Kalev Estonia defeated PARMA Russia on the road, 105-75 (23-22, 24-20, 29-15, 29-18).
Top scorers
PARMA: Ken Brown (15 + 6 ast), Rashard Kelly (10 + 6 reb)
Kalev: Arnett Moultrie (22 + 7 reb + 4 stl), Chavaughn Lewis (21 + 5 ast), Tony Wroten (16 +10 ast)
Story
Kalev blew open a close game in the 3rd quarter, led by big man Arnett Moultrie. The visitors led by only two points (55-53), before seven points from their American center opened up a seven-point advantage and laid the foundation for a runaway victory.
The Estonians would end the quarter on a 12-0 run to go up by 19 entering the 4th quarter and end any remaining intrigue.
Kalev is now on the verge of clinching a first-ever postseason berth, powered by a high-octane offense that has scored over 100 points in six of its last eight games.
PARMA’s defense was helpless in the second half, giving up 58 points to Kalev to ultimately lose by 30.
Even though Perm has long been eliminated from postseason contention, this was a chance to reward the loyal home fans and move into a tie for 12th with Zielona Gora. Despite shooting the ball well (10-23 from downtown and 47% overall), PARMA was outrebounded and committed 20 turnovers, a recipe for disaster against the explosive visitors.
The victory gives Kalev an 11-12 record, two games ahead of Avtodor and Enisey with only three remaining.
PARMA falls to 4-20, half a game up on Tsmoki-Minsk in 13th place.
Play of the game
Иван Лазарев взлетает над кольцом «Калева» ✈️@LazarBird_4 flies in Perm ✈️ pic.twitter.com/rrIBtVyGiQ
— VTB United League (@VTBUL) April 14, 2019
Stat
5,610 – PARMA brought in the second biggest crowd of the season. The record also belongs to Perm: 6,399 fans packed the Molot for the game vs. CSKA.
Quotes
PARMA interim head coach Viacheslav Shushakov: “The team stayed in the game the first two quarters as long as our big men defended the pick-and-roll successfully. Then we started making mistakes and fell behind by 11 points. Our opponent punished us for every turnover.
A big thank you to the fans! They come and support the team, no matter the results. For my part, I would like to apologize that we couldn’t give them the wins they are hoping for. I hope our journey together will continue and next year we’ll win more often, especially at home.”
Kalev head coach Donaldas Kairys: “It was very nice to play at the Molot. The atmosphere here is excellent. There are a lot of fans and good support. During the first half, the team had a tough time. After halftime, we broke down our mistakes on defense, which allowed us to pull away. I should also note that we played team basketball, as evidenced by the 28 assists.”
Photos
