The men's U-23 3x3 basketball team of Latvia won silver medals at the World Championship, losing in the final to the reigning champions — the Lithuanian team. The decisive match was extremely tense. The Latvian team, seeded second, lost the final with a score of 18:19, stopping just one accurate shot away from the championship title. On their way to the final, the Latvians showed character. In the quarterfinals, they defeated the USA team — 19:17, and then in the semifinals, they beat Australia — 21:18. In both matches, the team managed to turn the tide and achieve victory after trailing during the game. The bronze medals of the tournament were won by the Australian team, which proved stronger than Serbia in the third-place match — 22:20. The women's team of Latvia also performed successfully at the World Championship. The Latvian women reached the bronze medal match, where they lost to Spain with a score of 14:22, finishing the tournament in fourth place. In the women's final, the USA team defeated Canada — 15:10 and became the world champion. For the men's team of Latvia, this is already the second silver medal at the U-23 3x3 basketball World Championships. The Latvians first reached the podium at the inaugural World Championship in 2018, where they also became silver medalists. Thus, this tournament has become the most successful for Latvia at the youth World Championship in the last seven years and confirmed the high level of the national 3x3 basketball school. DRAMA IN THE FINAL! LITHUANIA HOLD ON! THEY ARE YOUR #3x3U23 WORLD CUP WINNERS! pic.twitter.com/cBrq4dtITJ— 3x3 Basketball | FIBA3x3 (@FIBA3x3) September 19, 2026
