Latvia vs Turkey Tips & Live Stream - Packed arena promises big boost for Latvia in Eurobasket

• Latvia vs Turkey Preview
• Latvia Form & Team News
• Turkey Form & Team News
• Head to Head

Latvia vs Turkey Preview

Will coach Banchi’s squad open the tournament with a victory, or will Turkey claim an important win?

Latvia Form & Team News

Winners of the very first EuroBasket in 1935, Latvia have the honor of being one of the tournament’s hosts this year. The knockout stage will be played in Riga, and the Latvians will aim to deliver another strong performance following their impressive showing at the 2023 World Cup.

There, they were one of the biggest surprises of the tournament, reaching the quarterfinals despite the absence of their star player, Kristaps Porzingis. They were eventually eliminated by eventual champions Germany in a one-possession game.

As a result, excitement in the country is high ahead of EuroBasket, but there are also some concerns. Several of Latvia’s key players are not in top form.

Kristaps Porzingis is coming off a disappointing season with the Boston Celtics, battling a mysterious virus during the playoffs that limited him to just 5 points per game and caused him to miss several matches.

Arturs Zagars spent most of the closing stretch of the season on the bench for Fenerbahce, while Andrejs Grazulis also struggled to find his rhythm last season between Virtus Bologna and Joventut.

So far, Latvia have played only one warm-up game, suffering a heavy 91-75 defeat against Italy. They are expected to improve significantly in the upcoming games.

Turkey Form & Team News

Turkey had a tough road to EuroBasket, battling through the qualifiers. Here, they will aim for a strong showing under three-time EuroLeague champion coach Ergin Ataman.

Their best EuroBasket result came in 2001, when they won the silver medal as tournament hosts, and they have generally struggled when playing away from home.

They boast a solid roster led by NBA star Alperen Sengun, alongside former NBA players Shane Larkin, Furkan Korkmaz, Omer Yurtseven, and Cedi Osman.

It remains to be seen how they will perform together, as this group has not spent much time on the court collectively.

Like Latvia, they have played just one warm-up game so far, a heavy 91-70 loss to Lithuania, but it’s far too early to draw major conclusions from that single performance.

They have both talent and potential, and coach Ataman is certainly capable of blending them into a competitive unit.

Head to Head

These two teams met twice during the qualifiers for the last World Cup, with Latvia winning both games. They were especially dominant at home, cruising to a 111–85 victory.