LAT - An older, wiser, battle-hardened team

LJUBLJANA (EuroBasket/FIBA Basketball World Cup) - It didn't seem to be the best of draws for Latvia several months ago when they ended up in the so-called 'group of death' at EuroBasket 2013 .

After surviving a tough Qualification Round, the Baltic side wound up in Group B for this month's tournament alongside Serbia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (MKD).

Latvia, in the opinion of many, were going to be the whipping boys in Jesenice and fail to advance, as happened two years ago in Lithuania when they lost all five games in the First Round.

"I wasn't so happy (after the draw)," Latvia coach Ainars Bagatskis admitted on Wednesday afternoon.

Six games into the EuroBasket, though, and the tough competition appears to have paid dividends for Latvia.

After grinding out three wins in Group B and finishing third to stay alive in the competition, the Latvians rolled in their Second Round opener to an 85-51 triumph over Ukraine, a team that went 4-1 in Group A.

Needing two wins to be assured of progressing to the Quarter-Finals, Latvia's remaining Group E games are against France on Friday and Belgium on Sunday.

Bagatskis thinks surviving the 'group of death' in Jesenice has toughened up his team.

"In all five (Group B) games we showed a good basketball, even against the teams that are (among) the favorites in this championship, Lithuania and Serbia," Bagatskis said.

"That made us much, much stronger."

Point guard Dairis Bertans says that taking part in Group B was a blessing in disguise.

"Of course it was probably the toughest group in this championship," said Bertans.

"Going through that group, we got confidence, that we could play with everybody. We proved it to ourselves, everybody else."

Because Latvia didn't carry any wins into Group E, with their three victories in Group B coming against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and MKD - teams that failed to progress - the Baltic side may need to win its next two games against France and Belgium to assure itself of a top-four finish and reaching the last eight.

France is a significant hurdle to clear.

They are one of the teams that beat Latvia in 2011 and then won the silver medal.

Bertans was among those with the difficult task of guarding Tony Parker, one of the best playmakers in the world, in that EuroBasket 2011 opener.

Parker is still with the team and will be looking to bounce back from a sub-par performance against Lithuania when Les Bleus square off against Latvia.

"It's always good to play against great players and he's for sure one of the best in the world," Bertans said.

"I'll enjoy it. Two years ago, I remember (laughs), he scored like 30 or more points.

"It's not so hard, he just finds a way to score. After the game, we didn't feel like he really outplayed us, but he finds his situations and he uses them."

Against Ukraine on Wednesday, Latvia buried five three-pointers in the opening frame and led 24-11, and then exploded into a 42-22 lead by half-time and blew Ukraine out in the third quarter.

Latvia hit 15 of their 29 shots from long range.

The player that set the tone was 30-year-old Kristaps Janicenoks, who hit all four of his shots from the arc and scored 14 points.

"He's a real team leader," Bertans said. "You see it on the court, in the locker room. He wants to win everything and he makes us want to win it, too."

Janicenoks is enjoying playing for Latvia this summer, something he didn't do in 2011.

"This is the most charismatic Latvian national team I've played with," he said.

"It's young, but guys played at the last EuroBasket, so they know how to play and now they have grown up.

"And me, and Janis (Blums) and Armands (Skele) came to the team and put some experience into it, too."

There were only smiles in the Latvia camp after their rampage against Ukraine.

"Now we have a chance to go to the Quarter-Finals, and that's what we are looking for," Bertans said.

For full and in-depth coverage of EuroBasket 2013, go to the official website http://www.eurobasket2013.org.

FIBA