By Lefteris Moutis/ moutis@eurohoops.net
Latvia beating Japan was not a suprise, however the team of coach Ainars Bagatskis didn’t let the Asians take a breath on the way to the more than easy 88-48 win, even if Kristaps Porzingis is not playing for the national team this summer.
Dairis Bertans with 20 points on 8/10 shots and Janis Blums with 17 points and 5/7 threes led the way for the winners who finished the first quarter leading by 15 points (26-11) and kept pushing until the end. Kosuke Takeuchi with 12 points was the top scorer of the losing side, 35 years old guard Yuta Tabuse, the only Japanese player who ever played in the NBA – four games back in 2004 with the Phoenix Suns – had 2 points and 4 assists but the gap in talent and quality was more than obvious.
Add to that the fact that Japan made just 3 out of 20 three pointers (15%) and Latvia had a huge advantage in rebounds (49-28) and you get the picture. It was not pretty for the Asians as Latvia cruised to the win.