Latvia hosts Israel at home, seeking to save World Cup qualifying hopes
After a heavy road loss to Croatia, Latvia's men's basketball team hosts Israel tonight in Riga, fighting for a spot that would secure World Cup qualification.
Latvia's men's national basketball team continues the second round of World Cup qualifying in Group K, facing Croatia, Israel and Germany. The team advanced to this stage after finishing third in the first qualifying round with a 3-3 win-loss record.
The August window began poorly for Latvia, with an 80:115 road defeat to Croatia — the team already trailing by 19 points at halftime. Captain Rihards Lomažs led the scoring with 23 points, followed by Artūrs Strautiņš with 20 and Kristers Zoriks with 15. The loss leaves Latvia in fourth place with a 3-4 record, while at least third place is needed to secure a World Cup berth. Poland tops the group at 7-0, Croatia sits second at 6-1, and Germany is third with the same record.
Tonight Latvia hosts Israel, which in its previous game in Riga lost 86:106 to group leader Poland, with Roman Sorkin scoring 26 points for the visitors. Israel currently holds a 2-5 record and sits last in the group. In the first qualifying round, Israel beat Cyprus twice but lost twice each to Croatia and Germany.
Israel arrives for the match without NBA star Deni Avdija. The team is instead led by Maccabi Tel Aviv players Roman Sorkin and Yam Madar, along with Hapoel Tel Aviv guard Kadeem Carrington, with the rest of the roster made up of players from domestic clubs.
Despite the road loss, tickets for the home game against Israel had already sold out in advance, promising Latvia's team full stadium support.
