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Latvia, Serbia Advance Unbeaten In Serbia Olympic Qualifier

By Matthew Hallett

BELGRADE, SERBIA - JULY 05: Dairis Bertans (R) of Latvia in action against Pavel Pumprla (L) of Czech Republic during the 2016 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying basketball Group B match between Latvia and Czech Republic at Kombank Arena on July 05, 2016 in Belgrade, Serbia. (Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)
BELGRADE, SERBIA - JULY 05: Dairis Bertans (R) of Latvia in action against Pavel Pumprla (L) of Czech Republic during the 2016 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying basketball Group B match between Latvia and Czech Republic at Kombank Arena on July 05, 2016 in Belgrade, Serbia. (Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images) /
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Latvia and Serbia made it through Olympic qualifier group play unbeaten, while Puerto Rico and the Czech Republic also advanced to the semifinals in Belgrade.

The group stages are done and the semifinals are set, The group stage went as per script except for Puerto Rico ranked 16th in the world beating Angola who is ranked 15th..

The first semifinal is between Latvia and Puerto Rico. On ranking, the Puerto Ricans should win this, on form Latvia looks good. The second semifinal is between Serbia and the Czech Republic. Serbia has looked to be the best team of the tournament so should not be too troubled.

The two teams already knocked out of the tournament are Japan and Angola.

Latvia

With the two games that Latvia played, they beat Japan 88-48 and then beat the Czech Republic 71-59.

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Dairis Bertans was the leading scorer for Latvia and the leading scorer of the group stages. He scored 19 points per game in 25.3 minutes, his best game being 20 points against Japan.

Janis Blums was second on the team with 10.0 points in 16.8 minutes per game.

Kaspars Berzins leads Latvia’s rebounding, collecting 5.0 per game including six against Japan.

Martins Meiers, Ojars Silins and Janis Timma all finished had 4.5 rebounds per game.

Serbia

The other unbeaten team of the tournament was Serbia who beat Puerto Rico 87-81. Serbia then beat Angola 83-60.

Nikola Jokic was Serbia’s leading scorer and third overall in the group stages with 14.5 points per game in 19.4 minutes. His best game was 17 points against Angola

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Bogdan Bogdanovic was second on the team with 12.0 points in 26.4 minutes per game.

Jokic led Serbia’s rebounding with 7.0 rebounds per game including eight against Puerto Rico.

Bogdanovic was second with 5.5 per game.

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico was beaten by Serbia 87-81, They then qualified for the semi finals by beating Angola 91-81

John Holland was Puerto Rico’s leading scorer and the second leading scorer in the group stages with 16.0 points per game in 20.3 minutes. His best game was 21 points against Serbia.

J.J. Barea was second on the team with 14.0 points in 24.9 minutes per game.

Holland also led Puerto Rico’s rebounding with 5.0 rebounds per game He had 5 rebounds against both Serbia and Angola

Jorge Diaz was second with 4.0 per game in15.4 minutes.

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is the weakest of the four teams in the semifinals, benefiting from being in a weak group. The Czech Republic lost to Latvia 71-59 before qualifying for the semifinals by beating Japan 87-71.

Lukas Palyza was the Czech Republics’s leading scorer with 11.0 points per game in 13.4 minutes. His 22 points against Japan was the highest individual score of the group stages

Pavel Pumprla was second on the team with 9.0 points in 20.6 minutes per game.

Tomas Satoransky was the Czech Republics leading rebounding player and second in the group stages overall with 6.0 rebounds in 31.7 minutes per game. His nest game was eight against Latvia

Jiri Welsch was second on the team with 5.0 rebounds in 19.9 minutes per game.

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The first semifinal between Latvia and Puerto Rico should be a fair battle, I am hoping that Latvia can take it out. Their basketball is a pleasure to watch. Serbia should be able to beat the Czech Republic easily to claim a finals berth.