Latvia’s Karlis Lasmanis hit a late two-point jumper to seal a 21-18 win over the athletes from the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and the first gold medal in men’s 3x3 basketball.
With less than 30 seconds remaining in the back-and-forth match, Lasmanis took a short pass from teammate Nauris Meizis, broke free of the ROC defense and drain the two-pointer. Lasmanis led all scores in the game with 10 points.
Latvia, a favorite to win a medal, rebounded in the knockout stage after a lackluster showing in the round-robin tournament.
Serbia wins bronze medal
The men's bronze went to Serbia after it dispatched Belgium 21-10. Serbia had been heavily favored for gold, led by Dusan Domovic Bulut, the first real superstar of the new sport.
"It’s a medal. We finished the tournament with a win," Bulut said. "Better than losing in the final, no?"
The team sailed through the pool stage with a perfect record, but could not get into a groove in the semi-final against ROC and lost by a surprisingly large margin, 10-21.
SEE MORE: Breakthrough Moments: Latvia wins gold in basketball 3x3
