Latvia
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Belgium
The Belgian basketball men have booked their 2nd defeat in a row in the World Cup preliminary round. After a thriller, Latvia was once again the hangman on duty.
After Friday’s nail-biter, the Belgian Lions were happy to take sweet revenge against Latvia tonight.
The Belgians lagged behind in the first quarter. But thanks to three-pointers from Mwema, the Lions tied the score again.
Then came a haunted penultimate minute. Obasohan missed 2 free throws, while the Latvians were efficient on 2 free throws. A phase later, the Belgian defense behaved like cheese with holes through which the Latvian knife was allowed to cut.
From 61-61 to a 65-61 deficit. It caused a commotion at national coach Dario Gjergja. To top it all off, Gillet clumsily lost the ball in a counterattack.
The Belgian Lions drop to 3rd place in their group, the top 3 advance to the next qualifying round. On June 30, the confrontation with weak brother Slovakia still awaits. On July 3, the Lions will look Serbia in the eye in their last group match.
Mwema: “We lose because of some bad decisions and rebounds that we forget”
Afterwards, national coach Dario Gjergja praised the Belgian Lions. “My group fought to the end. I am very proud of the players.”
Just like last Friday, the Lions with Sam Van Rossom and Ismael Bako again missed 2 key players. “It was a difficult evening. During the match, another 2 players dropped out (including Hans Vanwijn), but we continued to play for the win.”
Gjergja did regret the lack of efficiency in the free throws. “We missed a lot of free throws (17/26) and allowed too many offensive rebounds (12 for Latvia). When we got the upper hand, we made some small mistakes.”
The same sound with Jean-Marc Mwema. “It was a difficult game but like Friday we fought for it. The details made the difference. We lost the game because of some bad decisions and rebounds that we forget.
