FIBA World Cup- Latvia win thriller to send France to shock early exit

JAKARTA (Indonesia) – Latvia sent shock waves around the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 after eliminating France in a thrilling contest, 88-86.

The World Cup debutants rallied from 13 points down to book their place in the Second Round – alongside Canada – as pre-tournament contenders France lost consecutive games in the preliminary round for the first time since 2010.

The turning point​: France’s Nando De Colo was whistled for his second unsportsmanlike foul of the game and sent out at the 6:46 mark of the fourth quarter. The momentum changed and Latvia went on a 10-3 run to trim the deficit, 77-76, with 4:42 to go.

Latvia leaned on strong plays from Arturs Zagars and Rolands Smits to take the lead again at 87-86, with 37.7 seconds to go. France failed to score after their last timeout, while Latvia then split their last two free throws and Silvain Francisco missed a potential game-winning three in the end.

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