Latvia made sure to leave a lasting impression in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, ending its surprisingly stellar maiden campaign with a 98-63 drubbing of Lithuania at the Mall of Asia Arena on Saturday, Sept. 9.

The Latvians unloaded a blistering 20-5 run bridging the second and third quarters to rip the game apart and claim the fifth spot of the final standings in a dominant fashion after missing the last edition in China by point difference

Arturs Kurucs was at the forefront of the searing run for Latvia which started pulling away from a 43-34 count late in the first half.

He finished with 20 points built on six triples while getting ample support from Roland Smits and Andrejs Grazulis who chipped in 17 and 12, respectively. Rodion Kurucs was the other double-digit scorer with 11 to go along with his six assists.

Arturs Zagars only had four points but shattered the record in most assists per game with his 17 dimes.

Latvia simply outclassed its Baltic neighbor in the third quarter, limiting Lithuania to just nine while exploding for 28 points to build a lead that went to as high as 37 points in the second half.

Rokas Jokubaitis paced Lithuania with 16 points while Jonas Valanciunas added 15 points and eight rebounds. 

The Lithuanians, who led the World Cup in three-point shooting, had gone cold from deep, firing a measly 4-of-24 clip to end their stint at the sixth spot – highlighted by a shocking victory over Team USA in the second round of the global showpiece.