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The Latvia national basketball team is the basketball side that represents Latvia in international competitions.
[edit] Eurobasket 1935
The Latvians won the first European basketball championship, the Eurobasket 1935 held by the International Basketball Federation's FIBA Europe continental federation. They defeated Hungary in the preliminary round, Switzerland in the semifinals, and Spain in the final to finish atop the ten-nation field.
Latvia held their opponents to 49 points over three games, the lowest points-against average in the tournament. Their scoring rate, 98 points over three games for 32.67 points per game, was second only to France.
[edit] Eurobasket 1937
The reigning champions finished in a relatively disappointing sixth place in the second European championship, Eurobasket 1937, which they hosted. Their 32-25 loss to Poland in the preliminary round put them in a three-way tie for the lead of the four-team group; Latvia came out on the bottom of the tie-breaker against Poland and France. This result came about despite the Latvians being the highest-scoring team in the entire tournament and allowing fewer opponent points than any of the other teams in their group.
Being in the bottom half of the preliminary group meant that the team could finish no better than fifth. In the classification semifinal, Latvia faced Egypt, which had withdrawn after their first two preliminary matches. They advanced to the 5th/6th playoff, which they lost to Estonia 41-19.
[edit] Eurobasket 1939
Despite losing two matches, including a rematch of the 1937 playoff against Estonia and the match against eventual champions Lithuania, Latvia's five wins were enough to secure second place, as only Poland had also accumulated a 5-2 record. Since Latvia had won their match against Poland, they received the silver medal whilst Poland gained only bronze.
Latvia
