By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Upsetting France led to securing a spot in the top 16 national teams of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, but Latvia lost Dairis Bertans for the rest of the tournament.
Bertans, 33, suffered a partial tear of his left hamstring and is expected to be sidelined for five weeks, the Latvian Basketball Association, LBS, announced Monday.
Packing 28 points over 21 minutes of action in the World Cup, he was forced to an early exit from the Group H Gameday 2 affair versus France held in Indonesia Arena on Sunday. Afterward, he underwent medical tests to determine the severity of the injury.
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More bad news for head coach Luca Banchi, following Boston Celtics forward Kristaps Porzingis being ruled out for the entire World Cup. The latest setback limits Latvia to 11 healthy players.
Facing Canada tomorrow will conclude the round-robin schedule of Group H. Both sides defeated France and Lebanon to go up to 2-0. Moving to the second round, they will be placed in Group L and take on defending World Cup champion Spain and the winner of Wednesday’s game between Brazil and Cote d’Ivoire.
Earlier in the offseason, the older brother of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Davis Bertans and veteran of 12 games played in the NBA with the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2018-19 Regular Season, reunited with VEF Riga. Returning to Latvia at the club level will be combined with competing in the Basketball Champions League, the third club continental competition of his career, after 123 appearances in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 79 appearances in the 7DAYS EuroCup.
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