Mārtiņš Laksa played an excellent game in the ranks of the Latvian national team, who realized all the shots and scored 19 points, 12 of them with long shots.
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Meanwhile, Marek Mejer had 14 points and seven rebounds, but 13 points, nine balls under baskets and three intercepted balls – for Mārtiņš Meiers. Aigars Šķēle scored ten points and scored six times.
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Dimitris Agravanis stood out in the Greek team with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Evangelos Margaritis scored ten points.
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Latvian basketball players scored only half of their free throws in this match (8/16), but were significantly better in throws behind the perimeter (9/23).
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The Latvian national team started the qualification cycle in February with two losses, but on Friday celebrated its first victory. In the subgroup, Greece has two victories in three games, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Bulgaria have won one match in two matches, and Latvia has one victory in three games.
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At the beginning of the match, the game went point by point, as a result of the Latvian national team, Mārtiņš Laksas gave two great long shots. After a seven-point break, the Greeks scored 21:14 in the first quarter, but Marek Mejer and Artis Ate responded with two more “thirds”, losing the first ten minutes with 20:21.
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In the introduction of the second quarter, Mārtiņš Meiers put forward the Latvian lead with a precise hook throw (22:21), but later Mārcis Vītols (28:25) scored his first points in the national team with a long shot. Debutant Kristers Zoriks also added to his first points in the team, adding another three-pointers (31:26). A successful defensive play allowed Greece to be held for several minutes without realized shots.
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In the second half of the quarter, after a quick counterattack, Laksa gained the biggest advantage of Latvia in the game – seven points (35:28). With 72 seconds left until the end of the half, after Aigars Šķēle’s pass, Mejeris with an “alley oop” ball hit the basket from above 39:30, but at the beginning of the last minute Rolands Freimanis made a three-point move – 42:30.
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In the third quarter, Latvia held a safe lead, adding two more long shots to Laks in the first half and reaching 56:38 in favor of the Latvians. At the beginning of the second half of the quarter, Freimanis already achieved a 20-point lead after bouncing the ball. The Greeks gradually felt the rhythm of the game and slightly reduced the dominance of the Latvian national team, the team led by Robert Štelmaher starting the last ten minutes with a 14-point advantage (64:50).
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At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Greeks further reduced the dominance of the Latvian national team, however, Mejeris restored the 14-point handicap with a precise long shot (67:53). After several unsuccessful attacks, Greece threw another long shot and again slightly destroyed Latvia’s lead (56:67).
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Two and a half minutes before the end of the regular time, the dominance of the Latvian team was only ten points, but a minute later Šķēle slightly increased the lead – 75:63. The Greeks responded quickly with a long shot and the teams scored nine points, but after the pass, Šķēle regained two points and achieved 77:66 – the result with which the game ended.
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Evaluating the impact of the players’ current sports uniforms and microtraumas on performance, the coaches decided not to announce Artūrs Ausējs, Inga Jakovičs and Kaspars Bērziņš for the first match.
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