Latvia’s 3×3 basketball team finished fourth at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar on Monday, following a 21–17 defeat to Germany in the bronze medal match.
The result concludes a competitive tournament run for the squad, which saw them reach the final four after a strong start in the group stage. For the 18 Latvian athletes competing across 12 sports in Senegal, the hunt for the nation’s first medal of the Games remains ongoing.
The path to the podium ended in the semifinals, where Latvia faced a narrow 21–19 loss against Lithuania. The match was a closely contested affair that remained in the balance until the final moments. While the Latvian side managed to equalize the score at 15–15 with three minutes remaining, Lithuania regained the lead and held off a late surge to secure their spot in the final.
According to LSM, the Lithuanian side maintained a lead for much of the game, though Latvia repeatedly narrowed the deficit to a single point, including a 20–19 scoreline, before their opponents clinched the decisive point.
Klāvs Černuho led the Latvian scoring effort in the semifinal with 10 points, while Roberts Deičs contributed 4, Jēkabs Milužs 3, and Gustavs Pētersons 2. Despite Latvia’s repeated attempts to close the gap—narrowing the score to 20–19 at one stage—Lithuania successfully converted the decisive points to clinch the win.
In the subsequent match for third place, Latvia trailed Germany from the opening minutes. Germany’s defensive pressure prevented the Latvian players from finding open shots, allowing the German team to build a lead that reached 6–15. According to LSM, the German defense was particularly stifling, and their offensive efficiency allowed them to pull ahead by as many as nine points.
Latvia attempted a late comeback, utilizing the German team’s foul limit to trim the deficit to 18–15. However, Germany responded with a contested long-range shot from Philipp Grote, which pushed the lead back out of reach. The final score of 21–17 confirmed fourth place for the Latvian roster, which included Roberts Deičs, Klāvs Černuho, Jēkabs Milužs, and Gustavs Pētersons.
The team, led by coach Ritvars Kauliņš, entered the tournament in Group C. Their campaign began with a 19–13 victory over Puerto Rico and a 21–13 win against Singapore. The squad advanced to the quarterfinals, where they defeated Côte d’Ivoire 20–16.
Throughout the competition, the Latvian players demonstrated consistent scoring, with Milužs recording nine points in the quarterfinal victory. Ventspils sports school “Spars” said the contributions of their students Milužs and Černuho, alongside teammates Deičs and Pētersons, while thanking coaches Matīss Graudiņš and Agris Stankevics for their role in the players’ development.
The Youth Olympic Games in Dakar are scheduled to continue through November 13, featuring competition across 25 sports. The 3×3 basketball tournament concluded with Senegal defeating Lithuania 14–13 in overtime to take the gold medal, while the women’s final saw Poland defeat China 12–11.
While the basketball tournament has concluded, other Latvian athletes remain in action, including sailors Viljams Preiss and Marta Dāle, who currently sit in fifth and eighth place, respectively, after six of 15 races. As the Games continue, no Latvian athlete has secured a medal, while officials discuss the participation of neutral athletes from Russia and Belarus.
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