The Australian U19 Men’s basketball team, the Emus, have dropped game two of their 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship of Basketball campaign, falling to the host nation Latvia by 10 points, in a tough contest which saw captain Hugh Greenwood go down with an ankle sprain.

 Mitch Creek was best for the Aussies, finishing the game with 20 points, with Igor Hadziomerovic adding 14 points. The Latvians had three players register 20 points or more, led by Kaspars Vecvagars with 24 points, followed by Davis Bertans with 22 points, while Edmunds Dukulis finished with 20 points.

It was Latvia who got off to a strong start, largely on the back of Bertans who was dominant offensively early in the quarter.

But the Aussies returned fire late in the term, coming back with better execution in the half court to minimise the lead going into the first break down, 18-15.

A slow start in the second quarter gave the home team some confidence behind a raucous crowd. When Hugh Greenwood went down with an ankle injury, the Emus rallied through Mitch Creek, Anthony Drmic and Hadziomerovic to close the gap to three at the half.

The Emus failure to convert in the half court and from the foul line after half time increased the scoreboard pressure and with some breakdowns on defence, the Latvians went on a 12-0 run to take what would be an insurmountable 15-point lead.

An increased effort on defense and a major focus on composure on offence gave the Emus a 7-0 run of their own in the last quarter and saw the margin shaved back to nine points with five minutes to play. 

Despite being back in the contest, however, poor free throw shooting by the Emus cost them any chance of getting closer in the final minutes, Latvia securing the 10-point win.

'While it’s always disappointing to lose, it is most important that we stay focused,” said Emus head coach Damian Cotter.

'Latvia is a very good team. Our failure to put scoreboard pressure on the Latvians meant we were playing continual catch up basketball. Shooting poorly from the free throw line will always make it harder to win the contest,” he said.

Australia plays Chinese Taipei tonight (11pm AEST) to advance to the next stage of the tournament.

Latvia 78 (Vecvagars 24, Bertans 22, Dukulis 20) defeated Australia 68 (Creek 20, Hadziomerovic 14, Drmic 12)
Quarter by quarter

1st:      18 - 15

2nd:     35 - 32    (17 - 17)

3rd:      64 - 49    (29 - 17)

4th:      78 - 68    (14 - 19)

Media release: Basketball Australia

www.basketball.net.au