MIES (Switzerland) - It is now time to meet the six teams in this FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024 Latvia with the dream of becoming Olympic champions this summer.

Here is the number 6 team in the FIBA World Ranking Men, presented by Nike, the one-time Olympic participants Latvia. The sole appearance for Latvia came in the first Olympics back in 1936.

How they qualified

Latvia had a wild last year and hope 2024 will be even better. The northern Europeans in February 2023 first locked up their participation in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 - the first time the country would be playing on the global stage. And it came just about 18 months after they had hit rock bottom by failing to qualify for the FIBA EuroBasket 2022.

After going through the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 European Pre-Qualifiers, Latvia went 11-1 in the European Qualifiers and did not slow down last summer in Asia. They beat Lebanon in their first-ever FIBA World Cup game and then shocked France. After a loss to Canada to finish the first group stage, Latvia pulled off another shocking upset by defeating Spain and then beat Brazil to reach the Quarter-Finals - meaning a top-eight spot in the world.

Latvia was a Davis Bertans missed three-pointer in the waning seconds from knocking off eventual champions Germany, losing by two points in the quarters. The team bounced back and beat Italy and Lithuania to finish in fifth place - as a World Cup debutant.  That qualified them for the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments 2024 as one of the best 16 remaining teams that did not advance directly to the Summer Olympics.

Latvia later were selected to host one of the OQTs, with six nations playing in Riga from July 2-7, 2024. The winner of the event will book a spot at Paris 2024.

Record at the Olympics

Appearances: 1 - 1936 (15th)
Medals: 0

Recent OQT history*

* Since 2008

 
This will be the second time that Latvia will participate in an OQT, playing in the Serbian capital of Belgrade in 2016. With hopes of reaching the Rio Olympics, Latvia defeated Japan and Czechia in the group stage. Next up in the Semi-Finals was Puerto Rico and the two teams put on a thrilling back-and-forth show with 13 lead changes and 12 ties. In the end it was not enough as Latvia lost 77-70.

Last Olympics appearance 

The last and only time Latvia played in the Olympics, the basketball games were played outside - in the German capital of Berlin in 1936. Latvia beat Uruguay 20-17 in their first game but suffered a 28-23 loss to Poland followed by a 34-23 defeat against Canada to miss out on the Eighth-Finals.

The OQT Group Phase 

Latvia will definitely have a home court advantage going into the OQT thanks also to the crowd in Riga. Luca Banchi's team will start the tournament against Georgia and then face Philippines a day later in Group A.

Group B includes Brazil, Cameroon and Montenegro. Latvia just beat the South Americans at the FIBA World Cup last summer while facing a European is always tough. And Cameroon gave themselves another chance by winning the FIBA Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament Nigeria, defeating Senegal in the Final.

Of the five other teams, only Brazil (15 appearances) and Philippines (7 - last one in 1972) have ever reached the Olympics.

Latvia OQT games

vs Georgia (July 2)
vs Philippines (July 3)

Players to watch

Latvia pulled off their FIBA World Cup magic without Kristaps Porzingis, though the NBA star was in Asia supporting the team from the sidelines. Porzingis is the country's most talented basketball player in history and he gives the team so many more options. Having him on board - on the court - will be a huge boost for Latvia.

The two sets of brothers - Davis and Dairis Bertans and Rodions and Arturs Kurucs - are both backbones to the team's success. Arturs Zagars emerged at the FIBA World Cup as an elite playmaker, breaking the single game World Cup record in assists. And Andrejs Grazulis shined as a scoring forward in Asia.

Luca Banchi's list of players who can make a difference just keeps extending, including Rolands Smits, Anzejs Psecniks and Algars Skele among others.

Qualified Team Focus series

During coming weeks and months, we will continue to check out all teams ready to step out as part of our Qualified Team Focus series. You can already take a look at Brazil here.

FIBA