FRA)	8th
2013	FIBA EuroBasket	Ljubljana (SLO)	11th
2011	FIBA EuroBasket	Kaunas (LTU)	21st
2009	FIBA EuroBasket	Poland	13th
2007	FIBA EuroBasket	Madrid (ESP)	13th
2005	FIBA EuroBasket	Belgrade (SRB)	13th
2003	FIBA EuroBasket	Sweden	13th
2001	FIBA EuroBasket	Istanbul (TUR)	8th
1997	FIBA EuroBasket	Barcelona (ESP)	16th

The Poll

 

More?

For a deeper look on Latvia's journey to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, click here.

FIBA