Serbia Olympic Qualifying Tournament- Latvia vs. Japan by Wes Kosel
Japan and Latvia played the first game of the Serbia Olympic Qualifying Tournament on July 4th. The tournament is split into two groups, Group A (Serbia, Puerto Rico, and Angola) and Group B (Latvia, Japan, and Czech Republic). The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals on Friday, July 8th. In this game, Japan struggled against Latvia starting the game down 26 to 11 after the 1st quarter. Japan made a nice push in the third quarter, but it wasn’t enough to hold off the high powered Latvians.
Latvia was led by Dairis Bertans who scored 20 points, grabbed 3 rebounds, and dished out 4 assists. Japan was led by Kosuke Takeuchi who scored 12 points in the game. Japan’s defense was just not enough to keep Latvia from scoring. Latvia shot 64% on two-point shots and 39% on three-point shots. Below are some highlights from the game.
Latvia Offense
Olympic Qualifying – Diamond Slash
Latvia uses this quick hitter to get the ball into the post. The fast action is difficult to defend.
Olympic Qualifying – Cross Top PNR
Latvia spaces the floor well, and in this play they use spacing and movement to get a high ball-screen for the point guard.
Olympic Qualifying – Horns Post Curl PNR
Latvia used different variations of this play throughout the game. Forcing Japan to guard the back-screen gives the 5 man space when setting the ball-screen.
Olympic Qualifying – Horns Step Out Flex
This play is a variation of the previous play with a flex action at the end.
Japan Offense
Olympic Qualifying – DHO Roll Pin
Japan uses the pick and roll creatively here with the roller now setting a down screen for the point guard.
Olympic Qualifying – SLOB Step Out Flip Screen
Japan used this play to get a quick shot at the end of the third quarter.
Click on the pdf link below to download the Serbia Olympic Qualifying Tournament Playbook- Latvia vs. Japan:
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