Latvia's U16 basketball team beats Greece to reach European semifinal

Latvia's U16 national basketball team defeated their Greek counterparts 92:80 in the quarterfinal of the European Championship. After the match, head coach Edijs Šlesers told the Latvian Basketball Union's press service that the team's offense had looked rather labored in the first half.

According to the coach, the team rushed its attacks too much at the start of the game, trying to score quickly, which led to risky long-range shots even during numerical advantages — but the shots simply weren't falling that day. Šlesers also acknowledged a lack of fighting spirit, particularly in battles for rebounds near their own basket, which allowed the game to drift in Greece's favor.

Overall, Latvia's team converted 51.6% of their field goal attempts, above their tournament average of 45.5%, while their three-point accuracy stood at 30.8%, close to their average for the competition (31.8%).

Second-half adjustments turned the tide

The coach said the decisive shift came from playing more aggressively on offense and prioritizing getting the ball closer to the basket rather than relying on long shots. In the second half, using a taller lineup proved effective, with players Beruē and Hauka on the court simultaneously. On defense, the team managed to contain Greece's main scoring threats for most of the game, with only Jorgos Monama standing out for the opposition, scoring 21 points. For Latvia, strong performances came from Beruē and Jahovičs, along with Aleksandrovs, Vilcāns and Hauka.

In the semifinal, set for late Friday evening, Latvia's youth team will face Spain. Šlesers declined to comment extensively on the upcoming opponent, noting only that the team recently played Spain at the Baltic Cup in Riga and had also watched Spain's match against Greece. This marks only the second time Latvia's U16 team has reached a European Championship semifinal — the first was in 2014 under coach Jānis Gailītis, when the team won silver medals.