Latvia collected their debut win in EuroBasket 2007 after beating Turkey 73-62 in Group A's opener in Vasto on Monday.

The next EuroBasket hostess took a solid lead early in the second quarter and never let go until the final buzzer.

"We knew it was going to be our most important game in this stage. We prepared two

		Gunta Basko was all over the court for Latvia with 17 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

weeks for it, so we played with big intensity," said Latvia's guard Zane Eglite after the game.

Their preperation was shown from the first moment.

Latvia was ready for Turkey's outside shooters.

They played aggressive defense on the perimeter from the first moment, and allowed Turkey only a single three-pointer the whole game.

Gunta Basko carried Latvia to the big win but in a game of ups and downs she committed six turnovers and converted only one of her seven shots from long range.

"Everybody makes mistakes. I tried to fix them, and I'm happy I was able to contribute in other fields," she said afterwards.

Basko was Latvia's top scorer with 17 points, the top passer with seven assists and also grabbed seven rebounds to be the second best rebounder on the team tonight.

"We were a little big nervous but played aggressive from the very start, and that was the key for the win."

Basko was there whenever her team needed her. She made big plays when Turkey came close, and her only made three-pointer was an off-balance jumper to beat the shot clock in the last quarter.

The teams were close to each other from the first moment, and finished the opening ten minutes tied at 18-18.

Turkey stayed neck to neck midway in the second quarter thanks to their offensive rebounds, but when Anete Jekabsone-Zogota stepped up for Latvia with eight points in the second quarter, and Leva Kublina connected on five quick points, Latvia took off with an 8-0 run to lead 38-31 at half time.

Turkey continued to miss shot after shot from three-point range, as Latvia took their biggest lead of the game, 45-32, after Basko scored two and dished an assist to Eglite.

Turkey did assert themselves inside in the form of Nevriye Yilmaz and Yasemin Horasan.

While Latvia had four players in double-digits, Turkey enjoyed a good offensive contribution from only those two.

Each scored 21 points, and combined for 18 rebounds, three assists and three blocks, but that wasn't enough.

"Our guards couldn't make their long range shots tonight, but Latvia was very aggressive and we couldn't get the win. We have to stick together now and be ready for the next two games," said Yilmaz.

She connected on four points in a row to make it a six point game early in the fourth, but then Basko stepped up.

With a lay up, a drawn foul on the offensive board and assist for a three pointer by Kublina she sent her team to another double digit margin, and secured the debut win.

Latvia will take on Israel tomorrow while Turkey will look for their first win against the champs from the Czech Republic.

Two years ago it was Turkey who hosted the EuroBasket games, and had big dreams.

Now they had to travel west to Vasto, Italy for EuroBasket 2007, where they'll face Latvia on opening day.

Two years from now it will be Latvia who will host EuroBasket women, and they'll use this tournament to pick up their game and try to be as ready as possible for the bigger task two years from now.

But this game is more about the former hostess against the next one.

These two teams are new to EuroBasket, Turkey played for their first time two years ago as hostess.

Latvia played only in 1999 and 2005, both are very enthusiastic and full of energy to show their game, and prove they belong here.

Head-to-Head: Two years ago, on Turkish soil, Latvia managed to stop the Turkish dream of making it to the World Championship with a 78-81 win in the 5-8 classification games.

Key Match Up: Just like two years ago we can expect a big battle between the two main canons of each team. Nevriye Yilmaz had 28 points and 13 rebounds in the last official match up between the two teams, but saw Anete Jekabsone-Zogota hit her tournament-high with 30 points in great accuracy. These two are suppose to set the tone this time as well.

Statistics: In the qualifiers Turkey was the best offensive team – the only one who scored more than 80 points per game. They did that by excelling in long range shots, and that will be the main task of Latvia on opening night. Latvia scored in all their four qualification games between 70-72, so Turkey's target will be to cross that line.

What It Means: No crucial meaning for both sides but momentum . Every team wants to start the championship on the right foot, get a good energy and march happily to day 2. In case both will qualify to the next round, a win here, even by a single point, can make a whole difference.

Sounding off: "I don't care about opponents, I am only worried about the physical and mental condition of our players. If my players are ready to play, we can beat any team but if they are not, we can lose every game." Turkey coach Cem Akdag.