Following a dominant 89-62 win over the Netherlands earlier this month, the Latvian women’s national basketball team continues its quest too qualify for the 2027 FIBA Women’s eurobasket. Latvia hosts Estonia today in Riga as part of the revamped qualification process,which aims to increase competitive balance across the continent [[1]].The Group B matchup at the Riga sports Hall is a key contest for both teams, as they navigate the first round of qualifying for the tournament co-hosted by Belgium, Lithuania, Finland, and Sweden.
Latvijas sieviešu basketbola izlase | Foto: FIBA
The Latvian women’s national basketball team will face Estonia in Riga today, November 27, in their third game of the first round of the 2027 European Championship qualifying tournament. The Group B matchup at the Riga Sports Hall is scheduled to tip off at 5:00 PM local time and will be broadcast live on LTV7.
Latvia began their qualifying campaign with a 77-66 loss to Slovenia, but rebounded with a dominant 89-62 victory over the Netherlands in Riga. Estonia, meanwhile, has dropped its first two games, falling to the Netherlands 92-54 and Slovenia 87-65, both on their home court in Tallinn.
Latvia’s coaching staff has announced one change to the roster, with Katrīna Ozola replacing the ill Aleksa Gulbe.
The format of the European Championship qualifying tournament has been revamped. In the first round, 27 teams are divided into seven groups – six groups of four and one group of three – and will compete in a double round-robin format throughout the season. The top two teams from each group, along with the best three third-place finishers, will advance to the second round of qualifying, where they will be joined by the seven teams that participated in the FIBA Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament (Spain, Italy, France, Czech Republic, Germany, Turkey, and Hungary).
A total of 24 teams will battle for spots in the 2026/2027 final tournament, with four host nations – Belgium, Lithuania, Finland, and Sweden – already guaranteed participation.
Latvia Roster
Ieva Pulvere, Vanesa Jasa, Enija Vīksne (all from “TTT Rīga”), Anna Liepiņa, Kate Vilka (both from Klaipėda “Neptūnas”, Lithuania), Ketija Vihmane, Digna Strautmane (both from Wrocław “Sleza”, Poland), Anete Šteinberga, Kitija Laksa (both from Schio “Famila”, Italy), Paula Strautmane (Ramat Gan “Maccabi”, Israel), Elizabete Bulāne (“Trutnov”, Czech Republic), Katrīna Ozola (“Ujbuda-BEAC”, Hungary).
