Italy vs. Latvia FIBA World Cup 2023, September 7: Date, time, where to watch, live stream details and more

After falling in the quarterfinals of the FIBA World Cup 2023, Italy and Latvia have been eliminated from title contention. However, both teams will still have a chance to compete for places fifth through eighth in the tournament.

Italy, led by star forward Simone Fontecchio (18.3 points per game), will take on Latvia, led by star guard Arturs Zagars (14.2 ppg), on Thursday, Sept. 7. The game will be played at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines and will kick off at 16:45 local time (04:45 ET) and can be streamed live on Courtside1891 and PILIPINAS LIVE.

The winner of Italy vs. Latvia will advance to the fifth-place game on Saturday (Sept. 9). Meanwhile, the loser will play in the seventh-place game on Saturday.

How did Italy and Latvia fare in the quarterfinals of the FIBA World Cup 2023?

Latvian forward Davis Bertans against Germany at the FIBA World Cup 2023 quarterfinals

While Italy and Latvia both lost in the quarterfinals of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, the two teams’ losses came in drastically different fashion.

Italy was blown out 100-63 by a star-studded U.S. team on Tuesday.

Latvia, on the other hand, suffered a heartbreaking 81-79 loss to Germany on Wednesday. Latvian forward Davis Bertans had a chance to win the game on a last-second 3-pointer that rimmed out.

Following Italy’s blowout loss to Team USA, Italian coach Gianmarco Pozzecco spoke to reporters about how unfair it was that Italy (4-2) got matched up with the USA. This was after the Italians finished first in Group I in the previous round:

“Everybody in the world was thinking that we have no chance to win this game,” Pozzecco said.

“There is one little animal that cannot fly, but it doesn’t know it, so it flies: bumblebee. We cannot fly, but we didn’t know. And my players did it. That’s amazing. They didn’t deserve to play against the United States because my players were first in their group. That’s sport.”

Following Latvia's last-second loss to Germany, Bertans spoke about how proud he was of his team for making it to the quarterfinals:

“All I want to say is that I’m extremely proud of this team, battling every single game,” Bertans said.

Latvia (4-2) surprised many by advancing deep into the tournament despite being without its best player in star big man Kristaps Porzingis.

German coach Gordon Herbert also raved about Latvia’s competitive spirit following Wednesday’s thriller:

“They’re the best team in Europe nobody talks about,” Herbert said. “And they’re missing a couple of guys, too. They play great basketball, team basketball. They shoot it, well-coached, I give them a lot of credit.”