Spain Avoid Latvia Upset To Go Through

Spain is the fourth and last team to pave the way to the Semi-Finals of the U20 European Championship in Bilbao following a 77-70 win over Latvia in front of thousands of local fans.

Spain will take on Russia in the second Semi-Final tomorrow in hope to remain perfect one more night and secure their spot on the podium.

Latvia put up a big fight, but couldn't hold their shooting performance for 40 minutes and will face Turkey tomorrow in the 5-8 Classification Round.

Joan Sastre kept his most productive game so far in the tournament for the right moment and had 27 points on 60 percent shooting from the floor.

It was especially efficient considering Nikola Mirotic reached his tournament low with only 12 points tonight, yet added 13 rebounds.

Mirotic scored only three points in the second half, and none in the closing quarter.

Josep Franch added 14 and five assists for the winning squad.

Janis Antrops collected 15 points for Latvia, all of them came from the perimeter in 50% accuracy.

Latvia was strong in the game thanks to their three-point shooting.

Apart from Antrops five more players scored from the arc and after three quarters Latvia had 11 long range in 50%, yet in the closing quarter they went cold and scored just one three pointer in eight attempts.

Mareks Mejeris had eight points and nine rebounds but scored just four times in 18 attempts, and missed all seven shots from long range.

Ugis Pinete and Armands Osins had 10 points each.

Mirotic and Sastre shared the first 10 points of Spain, but Latvia showed some freshness and managed to sting the big favorites for a 10-7 score.

Franch scored the next five Spanish points, yet Mejeris replied with a lay-up and Antrops scored from the arc to make it 15-14 after seven minutes.

Arturs Bricis with a huge block on Franch stopped the hosting guard from a big dunk, but Sastre used the rebound to punish with a three-pointer and Franch paid his debt to the fans by dunking hard  in the following play for a 24-16 score, a minute before the first buzzer.

Latvia scored the first five points of the second quarter, but Spain woke up on time and made Latvia chase them, but not for long.

Osins scored from the arc off the dribble and tied the score at 31-31 before Artjoms Butjankovs added a pair from the line to put Latvia on top.

Spain seemed out of focus and a series of turnovers and missed shots called for the first time-out on the hosting side, now down by three points, 33-36 with three minutes to play in the first half.

Meiers with a mid-range jumper and Antrops with a corner three silenced the fans with a 35-41 lead at the half time break.

Latvia continued to hit shots from long range, a total of four in the third quarter, and it was enough to maintain the lead, yet Spain kept fighting back, again and again.

Sastre with a big block finished the play at the other side with a catch-and-shoot three pointer and made it just 54-52 before adding another jumper.

Mirotic added a jumper as well, and Alejandro Barrera scored a long range shot to put Spain up top again, 59-57, yet Pinete tied the score right before the end of the third quarter.

Sastre with a lay-up and Jose Pozas with five points increased Spain's run to 16-2 in a span of seven minutes, until Osins hit a three pointer, the only one of Latvia in this quarter, and made it just a six-point game, 68-62, with five minutes to play.

Once again Sastre, this time on a fast break lay-up made it a six point game, while Latvia was out of sync beyond the arc, and couldn't score inside.

A great dunk by Mejeris in the closing second earned respect from the fans who were already celebrating the local win.