Latvia's basketball team makes no changes ahead of Austria match

Latvia's men's basketball team will play Austria on Monday at 7:30 PM at the Xiaomi Arena in the final Group F game of the 2027 World Cup qualifiers. According to the Latvian Basketball Association (LBS), no changes will be made to the team's lineup for this match.

Latvia currently sits third in Group F with two wins, holding good chances to advance to the next round. Austria, with one win, must win by at least 20 points to keep their hopes alive.

On Friday, Latvia secured a 72:69 away victory over the Netherlands in head coach Jānis Gailītis's official debut. Earlier in the qualifiers, Latvia lost to the Netherlands (78:86) in November but defeated Austria (89:68). They also suffered a home loss to Poland (82:84) in late February and another defeat to Poland (72:92) in March.

The top three teams from Group F will advance to the second round, where they will join the top three from Group E (Germany, Croatia, Israel, Cyprus). The three best teams from this combined group of six will earn spots in the World Cup final tournament in Qatar.

Latvia's roster for the match against Austria: Roberts Blumbergs (Petkim Spor, Turkey), Rolands Šmits, Artūrs Strautiņš, Klāvs Čavars (all clubless), Rihards Lomažs (Neptūnas, Lithuania), Mārtiņš Laksa (Krosno, Poland), Mārcis Šteinbergs (UCAM Murcia, Spain), Toms Skuja (clubless), Kristaps Ķilps (Twarde Pierniki, Poland), Toms Leimanis (Ourense, Spain), Artūrs Žagars (clubless), Kārlis Šiliņš (Coruna, Spain).