Latvian Basketball Players Defeated Austria in World Cup Qualifying Tournament

In the Group F match in Vienna, Latvia won with a score of 86:68 (20:24, 20:13, 29:17, 17:14).

Latvian national team captain Rihards Lomažs scored 24 points, Karlis Šiliņš recorded 17 points, five rebounds, and five personal fouls, Mārtiņš Šteinbergs scored 10 points, and Adrians Ančevs scored six points in his debut match for the senior team.

For the home team, Bojan Vujošević stood out with 27 points and eight rebounds, while Marvin Ogunjimi scored 17 points and six rebounds.

The match began with a precise three-point shot by Artūrs Kurucs, to which Marvin Ogunjimi responded with a three-pointer.

After an eight-point run and a successful shot by Vujošević under the basket, the Austrians took the lead at 11:5.

With the score at 9:11 in the fifth minute, Ančevs made his debut for the Latvian senior team.

At the end of the first quarter, after a three-pointer by Roberts Blumbergs and two successful free throws by Kristaps Kilps, the Latvians took the lead again — 20:18, but the hosts finished the quarter with six consecutive points, leading 24:20.

After a three-pointer by Toms Leimanis in the 13th minute, Latvia took the lead again — 28:26, and the game remained even until the score was 33:33. Then Šiliņš made two free throws, Ančevs added two points, and Kilps made a three-pointer — 40:33.

At the beginning of the second half, Ogunjimi equalized the score — 40:40, but after that, the Latvian team sharply increased their advantage, making five three-pointers, and after another shot by Kurucs, they led — 66:48.

In the final quarter, the advantage was confidently maintained, and after a two-point shot by Šiliņš, the gap reached its maximum — 77:58.

Sito Alonso izcīna PIRMO uzvaru Latvijas vīriešu valstsvienības galvenā trenera amatā! 💥🇱🇻 pic.twitter.com/RSx3CenUn3

— Latvijas Basketbola savienība (@basketbols) December 1, 2025

Both teams started the qualifying cycle with losses. The Latvians, for whom this match was the last in the national team for Dairis Bertāns, lost to the Netherlands at home with a score of 78:86, while Austria lost to Poland away — 78:90.

In the second match of the group on Monday in The Hague, the Netherlands lost to Poland with a score of 83:85 (28:22, 25:15, 17:21, 13:27).

The guests led only at the very beginning and at the end of the match, coming back from a 21-point deficit (39:60) at the start of the second half.

For the hosts, Yannick Franke scored 26 points and six rebounds, Kaye van der Wurst had 18 points and six assists, and Yannick Krag scored 13 points.

For the Polish national team, Mateusz Ponitka recorded 22 points and nine rebounds, Jeric Harding scored 17 points and five rebounds, and Michał Sokołowski added 12 points.

After two rounds, Poland has two victories, the Netherlands and Latvia have one each, while Austria has two losses.

The three best teams in Group F, taking into account all results, will continue to compete in the second stage, joining the top three teams from Group E (Germany, Croatia, Israel, Cyprus). The top three teams will earn the right to compete in the final stage of the World Cup in Qatar.

Due to the health condition of some players, the composition of the Latvian national team had to be adjusted — Oļegs Siliņš cannot help the team in this assembly. Midway through last week, Anrijs Miška and Rodijs Mačohs joined the national team.

For the match against Austria, Miška, Richard Aizpurs, and Tom Skuja were not included in the lineup, and Šiliņš replaced Bertāns, who has retired from the national team.

In the Austrian national team, forward Sylvain Landesberg, who became the top scorer in the first round against Poland (20 points), could not play due to an injury sustained during the morning practice.

Latvian national team head coach Sito Alonso is assisted by coaches Roberts Štelmaher, Artūrs Visočkins-Rubenis, Kaspars Vecvagars, and Davis Čoders, as well as fitness coach Oskars Ernšteins.