GDANSK, Poland — Most of the time, victory over the Germans would be enough to send the basketball-mad Latvians into a frenzy of celebration. However last night wasn’t the case, with Latvia’s six-point (68-62) victory leaving them in last place in the group and dumped out of EuroBasket ‘09.
Going into the match, both teams were looking for a result. To advance Latvia had to win by more than six points, while Germany could afford a loss as long as it was by six points or less.
With 22 seconds left in the game — going by the loud cheers coming from bars across Latvia — it seemed like their team had done enough. However, the old basketball adage that every second counts could not have been much truer for Latvia as their 11-point lead soon dissolved courtesy of some clinical shooting from German Jan Jagla.
Latvia produced a strong first-half to lead by 8 points (37-29) at the break. It was the best all-round team performance Latvia had produced in the tournament to date. One of their few concerns at half-time would have been their poor free-throw shooting.
In the third Latvia managed to stretch the lead out to as much as nine, with no signs of the third-quarter jitters they had shown the night before. The Germans took to the Latvians physically and both teams soon found themselves in foul trouble.
To the Germans’ credit, finding themselves in foul trouble was not as bad as scenario as it sounded with Latvia remaining as cold as ice from the charity stripe. Going into the final, Latvia had built up a handy nine-point advantage (51-42) that they just had to hold onto.
Germany continually threatened throughout the final quarter and with 2 minutes left in the game, the crowd were assured of a thrilling finish with the lead at six (62-56).
With just over 33 seconds left on the clock a vital turnover saw Armands Šķēkele on the fast-break making no mistake of the easy lay up as the lead stretched back out to 10 (66-56). Just 10 seconds later the lead was even bigger when Kristaps Janičenoks made no mistake with two free-throws, giving Latvia an 11-point advantage (68-57).
It was now time for Germany’s Jagla to make himself noticed, sinking a clutch 3-pointer then purposefully fouling Ernests Kalve to send him to the line for two free-throws.
Possibly the biggest moment of Kalve’s national career was too much for him as both of his free-throws went astray, with Jagla pulling down the rebound and drawing the foul. With Latvia in foul trouble, Jagla went straight to the line and proved he had the mental steel required, making no mistake with both of his free-throws.
With 10 seconds left on the clock and no timeouts left, it was up to Latvia to make one last vital shot. Frustratingly, the Latvians could not set up a clean shot, forcing Šķēkele to throw a speculator which never really looked like going in.
The Germans broke into frenzied celebration, whilst the Latvians looked for the closest hole to crawl into. The crowd fell into a stunned silence, as the harsh reality of what had just occurred begun to sink in.
Ultimately it was Latvia’s free-throw shooting that cost them, returning just 19 from 38 at the line. Defeated by Germany just over a week earlier in Turkey, last night’s victory will be of little consolation for the Latvians who had held high expectations for the tournament.
On the night, it was Janičenoks who top-scored for Latvia with 14, while Andris Beidrins let his NBA skills shine at both ends of the court with a 10-point, 9-rebound return.
