A first-round exit is probably not what a relatively star-studded French squad pictured when they lined up for the FIBA World Cup.

But on Sunday, an unheralded Latvia team accomplished the unthinkable, knocking off France 88-86 in a stunning upset that eliminated them from the tournament in the first round.

France, the reigning Olympic silver medallists, has a roster headlined by Rudy Gobert, Nicolas Batum, and Evan Fournier, but still blew a 12-point lead to start the fourth quarter to Latvia.

“For us, for sure, it’s a nightmare,” France head coach Vincent Collet said.

The game turned when France’s starting point guard Nando De Colo was ejected for committing a second unsportsmanlike conduct foul with 6:46 left in the fourth quarter.

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Latvia then went on a 10-3 run over the next two minutes and eventually took the lead.

France was eliminated from the double-elimination tourney because of another drubbing this week: Canada crushed them 95-65 on Friday.

This follows a 2019 World Cup effort where France left with the bronze medal and knocked Team USA out in the quarterfinals.

The Latvian squad was led by Arturs Zagars, who posted 22 points, while the Thunder’s Davis Bertans scored 15 points.

Fournier, a consistent performer for the international team, led all scorers with 27 points, while Batum added 13 and Gobert mustered just nine.

“It’s very hard,” Fournier said. “Very tough. Not much to say. We didn’t think we would leave the tournament like this. We have to learn from it and come back next year. There isn’t anything else to do.”

France’s hopes for the Paris Olympic Games next summer still look solid, however.

The French will likely return Fournier, Gobert and Batum while potentially adding No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama, and they are also courting Joel Embiid to join the team after he was granted French citizenship.

“I wasn’t really ashamed with that jersey, but that’s the first time I’m really ashamed,” Batum, who intends to retire following the 2024 Olympics in Paris, said after the game, according to Agence France-Presse. “I’m scared to go home because we have let a lot of people down. A lot of people in the country believed in us to do something. They believed in it and we didn’t do it.”

France will end group play by facing Lebanon on Tuesday, but will continue in a losers’ group for an additional two games after.

Latvia and Canada — both of whom will advance to Round 2 — will face each other on Tuesday to determine who will win Group H.

This story originally appeared on the NY Post and is reproduced with permission.

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CHINA STUNNED BY SOUTH SUDAN

China’s Basketball World Cup campaign was left hanging by a thread on Monday after a surprise 89-69 loss to tournament debutants South Sudan.

China, ranked 27th in the world, fell behind early in Manila and could find no way back against their 62nd-ranked opponents.

China were thrashed 105-63 by Serbia in their opening game and must now beat Puerto Rico on Wednesday and hope that other results go their way to avoid a first-round exit.

It was South Sudan’s first World Cup win, after starting their tournament with a 101-96 overtime loss to Puerto Rico.

China, where basketball is a national obsession, slumped to a 24th-placed finish at the last World Cup on home soil in 2019.

For this year’s tournament they secured the services of American NBA player Kyle Anderson, who has Chinese ancestry and obtained citizenship last month.

Anderson, known in China as Li Kaier, was the game’s top scorer with 22 points but it was not enough to overcome a South Sudan team intent on claiming a historic maiden victory.

American-born Carlik Jones, who plays for the NBA’s Chicago Bulls, was South Sudan’s top scorer with 21 points.