\n<\/p>\n
Great Britain’s men lost their fourth straight World Cup qualifier of the summer when group leaders Latvia beat them 87-80 in Newcastle.<\/span><\/p>\n Myles Hesson again led GB’s scoring with 15 points, Gabe Olaseni and Luke Nelson adding 14 and 11 respectively.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n In a vastly improved showing from the defeat in Belgium three days earlier, GB stayed in touch throughout but were unable to find the finish they needed.<\/span><\/p>\n They remain bottom of their group with four games remaining.<\/span><\/p>\n GB head coach Nate Reinking said he was proud of his players’ performance despite the defeat. <\/span><\/p>\n “They battled and it just came back to that fourth we made plays we wish we could take back,” he said. “But we’ve made great strides as a team.”<\/span><\/p>\n The team will now stay in camp to prepare for their EuroBasket finals campaign, which starts in Milan on Friday with a game against Ukraine. <\/span><\/p>\n GB’s main problem in the game was containing Latvia’s 7ft 3in NBA centre Kristaps Porzingis, who scored 29 points and took 14 rebounds in the visitors’ win.<\/span><\/p>\n Yet GB’s intensity brought them back in the second quarter to level the game 38-38 at half-time, and the teams were level with five and a half minutes remaining of the game.<\/span><\/p>\n Latvia again went to Porzingis to re-establish the lead but a three-pointer from Hesson with 1:40 remaining gave the home team a chance at 81-78.<\/span><\/p>\n A Porzingis dunk and a Hesson missed lay-up then effectively decided the game. <\/span><\/p>\n Group I table<\/strong> (top three to qualify)<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n
<\/thead>\n \n\n Latvia<\/span><\/td>\n 6<\/span><\/td>\n 5<\/span><\/td>\n 1<\/span><\/td>\n 11<\/span><\/td>\n +45<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Greece<\/span><\/td>\n 6<\/span><\/td>\n 4<\/span><\/td>\n 2<\/span><\/td>\n 10<\/span><\/td>\n +34<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Serbia<\/span><\/td>\n 6<\/span><\/td>\n 3<\/span><\/td>\n 3<\/span><\/td>\n 9<\/span><\/td>\n +2<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Belgium<\/span><\/td>\n 6<\/span><\/td>\n 3<\/span><\/td>\n 3<\/span><\/td>\n 9<\/span><\/td>\n -3<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Turkey<\/span><\/td>\n 6<\/span><\/td>\n 2<\/span><\/td>\n 4<\/span><\/td>\n 8<\/span><\/td>\n -12<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Great Britain<\/span><\/td>\n 6<\/span><\/td>\n 1<\/span><\/td>\n 5<\/span><\/td>\n 7<\/span><\/td>\n -66<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n