U19 World Cup: Defensive victory over Iran

In the FIBA ​​U19 World Cup in Daugavpils, the Latvian U19 men’s team (born in 2002/2003) beat the Iranian team in the second game – 58:48 (15:17, 23:29, 34:38), winning the first victory. In the last game of the group tournament on Tuesday, July 6, at 6 pm, Latvians will fight with the Serbian team (live TV6).

SCREEN. In the first round, the Iranian team resolutely resisted Serbia against three-quarters, eyeing many of the opponents’ many mistakes. As the Latvian players had sinned in this respect in all the games of the season, the first task was to handle the ball as gently as possible so as not to give the opponents easy points.

It didn’t really work out (mistakes 9-6 in the first half), but there were other reasons for the three-quarters slip of the attack. Long-range shots failed catastrophically (after the 3rd quarter 4/27 – 5/17), but in order to get points “with meat” from the proximity of the basket, someone lacked athleticism, someone – the ability to use their physical strength in the right way, but the team together within a month (in addition, due to injuries, partial training in part-time) is not possible.

After 15:11 (8th minute) Latvia’s attack was thoroughly sluggish, and the opponents achieved the biggest advantage – 17:29 (18th). Latvians had the opportunity to stay in the game with control over the rebounds (in the game 48-37) and defense, which gradually tired the opponents, forcing them to make more and more mistakes (in the game 18-22). Already in the third quarter we managed to catch the opponents (32:32), postponing the resolution of the intrigue for the last 10 minutes.

BREAKING MOMENT. The Latvians were rewarded for their will to fight in the middle of the fourth quarter, hitting four long shots in a row and achieving a decisive advantage (54:42 – in the 37th minute). The wings were the focus of most of FC’s attacks today.

LEADERS. As in the first match, this time there was no round “excellent”. The closest to this status seems to be Christian Feireberg, whose energy in fighting opponents and also his mistakes was rewarded with eight breaking points at the beginning of the 4th quarter and the honor of the most productive player (17 + 8 atl.).

TRAINER COMMENT. Nikolajs Mazurs, the head coach of the Latvian U19 national team: “Thank you to the players for their fighting spirit, dedication and strength of spirit. We are not the most athletic team in the tournament, so it is especially important to show character. There were mistakes, there was a bad percentage of throw accuracy, but – if you can’t throw, then you have to work with double energy on defense, which we did.

The game was very intense. The Iranian team has played well, everyone knew what the partner would do. Given their style of play, we put a lot of pressure on the small players and that was the key to success.

Tomorrow will not be a holiday, but a working day. There will be recovery events, let’s watch our games and future opponents. Serbs are very technical, fast, and punish opponents for every mistake. Let’s draw conclusions. ”

SITUATION SITUATION. The victory, hopefully, will have eased tensions and help prepare for the game with Serbia. In the last round, the victory will lift Latvians to the 2nd place, victory by at least +13 – even to the first place in the group. In case of failure, the eighth final is waiting for Wednesday with the Lithuanian team, which here in Daugavpils looks shaggy and unstable.

HOW TO SEE IN PERSON. You will be able to attend the games in person viewers only who has An interoperable Covid-19 or Covid-19 vaccination certificate has been recognized in Latvia (refers to for all ages). Tickets can be purchased at basket.lv

The charity campaign “Strong as oak!” Continues. In the basket.lv section of the LBS website http://basket.lv/ozols, withWhen giving 10 EUR, each donor will receive a unique discount code worth 10 EUR, which can be used to purchase a ticket to any Latvian men’s, women’s or youth national team’s home game until the end of 2022 (including the FIBA ​​U19 World Cup).

HOW TO SEE AT A GLANCE. The Latvian U19 national team game with the Serbian national team (Tuesday, July 6, 6 pm), as well as the eighth final game (July 7, 6 pm) will be available TV6. Lithuanian U19 national team games can be seen TV3 Sport, other first stage games – FIBA ​​YouTube channel. We will inform you about the opportunities to see Latvian games in the playoffs.

U19 World Cup, Group B (Daugavpils)

July 6: 18:00 Serbia – Latvia, Puerto Rico – Iran

Group A (in Daugavpils). July 3: Senegal – Japan 76:71, Canada – Lithuania 80:71, July 4: Japan – Canada 75: 100, Lithuania – Senegal 78:73. After 2 rounds: Canada 2-0, Lithuania 1-1, Senegal 1-1, Japan 0-2. July 6: 12:00 Senegal – Canada, 15:00 Lithuania – Japan.

Group C (OSC). July 3: France – Korea 117:48, Argentina – Spain 69:68. July 4: Korea – Argentina 74: 112, Spain – France 60:59. After 2 rounds: Argentina 2-0, Spain 1-1, France 1-1, Korea 0-2. July 6: 11:30 Korea – Spain, 14:30 Argentina – France.

Group D (OSC). July 3: Turkey – USA 54:83, Mali – Australia. July 4: Australia – Turkey 62:64, USA – Mali 100: 52. After 2 rounds: USA 2-0, Turkey 1-1, Australia 1-1, Mali 0-2. July 6: 17:30 Turkey – Mali, 20:30 Australia – USA.

After the group tournaments, all teams will play in the eighth final (A1-B4, A2-B3, etc.), which will divide the participants into two eights. The best quarter-finals will continue to fight for medals, the rest – for 9th place.

Latvian U19 national team in the World Cup

Team management

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