Latvia U16 team with Ogre players defeats Lithuania

Latvia's U16 basketball team, which includes players from Ogre, defeated Lithuania 80:71 in a tournament game on Saturday. On the opening day, Latvia had beaten Estonia 95:86, while Spain topped Lithuania 90:85.

Lithuanian defenders initially tried to shut down Latvian forward Bendžamins Jānis Beruē, but he soon broke free. He aggressively attacked the basket, even stealing the ball and dunking. Latvia led 43:34 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Lithuania rallied and moved ahead 58:53 before the final period. Latvia responded with seven unanswered points, and after Markuss Jahovičs's three-pointer, the lead reached double digits at 65:55. The hosts could not recover, and Latvia closed out an 80:71 win.

Beruē led the winners with 24 points, 10 rebounds and nine drawn fouls. Jahovičs added 12 points, and Juris Sičkars scored eight. Markuss Aleksandrovs, the team captain from Gulbene who plays for Italy's Livorno, contributed six points, five rebounds and five assists. Other scorers were Gustavs Vilcāns, Mārtiņš Rasnačs, Ralfs Barlots, Matīss Pēteris Preimanis, Emīls Hauka and Marko Mētra, while Patriks Rācenājs and Gustavs Ķirsons also saw action.