Latvia's men win European 3x3 basketball title

Latvia's men's national 3x3 basketball team has won the European championship title, defeating the Netherlands 19:10 in the final. The Netherlands entered the tournament seeded second, while Latvia was seeded sixth.

The final

The Dutch team scored first, but Latvia soon took control, building an 8:3 lead. The teams then traded baskets before the Netherlands cut the gap to three points with an accurate long-range shot. Latvia responded with a scoring run to make it 14:7, and although the Dutch narrowed the gap again late on, a long-range shot from Miezis restored a seven-point cushion. Kuksiks added two points in the final minute, sealing the win as the score held at 19:10.

Kuksiks led Latvia's scoring in the final with seven points, followed by Miezis with five, Gludītis with four, and Raimo with three. Gludītis was named the tournament's most valuable player and was included in the symbolic all-star team alongside Dutch player Nesta Agasi and French player Lorenzo Tiruard-Samson.

Path to the title

In the semifinal, Latvia beat fourth-placed France 17:15, while the Netherlands defeated tournament favourite Serbia 20:14. In group play on Saturday, Latvia beat Ireland 21:16 and Lithuania 22:16, then defeated Belgium 21:18 in the quarterfinal.

This was Latvia's sixth appearance in the European championship final tournament, and the team has now medalled in five of those six appearances. Latvia previously won gold in 2017 and silver in 2018 and 2022, took bronze in 2023, and finished as runners-up last year. Latvia's women's team did not qualify for this year's final tournament.