Kalev got the win at home over CSKA – 67:56 (17:14, 21:16, 7:10, 22:16).
The best scorers
Kalev: Rauno Nurger (15 + 9 rebounds), JeQuan Lewis (12 + 5 rebounds).
CSKA: Iffe Lundberg (13 + 5 rebounds), Daniel Hackett (10).
Game progress
The Army team approached the game in the status of the season leader and the only team that did not lose. Kalev won only one of the four opening games and in case of another failure risked firmly settling at the very bottom of the standings.
From the first minutes, CSKA showed a desire to extend the winning streak and quickly took over the initiative. However, Kalev managed to keep the guests in suspense, stopping the attempts of the Army team to break away in the score.
And at the end of the quarter, Kalev managed to get ahead at all. Active defense and successful actions of Kristjan Kangur and Tanel Kurbas in the offence allowed the hosts to leave the leaders for the first break – 17:14.
There were no major changes in the game in the second 10 minutes – the same slow pace and tight defense on both sides. But 3 minutes before the halftime, time for the Estonian shooters had come. Three-pointers by Kristjan Kitsing and Marcis Vitols, as well as 5 consecutive points by Davion Berry, brought Kalev to the +10 mark for the first time. Alexey Shved had ended the first half with a mid-shot – 38:30 in Tallinn team lead.
Kalev is winning CSKA at halftime!@bckalevcramo 38@cskabasket 30
Watch 2nd half on https://t.co/yV5SuibzOt 📺 pic.twitter.com/iZTuvePo1H
— VTB League (@VTBUL) November 1, 2021
At the beginning of the third quarter, the teams increased the pace, but this did not affect the score: the opponents could not score points for more than two minutes. The first shots were made by Rauno Nugrer, who provoked Kalev to another mini-run. CSKA had to dry the game and make great efforts to turn -12 into -5 by the end of the third 10-minutes – 40:45.
Trying to seize the initiative, the Army team staged a shootout with the opponent at the very beginning of the final segment, but the Silas Melson and JeQuan Lewis exploits did not allow the guests to get closer.
The key moment
At some point, CSKA’s offence stood up for almost 4 minutes, and the Estonians were able to make a 10-point run – 60:46. CSKA did not give up, increased their defense and carried out several successful offencive possesions, but now Ojars Silins took over the game. The Latvian forward’s six points in the clutch, backed up by free-throw shots from Nurger and Berry, brought Kalev its first home win this season – 67:56.
Hero
Rauno Nurger, one of the Kalev leaders, was on fire again: he became the top scorer of the game (15 points), collected the most rebounds (9) and became the most effective player in both teams (21 points).
Numbers
Kalev has not beaten CSKA in Estonia for 30 years. The last home win of Tallinn over the Army team took place on May 6, 1991. That season, the Estonian team became USSR champion.
Comments
Roberts Stelmachers, Kalev Head Coach:
– Thank you to everyone who came to today’s game. I think no one was upset with the result and the game. Of course, thanks to the players. We fought for all 40 minutes, I am very happy with the result!
Dimitris Itoudis, CSKA Head coach:
– Congratulations to Kalev. It was our third road game in a row, we wanted to fight, but it didn’t work out. I can’t even single out one moment, there are a lot of factors. The hosts outrebounded us, there are several reasons for this. We have tough period. In the only quarter we won, we scored 10 points, and the opponents scored 7. We shot poorly throughout the game, free throws, three-pointers, two-pointers. We still have faith in what we are doing. I repeat, it is difficult to single out one thing. We’ve been in this situations before. I will just remind our fans who have faith into the team that we are the same group of guys that 7 days ago won two important games without three key players. All of us, the players and coaches, we need to accept criticism and go back into hard work so that better days come for our fans, for our administration.
What’s next
Kalev: road game against Tsmoki-Minsk on November 7
CSKA: road game versus UNICS on November 7
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