Andrey Kirilenko played against Latvia, despite not making the trip to Turkey, while other key men, Timofey Mozgov and Victor Khraypa were looking on from the side lines.

Latvia provided the opposition as Blatt's side played their first competitive match ahead of the World's.

The team from the Baltic have had plenty of practice, as they prepare for their own competition.

And the visitors would get off to a good start, against a sluggish Russian side.

As the half went on, Russia's defense began to pick up, while in Aleksey Shved, Blatt finally may have found a solution for his problem position at point guard, as the 21-year-old had quite an impact.

There was a welcome return back to the court for the two Sashas – Kaun and Vorontsevich – who have both got married recently.

Kaun had little playing time, but Vorontsevich certainly made his mark on the match, with a very impressive effort right on the buzzer.

Russia's class began to tell as the match progressed, as Latvia struggled to cope with the depth of the Russian roster.

Nikita Kurbanov was particularly effective in the paint late on, and Russia's head coach was partially pleased with his side's performance.

“I think in the last three years we’ve shown that we’re a team that can do things on defense. And when you can play defense; you can rebound the ball than you have a chance to be in any game. We’re going to play against better teams than this one. But for the first rehearsal we’ve shown the defense and the kind of rebounding we need in order to be a successful team and also we have the heart and spirit of the Russian national team,” David Blatt said.

This Russian side may be lacking any world-class stars, but there is plenty of team spirit, amongst a team of which, at just 27, captain Sergey Bykov is the oldest player.

Vitaly Fridzon, who had a fine season in the Euroleague with Khimki, says Russia have the potential to cause an upset or two at the up-coming World Championships.

A good start for Russia, who will set off for Cyprus in a week’s time to continue their preparations.

Defensively, Blatt's side looked good, but they will have to sharpen up more offensively, as they will struggle to score points against better teams, which they are sure to come up against at the Worlds.