Latvia to face Ukraine in final World Cup qualifying warm-up

Latvia's men's national basketball team, coached by Jānis Gailītis, will play its second and final warm-up match tonight at 19:00 at Xiaomi Arena in Riga, hosting Ukraine, led by head coach Ainars Bagatskis.

Latvia opens the second round of World Cup qualifying on Thursday in Zadar against Croatia, then hosts Israel in Riga the following Sunday. Ahead of those games, Latvia played a warm-up in Slovenia on Wednesday, losing a close contest 86:89. Captain Rihards Lomažs led the team with 22 points, nine assists and four rebounds, while Artūrs Strautiņš added 11 points. The Latvian Basketball Union says the team continues preparations with the same 13 players, who are expected to be named for tonight's game as well.

Ukraine's preparations

Ukraine's team, which regularly calls Riga home, played its own warm-up in Kėdainiai, Lithuania, losing 85:107 to NCAA side Arizona Wildcats. That game was missing NBA players Svyatoslav Mykhailiuk and Maxim Shulga, as well as head coach Bagatskis himself, with Serhii Gladyr running the team instead. Oleksandr Kovliar and Ivan Tkachenko each scored 16 points for Ukraine.

Since that match, center Maksym Klymenko (listed as 221 cm, 21 years old) has left the squad to prepare for his NCAA debut season, while Real Madrid's newly signed Maxim Shulga has joined, having held his first training session with the team yesterday. Ukraine's roster also includes full NBA player Svyatoslav Mykhailiuk, who became an NBA champion with Kristaps Porziņģis and the Boston Celtics in 2024 and played for the Utah Jazz last season. Several Ukrainian players have recent ties to Latvian clubs, including VEF Rīga center Rostislav Novytskyi and Rīgas Zeļļi player Denys Lukashov.

In the first round of qualifying, Ukraine finished second behind Spain, having beaten both Denmark and Georgia twice. After the Riga match, Ukraine hosts Greece on Friday before closing out August in Podgorica.

Tonight's game coincides with symbolic dates — today marks the 37th anniversary of the Baltic Way, while Ukraine celebrates Independence Day tomorrow.