Andrejs Grazulis put up a near-perfect performance as Latvia held off Italy, 87-82, in the classification round for the fifth to eighth places in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena on Thursday, Sept. 7.

Grazulis fired away 28 points on a 12-of-13 shooting from the field to power the Latvians to a battle for the No. 5 spot in the final rankings against the winner of the Slovenia and Lithuania game.

Latvia actually bucked a slow start to the contest where it trailed by as many as 13 points, 23-10, in the opening frame before turning the table with a 13-0 rally and take the driver's seat, 52-42.

The Azzurri, however, refused to go down without a fight, as, after staring at a 14-point deficit, crawled their way back within two, 84-82, with 1:33 left in the game.  

Grazulis, though, doused the run with a booming triple from the right wing to seal the deal for Latvia.

Aigas Skele added 12 points and nine rebounds while Arturs Zagars chipped in 10 points and six assists as Latvia bounced back from a painful 81-79 loss against Germany in the quarterfinals.

Veteran Luigi Datome paced the Italians with 20 points to pick up the slack from the absence of main man Simone Fontecchio.