ALTHOUGH it did not secure a spot in the 2023 FIBA World Cup semi-final, Latvia still ended things with a win after defeating Italy by five points on Thursday night.

The Latvians were eliminated from contention by Germany in a two-point thriller on Wednesday, but still had the chance to cap things off with a victory in the classification matchup. Similarly, Italy was knocked out of the World Cup by the United States, and was seeking the same result in its final matchup of the tournament.

The Italians started the match in fine form, taking advantage of Latvia’s shorter break and storming out to an early lead. The shots were falling much easier than during the matchup against Team USA, and Latvia couldn’t find the bottom of the net on a consistent enough basis to match the output on the offensive end. At the first change, Italy led by eight points with a firm grip on the game and plenty of momentum heading into the second term.

Latvia flipped things after quarter time, snatching control of the match and finally finding some consistent offence to rely on. Although neither side could rely on the three ball, Latvia’s ball movement and passing inside the lane was too much for Italy to handle, as it went into a cold streak on the offensive end. By the time the main break rolled around, proceedings were tied, setting up a thrilling second half.

The injection of Arturs Zagars was the spark for another Latvian run on the scoreboard to start the third quarter. After his side built steadily to kick off the period, Zagars nailed back to back three-pointers to extend Latvia’s lead out to double-digits, with the margin even stretching out to 14 points at one stage. Heading into the last, Latvia had full control of the match and a hefty lead on the scoreboard.

As expected, Italy threw the kitchen sink at the opposition, looking to generate offence wherever possible in a bid to keep itself alive in the match. The game turned into a three-point contest of sorts, with both teams looking towards perimeter shooting to keep the score ticking over. It proved to work for the Italians, who cut the lead down to just two points in the dying stages, before Andrejs Grazulis knocked down the dagger to steer Latvia to victory.

Grazulis was the star of the show for Latvia, producing a whopping 28 points to lead his side to the win. His performance was on the back of some remarkable accuracy nailing 12 of his 13 shots from the field and showcasing soft touch around the rim. It was the single-game record for a Latvian player in a World Cup match.

In the other result of the day, Lithuania recorded a 16-point win over Slovenia on the back of a strong outing from Jonas Valanciunas.