Latvia pulled off a stunning 74-69 upset of Spain to improve their chances of advancing to the quarterfinals of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, Friday evening at the Indonesia Arena in Jakarta.

It was the first loss of the tournament for the defending world champions, who swept their first round assignments and were widely favored to advance out of Group L in the second round.

But Latvia -- playing without Kristaps Porziņģis and Dairis Bertans -- got the better of them in the low-scoring affair thanks to their stout defense.

Latvia trailed 58-47 after the third quarter but out-scored Spain, 27-11, in the final frame to snatch the win. They took the lead for good with 2:42 left, when Davis Bertans knocked down a corner three-pointer off a superb pass from Artūrs Žagars.

A Rodions Kurucs layup pushed the lead to five, before a split at the line by Willy Hernangomez put Spain within four points, 70-66, with 1:19 to play.

A free throw by Andrejs Gražulis with 37 seconds to go made it 71-66 for Latvia, but Dario Brizuela gave Spain some life when he knocked down a straightaway triple with just 28 seconds left.

Kristers Zoriks made just one of two free throws to give Spain some hope, 72-69, but Brizuela's floater in their next possession was off the mark, and Kurucs went on to ice the game at the free throw line.

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It was a massive result for Latvia, who improved to 3-1 in Group L and will have a chance to advance to the knockout phase of the World Cup.

Bertans top-scored for Latvia with 16 points, while Kurucs had 13 points and eight boards. Latvia limited Spain to just 40% shooting from the field, including just 7-of-21 from long distance.

Hernangomez had 14 points for Spain but struggled with foul trouble in the contest.

For more stories on the FIBA World Cup, click here.

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