Latvia U18 basketball team loses to Spain, finishes third in group

On Monday, July 27, Latvia's U18 basketball team played their last group stage game of the European Championship against Spain. Despite a strong performance and a significant lead for much of the game, they ultimately fell 87-92, finishing third in Group D.

Latvia started strong, building an eight-point lead early with the help of three-pointers. Spain struggled with discipline, reaching the foul limit within the first three and a half minutes. The first quarter ended with Latvia up by four points, thanks to eight assists and only one turnover, three of those assists coming from Ralfs Mūrnieks.

In the second quarter, Latvia extended their lead to nine points, but Spain slowly fought back and took their first lead with just over four minutes left in the half. By halftime, Spain held a five-point advantage as Latvia's offense became sluggish.

Spain increased their lead to double digits early in the third quarter, but Latvia responded. With contributions from Roberts Valdis Bērziņš and Roberts Rotčenkovs, Latvia regained the lead and finished the third quarter ahead by five points. The final quarter was tightly contested, with the margin never more than a single possession.

With less than three minutes left, Gerard Fernandez hit a difficult three-pointer to put Spain up by four. Latvia answered with a dunk by Rotčenkovs, and Aleksandrovs hit a free three-pointer to cut the deficit to one. With 55 seconds remaining, Aleksandrovs was hit on the arm during a three-point attempt but no foul was called. A similar incident occurred 17 seconds later involving Rihards Čerņevskis, who made only one of three free throws, ending Latvia's chances.

Latvia needed a 10-point win to advance to second place in the group, so the loss did not change their standing. They will face Slovenia in the round of 16.