CHICAGO - As it attempts to punch an Olympics berth for the first time since 1936, Latvia is sending 16 of the country's best players to the qualifying tournament next week.
According to FIBA's official OQT tracker, the Latvians will field the same core - a mix of Euro stars and an NBA player - which finished fifth in the 2023 Fiba World Cup.
READ Cone stands by decision to have 12 players over bigger pool
Here's how good that team is.
They eviscerated Lebanon, 109-70, abused Lituania, 98-63, and slapped Brazil around, 104-84. They also nipped Italy (87-82) and the Rudy Gobert-led France (88-86).
Latvia's only losses were to Germany, barely at 81-79, and to a Canada team that paraded seven NBA-ers led by Shae Gilgeous Alexander (101-75).
Latvia finished the World Cup ranked No. 2 in 3-point shooting at 42.1 percent and No. 3 in overall field goal makes at 51.4 percent. They manufactured 89.2 points and 24.4 assists per in eight games.
STACKED ROSTER.
The Latvians will be led by an elite 6-foot-3 point guard in Arturs Zagars who set a FIBA World Cup record of 17 assists in a single game during the Lithuania rout.
Joining him in the starting lineup are the Kurucs brothers - Redions and Arturs - center Clavs Cavars and 6-foot-9 Ronald Smits, a gifted scorer.
The Latvians are so deep it has the luxury of bringing in Davis Bertans, an eight-year NBA player, and Andrejs Grazulis, off the bench.
While their offense is top-rate, Latvia's defense is golden.
We already know how good Tim Cone is, but so is Latvia's Luca Banchi, who has four titles to his name in the Italian League plus the FIBA Intercontinental Cup in 2019.
Named Best Coach of the 2023 World Cup, Banchi employs a very complex and restrictive defense that relies heavily on man-to-man but has zone principles woven into it.
AN A-PLUS ON D.
Banchi's schemes will put to the fire the shooting efficiency of a Gilas Pilipinas team that finished the World Cup at No. 20 in field goal shooting (43.9 percent) and 26th among 32 teams in 3-point makes (29.8 percent).
Latvia's D figures to disrupt the execution of Cone's favored triangle offense. With their length and quickness, the Latvians will choke the passing lanes and curtail the ball movement of a Gilas team that ended up dead last in assists during the World Cup (16 per).
One glaring weakness with Latvia is rebounding, just 29th (32.3 per) during the tournament while Gilas wound at No. 2 with 41.4 a contest. It's an area the Philippines can exploit.
Overall, though, Latvia is vastly superior.
Bilog and bola, yes, but under the pressure cooker, on the road in front of an expected fullhouse crowd of 11,200 at Arena Riga, that ball will be sweaty and will feel heavy with the weight of Olympic expectations.
We need a lot of prayers. We need a miracle.
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