Upset of the day: Bulgaria shock Latvia to qualify for FIBA EuroBasket 2022
RIGA (Latvia) - Bulgaria won the first matchup by six in double overtime, and their aggregate lead looked in danger for 30 minutes in Riga. But they held the hosts to just six points in the final stanza, running away with a 66-65 win, which sends them straight to FIBA EuroBasket 2022, while keeping Latvia at home.
Bulgaria ended Latvia's run of nine straight appearances at the FIBA EuroBasket, and it is the first time in this millennium that the Three Stars won't be at the Final Round. Bulgaria are making their comeback for the first time since 2011.
Unbelievable scenes as Bulgaria 🇧🇬 are heading to #EuroBasket 2022 for the 1st time in a decade 👏 pic.twitter.com/BwYoojSywJ
— FIBA EuroBasket (@EuroBasket) February 20, 2021
Turning point: Latvia had an 8-point lead with 10 minutes to play, but Bulgaria crawled back in a hurry by hitting five three-pointers in nine attempts in the fourth quarter - they hit just 6-of-22 over the first 30 minutes of the game. Dee Bost made the three-pointer to give Bulgaria a one-point lead with a minute and a half to play, and it turned out to be the last made shot of the game.
Game hero: Bost had 18 points, knocked down four three-pointers, dished out 4 assists and grabbed 4 rebounds to lead the charge. Pavlin Ivanov made five shots from beyond the arc, three of them in the fourth quarter.
Stats don't lie: It's next to impossible to win a game when you're shooting 5-of-23 from long range, which is what Latvia did.
Bottom line: Latvia are out because Bulgaria own the tiebreaker. They are also two wins behind Greece and three behind Bosnia and Herzegovina, meaning they will finish fourth in the group no matter what happens on the last gameday. You can consider them unlucky, too. Latvia lost two games by a single point and one in double overtime.
They said:
FIBA