Latvia misses out on Olympic basketball shot

Take note – story published 8 years ago

Latvia came up short in their final match at the European basketball championships August 18, slipping to a loss against the Czech Republic that saw them fail to clinch an Olympic qualification berth.

The loss provided an anti-climax to a campaign that had seen Latvia start impressively and make it as far as the quarter finals of Eurobasket before running out of gas and slipping to successive defeats that mean it wound up the eighth-ranked team.

Teams one to seven earn places in the main Olympic qualification tournament.

"We were too soft, probably not so mentally strong. We probably broke down after the loss to Greece," team member Rolands Freimanis said after the final loss.

However, he asked the public not to be harsh in their criticism.

"We gave our hearts and souls to try and please everyone," he said.

Meanwhile it was heartbreak for Baltic neighbors and basketball nuts Lithuania who went down to Spain in the final of the tournament on August 20. 

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