MANILA, Philippines – Nicolas Batum has his fair share of tough losses, but not like this one.

Batum is afraid of the backlash back home as France shockingly crashed out of contention in the FIBA World Cup after just two games following an 88-86 loss to Latvia in Group H in Jakarta, Indonesia on Sunday, August 27.

The Les Bleus, who won bronze in the last two World Cups and came in this edition with title aspirations, were one of the first teams to get relegated to the classification phase after also getting blown out by Canada, 95-65.

“When you lose in the semis or quarterfinals, at least you compete. We did not get past the first round. We have high expectations. So I’m ashamed,” said a dejected Batum, who has been playing for France for over a decade.

“I’m scared to go home because we let a lot of people down. A lot of people in the country believed in us to do something special. We did not do it.”

Led by a bevy of NBA veterans in Batum (Los Angeles Clippers), Rudy Gobert (Minnesota Timberwolves), and Evan Fournier (New York Knicks), the Les Bleus entered the fourth quarter with a sizable 74-62 advantage.

France still led 75-66 until Nando de Colo got ejected with six minutes remaining after picking up two unsportsmanlike fouls.

Everything came crashing down for the Les Bleus from there as Latvia chipped away at its deficit before Rolands Smits, who finished with 20 points, hit a pair of clutch free throws that gave his side an 87-86 lead with 40 ticks left.

Arturs Zagars splitting his foul shots kept the door ajar for France, but Sylvain Francisco muffed his game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer, much to the delight of the raucous Latvian-heavy crowd.

With the win, Latvia – a World Cup debutant – secured its place in the second round with a 2-0 card.

“It is the biggest win in Latvian basketball history since 1935,” said Oklahoma City Thunder forward Davis Bertans, who chalked up 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals.

“Getting a win like this against one of the best teams in the world and feeling like we’re playing at home, it is an amazing feeling.”

France can only finish as high as 17th place – its lowest in World Cup history – even if it sweeps its remaining games in the classification stage.

But Batum already has his sights set on redemption in the Olympics, which France will host next year in Paris as the Les Bleus look to complete their unfinished business after settling for silver in the Tokyo Games.

“We have a big thing coming up in 12 months. We have to look at what happened. Everybody from players to coach to staff to federation, everybody got to do something,” said Batum. – with reports from Rob Andrew L. Dongiapon/Rappler.com