By Semih Tuna/ info@eurohoops.net
Riga, Latvia – With Latvia already down one player in EuroBasket 2025, Arturs Zagars and Kristers Zoriks have been medically cleared to resume action in the international tournament.
The Latvian Basketball Association officially updated the status of the players on Tuesday, following further evaluation of the 25-year-old and 27-year-old combo guards. Both players picked up injuries in Gameday 4 of the preliminary round against Portugal on Monday.
With Andrejs Grazulis previously ruled out for the remainder of EuroBasket due to a foot injury, a hamstring issue for Zagars midway through the first quarter, and an ankle issue for Zoriks late in the fourth quarter frustrated head coach Luca Banchi, countering success and improving to 2-2 in Group A. However, both players will be looking to play in Gameday 5 opposite Czechia in Xiaomi Arena on Wednesday.
After debuting in a major tournament with the senior national team of his country in the FIBA World Cup 2023, Zoriks tallied 5.3 points and 2.8 assists per contest over four appearances in the ongoing international campaign.
Also debuting in the previous World Cup, Zagars was named on the All-Star Second Team with Banchi’s side ranking fifth overall. Dealing with injuries in pool play, he is averaging 8.3 points, 3.8 assists, and 1.3 rebounds per game.
Latvia will continue the EuroBasket journey as the third seed of Group A, and will face the second seed of Group B, Germany, Lithuania, or Finland, in the Round of 16.
Photo Credit: FIBA