PRAGUE (FIBA EuroBasket Women 2017) - Latvia might not possess quite the same levels of star talent as other teams, but head coach Martins Zibarts knows that they can out-fight anyone.

Handed a tough draw for the Group Phase, Latvia pushed Russia well and surged back to defeat Montenegro, before wilting down the stretch and losing a nine-point lead to unbeaten Belgium in their last game.

Playmaker Elina Babkina started the tournament in scorching form, scoring 20 points against Russia before following up with 27 points and 7 assists against Montenegro, including four-of-six shooting from beyond the arc.

But Babkina limped out of the match with Belgium at half-time after aggravating a muscle injury in her leg. Zibarts rued her absence as his team folded down the stretch: "Losing Elina was the decisive factor. We survived her injury in the third quarter, but in the fourth we got tired and missed our point guard - we couldn’t manage the offense."

It leaves Latvia in third place in Group D, with Zibarts intriguingly placed to potentially meet his most recent boss - Dynamo Kursk and Spain national team head coach, Lucas Mondelo.

His team will still need to overcome defending champions Serbia in the Qualification For Quarter-Finals game, but he admits it would be interesting to take Mondelo on: "I can't have any special plan though - he's a great coach of course, and firstly we would have to deal with the Spanish guards, one of the strongest backcourts here."

Mondelo, holds the same respect for his Kursk assistant. "He had to adapt during the season to be a third coach in Dynamo Kursk, but we know he is a good head coach. One of the big things he brings to Latvia is the ability to get the right chemistry for the team.

"Tactically, he is a great coach and one of the best things he does is get the absolute best from his players."

Zibarts has spent the last three years at Dynamo Kursk, including a spell as interim head coach. He served as an assistant to Mondelo in Kursk's run to a historic triumph in EuroLeague Women in 2017, before announcing that he will return to his homeland to take the reins at EuroCup Women club TTT Riga for 2017/18.

He credits his time at Kursk as helping to develop his coaching ability: "We had a situation where we had six foreigners but could only play four of them, and I recommended to the board that we need to change this. It was a difficult situation to manage on a personal level, because even if you explain the reasons, the player's confidence will be affected."

Experiences like these will only aid Zibarts and Latvia, a small proud country that continues to produce elite talents. As well as Babkina, Anete Steinberga's tenacity has impressed in the post, with the forward racking up a huge 14 points and 20 boards against the vaunted Belgian frontline.

For coach Zibarts, the work put in over the last two years in preparation has been vital: "Last summer we were practicing almost with our second team and we played friendly games with teams preparing to go the Olympics like New Zealand and Belarus. In those games we checked our new players, and almost half of that team are on the main roster who are in this tournament one year later."

Where smaller countries can be disadvantaged by a limited talent base, they can build advantages on the other hand with a strong team unit: "It helped for good team chemistry, how we could manage those hard moments during the Qualifiers. We could find players who can change the game, players who can fight, be defenders, be shooters, fight in the post, and also those who are good in the locker room. We have good chemistry and good character. We fight from the first to the 40th minute, and from the opening tip they play with heart and energy all the time."

Four of the current squad are currently based in the NCAA in USA though, with Kitija Laksa playing the biggest role currently. This is already her third FIBA EuroBasket Women tournament at the age of just 21, and she's hit a bunch of clutch three-pointers to enhance her burgeoning reputation.

Zibarts welcomes the NCAA influence: "The biggest development is they become mature, because there are no parents around, and they don't have their usual friends who they were with for 15 years." Laksa's progress in two years at South Florida has been considerable: "With maturity and temperament, there has been big development - she is much stronger than when she went away."

His team faces a tall order in their bid to advance - but coach Zibarts will be optimistic that the pipeline continues to produce good talent for the years ahead.

FIBA