Latvia secured their spot in the next round of EuroBasket 2007 with a tough 77-73 win over Israel on Tuesday night in Group A in Vasto.

On the other end Israel dropped to 0-2 and will have to beat Turkey tomorrow on the last day to make it to the next round.

		Liad Suez Karni's 21 points and six rebounds was nearly enough for Israel to pull the upset.

After a 32 point loss last night Israel found the path to show they belong among the top 16 teams of Europe.

For the vast majority of the game the arrow pointed at the Israeli side, but Latvia stepped up in the last quarter, showed character and prevailed.

"We allowed them to come back to the game, and that's where we lost it," concluded Meirav Dori of Israel.

"It's a really bad feeling to lose the game like that. We lost the momentum and they made some great shots in the last quarter."

Latvia had the lead going into the last two minutes of the game, but Israel still had a chance.

Liad Suez, who scored a team high of 21 points and pulled in six rebounds, dribbled down the court in the last 13 seconds with Israel down by two, but lost the ball and Zane Eglite secured the win from the line.

"We didn't play so good in the first three quarters," said Gunta Basko of Latvia. "We missed easy shots and didn't play good defense, but in the last quarter Anete stepped up and the whole team played better."

Anete Jekabsone-Zogota was the top scorer of the game with 28 points including five hits from long range.

24 of those points came in the second half, but she scored eight in the last 3:34 of the game, exactly when it hurt Israel the most.

"I don't care how much I score. If I make 20 points and we lose it means nothing, but when we lose by four and I finish with zero it means something," said Shai Doron of Israel, who missed all her four shots from the field and two from the line.

"We should have won this game. It was in our hands, but I don't want to analyze it right now. We just need to regroup for tomorrow," she concluded. 

Latvia continued their great performance from yesterday with a 10-2 start after three minutes.

Katia Abramzon and Liad Suez made a difference for Israel with two three-point plays, but Latvia continued to hold the lead, and finished the first quarter up 17-12.

The second quarter was nothing but an individual performance of Suez.

The Israeli forward carried her team all the way to a great quarter.

She scored six points in a row in 12-2 run which put Israel on top, but didn't stop there.

Israel climbed to a double-digit margin, with Liron Cohen and Abramzon joining Suez with long range aces, to finish the quarter with a 39-30 lead.

Suez had 14 points in that quarter, one point more the entire Latvian team, and the exact difference between the two in the quarter score, 27-13.

It took Latvia a little over four minutes to be back in the game.

Jekabsone-Zogota connected on seven points in a row to make it 43-43, but Israel never allowed the weight to move to the other side.

Suez added two more points to break a two minute drought on both sides and make it 61-55, but Latvia didn't give up.

With a 9-1 run, led by Jekabsone-Zogota and Gunta Basko they took back the lead, only to see Israel answer with a 6-0 run and make it 68-64 for the blue and whites.

Then it was time for Jekabsone-Zogota to start her eight point blitz with two hits from long range.

She turned it over for the last time with less than three minutes in the game.

Abramzon stepped up with big plays, but her three-pointer went in-and-out and with 40 seconds on the clock Latvia had the ball and a two point lead.

Israel made one last effort before Suez lost the ball.

With one win already in their pocket Latvia will take on Israel on day two of Group A action, hoping to clinch a spot in the next round.

Latvia showed great team play and big intensity on both ends of the floor in their opening win over Turkey, and will need to bring that to the court once again to stay perfect.

		Liron Cohen carried the scoring load for Israel in their first game with 16.

Israel put up a fight for one half before losing to the champs of the Czech Republic, but don't be mistaken by the 32 point loss.

After leaving Slovakia and Poland behind Israel have no plans to give up on this championship.

They will fight again and again, and will need another good shooting night from Liron Cohen and the smart play of Katia Abramzon.

Last Time Out: Latvia collected a key 73-62 win over Turkey on the opening day, while Israel was trashed 75-43 against the champs from the Czech Republic.

Key Match Up: Gunta Basko, who played in Israel several years ago, shinned last night in the win over Turkey, and was an active part in the aggressive back court defense of her team. Today she will try to limit Israel's Liron Cohen who was the top scorer of the team in four of their last five games.

X-Factor: Latvia won despite their best scorer Anete Jekabsone-Zogota not being at her best in the shooting department. Israel will need to choose between eliminating her, or trying to break the Latvian team play which eventually made the difference last night.

Statistics: The Latvians limited Turkey to only one three-pointer last night, while Israel reached the same amount in their game against the Czech Republic. In order to win Israel must be better with their long range shooting, but the Latvian aggressive perimeter defense will be a tough nut to break.

What It Means: Latvia will secure the spot in the next round and if Israel were to qualify eventually the win today will give Latvia a big advantage. Israel can still afford a loss and qualify with a win tomorrow, but needs to gain some confidence after the big loss yesterday.