Kristaps Porzingis will be out but an international juggernaut will be taking over to power Latvia in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) from 2 to 7 July in Riga.
Davis Bertans is expected to carry the hopes of the Latvians as they attempt to make a return to the Olympics for the first time since 1936.
Bertans will be marching to the OQT with something to prove.
In the FIBA World Cup in Manila last year, he powered Latvia to a strong run in the preliminaries where they beat Spain and Brazil en route to advancing to the quarterfinals.
But against powerhouse Germany, Bertans choked, missing a potential game-winning three-pointer for a 79-81 setback that doomed their title chances and knocked them out of the race for an outright Olympic berth.
Germany, behind shifty playmaker Dennis Schroder, eventually won the title while the Latvians were relegated to the OQT that would be held right in their homecourt at the 14,500-seater Arena Riga.
The Latvians will face Gilas Pilipinas on 2 July before confronting Georgia the following day for a victory that will send them to the second round against the survivors in the group of Brazil, Cameroon and Montenegro.
But Bertans, who plays for the Charlotte Hornets in the National Basketball Association, will not be alone.
Latvia’s coach Luka Banchi, who was hailed as the best coach in the previous World Cup, will be banking on Bertans’ brother Dairus as well as the Kurucs brothers in Rodions and Arturs.
Arturs Zazgar, who mesmerized Filipino fans with his superb passing, elite playmaking and impressive decision-making during the World Cup, is also in the roster to give Gilas backcourt of CJ Perez, Chris Newsome and Dwight Ramos a run for their money.
