Dairis Bertans leads Latvia to impressive debut win over Lebanon

Latvia started their maiden World Cup campaign in impressive fashion by defeating Lebanon 109-70 to get the action underway in Group H.

Turning point: Latvia relied on their three-point shot early and it paid off, as they knocked down 11 three-pointers in the first half to open up a 25-point lead at halftime – using an early 15-0 burst to take control. Dairis and Davis Bertans combined to make six of those threes to help give Latvia a big cushion and put the game out of reach after 20 minutes.

TCL Player of the Game: Dairis Bertans produced an efficient performance with a game-high 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting from three-point range along with 4 assists and 0 turnovers in only 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, Roland Smits added 17 points and 7 rebounds on 8-of-12 from the field as Latvia had 11 different players on the scoresheet including seven in double figures.

Stats don’t lie: A huge difference in the game was converting three-pointers, as Latvia outscored Lebanon by 33 points from behind the arc (18 threes for Latvia compared to seven for Lebanon). The victors also dished out 34 assists and only committed five turnovers in a tidy display.

Bottom line: Latvia have made history in their first ever appearance at a World Cup by getting their first win to begin 1-0 in Group H. They will look to continue to make history by stringing together another win in their next game against France on August 27.

Lebanon, meanwhile, start 0-1 in the group and their task does not get any easier as they come up against Canada in their next encounter.