33YO Ex-Pelicans Star?s Heartwarming FIBA Story Comes to an End as Latvia Captain Tragically Leaves the World Cup

One of the biggest upsets in the 2023 FIBA World Cup happened when Latvia faced favorites France. It was the debutants vs. the 2020 Olympic Silver medalists. Furthermore, France was looking to bounce back after a 30-point humbling against Canada. They also needed a win to stay in the league. So there was no shortage of inspiration or there was no room for complacency. Despite this, Latvia put in a historical performance with their captain taking the lead. Unfortunately, he is now sidelined with an injury.

Latvia was unfortunate in terms of injury even before the start of the tournament when NBA superstar Kristaps Porzingis was sidelined. Now, another injury has added more to their misery.

Dairis Bertans’ injury setback

Latvia’s captain Dairis Bertans has suffered a hamstring injury and won’t participate in the remaining games according to FIBA. The former New Orleans Pelicans star played a huge role in his team’s historic win against France. Despite the injury, Bertans is poised to remain with the team throughout the event.

Notably, Latvia won the inaugural FIBA EuroBasket championship in 1935. However, this extraordinary feat remains the only title in their history. Furthermore, they could not qualify for the FIBA World Cup for years. So fans were excited when their nation reached the tournament this year and flooded the stands.

Latvia started things brightly with a dominant 109-70 win against Lebanon. They then faced France in their second game. While France needed a win to survive, Latvia needed a win to confirm their spot in the round of 16.

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France dominated the game and had their biggest lead of 13 points. With incredible support from their fans, Dairis Bertans and his team pulled off a major comeback to win the game 86-88. Notably, Latvia’s biggest lead of the game was 2. Dairis was already playing limited minutes in the game. However, he came up with crucial buckets which helped his team massively to get the historic win. Even though his teammates will miss his presence on the court, his leadership off it should help.

Kristaps Porzingis’ presence in the FIBA World Cup

Ahead of the World Cup, Dairis Bertans talked about the injury setback of Kristaps Porzingis. The captain was understandably not happy with the injury. However, he was glad Porzingis traveling with the team.

“Having Kristaps here is great,” stated Dairis as per FIBA. “This is our philosophy now the last couple of years ? no matter who makes the 12-player roster, we think that the national team is more than the 12 players. We’re all in this together and it’s great having him around.”

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Dairis’ statement reveals how closely-knit the Latvian national team is. Despite Porzingis’ absence and Davis Bertans’ limited time due to injury, the team has qualified for the next round. However, it will be interesting to see how Latvia performs without their captain.