In the 3×3 basketball Olympic qualifying tournament in Graz, Austria, on Saturday, May 29, the Latvian 3×3 basketball team – Agnis Čavars, Edgars Krūmiņš, Kārlis Lasmanis and Nauris Miezis – beat the Croatian national team with 21:18, with the Canadian team finishing in the group with 21:16 in the first place. Sunday at 3 pm quarterfinals with Lithuania, winners 19:45 semifinals with Poland or Slovenia. The winners of the first three places will be eligible to play in the Tokyo Olympic Tournament. Victory will guarantee 1st place in the group. The games can be seen on the portal FIBA.basketball.
The Latvians started the game with the Croatian team energetically, reaching 4: 0 and 8: 2. Next, the Croats managed to smooth the game and even reach a draw – 9: 7, 13: 8, 13:13. However, the next breakthrough of the Latvians decided the outcome of the game – 16:14, 20:16 and 21:18. All of us scored from the proximity of the basket or the penalty line: Kārlis Lasmanis 8, Agnis Čavars 6, Nauris Miezis 5, Edgars Krūmiņš 2
The fight for the first place in the group started with the benefit of Agnis Čavars – five points and 6: 1. After a while – 10: 3. The opponents managed to restore the intrigue for a while (11: 9, but Kārlis Lasmanis and Naura Mieža ‘s long shots restored the lead (17:10).
Latvian national team coach Raimonds Feldmanis:
“Maximum concentration helped to play well in defense and use small nuances to earn points. The priority now is to restore health. Nauris received a strong blow to the ribs, our physiotherapist Oskars Urbanovičs is now helping to deal with the consequences so that everything will be fine by morning. We know Lithuanian basketball players well, they know us too. We don’t expect big surprises, but the details will play a huge role in the game. We need to keep up the rhythm, keep the focus and, most importantly, keep healthy. ”
In Group B, with which the best teams in Group D will have to fight in the quarterfinals, on the last day Lithuania beat Belgium with 17:16, which in turn defeated the USA team with 20:16. Three teams finished with the same number of victories. The next criterion used in 3×3 basketball – the number of points scored in all games – put the Americans in the first place, the Lithuanians in the second.
Olympic qualifying tournament, group D.
| Teams | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | U | Pts. | V |
| The Netherlands | x | 17:21 | 15:17 | 17:15 | 1 | 49 | 3 | |
| Latvia | 21:17 | x | 21:18 | 21:16 | 21:14 | 4 | 84 | 1 |
| Croatia | 18:21 | x | 14:18 | 17:18 | 0 | 49 | 5 | |
| Canada | 17:15 | 16:21 | 18:14 | x | 2 | 51 | 2 | |
| Austria | 15:17 | 14:21 | 18:17 | x | 1 | 47 | 4 |
Schedule of the last games of group D: 19:15 Austria – Netherlands, 19:40 Latvia – Canada, 21:20 Austria – Canada, 21:45 Netherlands – Croatia.
Group A. May 26: Poland – Czech Republic 17:15, Brazil – Turkey 21: 6, Mongolia – Poland 22:18, Czech Republic – Brazil 14:21, Mongolia – Turkey 21:13. May 28: Turkey – Czech Republic 20:17, Poland – Brazil 13:12, Czech Republic – Mongolia 21:16, Turkey – Poland 10:21, Brazil – Mongolia 18:10. Closing table: Poland 3-1, Brazil 3-1, Mongolia 2-2, Turkey 1-3, Czech Republic 1-3.
Group B. May 27. Lithuania – Kazakhstan 21: 9, Belgium – South Korea 22:14, USA – Lithuania 21:20 (was 16:20!), Kazakhstan – Belgium 13:19, USA – South Korea 21: 3. May 29: South Korea – Kazakhstan 21:13, Lithuania – Belgium 17:16, Kazakhstan – USA 19:22, South Korea 1- Lithuania 12:22, Belgium – USA 20:16. Closing table: USA 3-1, Lithuania 3-1, Belgium 3-1, South Korea 1-3, Kazakhstan 0-4.
Group C. May 26: Dominican Republic – Qatar 12:17, Slovenia – France 17:19, Qatar – Philippines 21:12, France – Dominican Republic 21: 7, Slovenia – Philippines 21:11. May 28: Philippines – Dominican Republic 11:22, Qatar – Slovenia 11:18, Philippines – France 14:15, Dominican Republic – Slovenia 21:17, France – Qatar 21:10. Closing table: France 4-0, Slovenia 2-2, Dominican Republic 2-2, Qatar 2-2, Philippines 0-4.
Exclusion tournament on May 30. Quarterfinals: at 14:35 Poland – Slovenia, at 15:00 Latvia – Lithuania, at 16:40 USA – D2, at 17:15 France – Brazil. Semi-final: At 19:45 the winners of the 1st – 2nd pair will play, at 20:10 the winners of the 3rd – 4th pair will play. For 3rd place: at 22:00.
The winners of the semi-finals and the 3rd place winners will receive tickets to the Olympic tournament.
