Tuesday's match in Jakarta, Indonesia was against another strong side, Canada, but with two wins from two, Latvia went into the game with the luxury of knowing they are already thru to the second round of the FIBA World Cup tournament.
However, the match against Canada – who were also two from two – determined who tops the qualifying group, with the Canadians eventually emerging as the victors 75:101 with an impressive performance.
Unfortunately Latvia will be without injured captain Dairis Bertāns for the rest of the tournament after it was confirmed before the match that a hamstring injury will keep him out for around five weeks.
Pēc veiktajām pārbaudēm, ir apstiprinājies: kapteinim Dairim ir kreisā augšstilba divgalvainā muskuļa (hamstringa) daļējs plīsums. Prognozējamais atlabšanas laiks 5 nedēļas.
— Latvijas Basketbola savienība (@basketbols) August 28, 2023
Vēlam izturību un ātru atveseļošanos! ❤️#TrīsZvaigznes | @DairisBertans pic.twitter.com/LVjnSTPChm
In the second round, the Latvian national team will have to play against the current World Cup champions, Spain, as well as the winner of Wednesday's match between Brazil and the Ivory Coast.
It is the first time Latvia has appeared at the World Cup final tournament. 32 national teams are participating. The tournament will end on September 10 with the World Cup final in Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
Full scores and updates are available at the official FIBA World Cup website: https://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2023
