Kalev Tallinn defeated Parma Perm on the road, 86-72 (18-23, 22-18, 23-17, 23-14).
Top Scorers
Parma: Ivan Nelyubov (16 points + 8 rebounds), Danilo Andjusic (14 points), Sergei Chernov (13 points)
Kalev: Demonte Harper (29 points), Vitali Liutych (16 points), Rain Veideman (11 points + 6 rebounds), Mickell Gladness (10 points)
Turning Point
Nursing a two-point lead, 60-58, Kalev’s Erik Keedus silenced the Parma fans with a ‘3’ in the final seconds of the 3rd quarter. A quick jumper from Harper and basket in transition made it a nine-point game less than 30 seconds into the 4th.
Parma never responded. The Russian club needed nearly four minutes to score in the period and went on to lose by double digits.
Stat
13-0 – Kalev went on a 13-0 run at the end of the 3rd and beginning of the 4th, holding Parma scoreless for 4:03.
Quotes
Kalev head coach Alar Varrak:
– Martin Muursepp warned me that there would be incredible fan support in Perm. We watched a few of Parma’s preseason games, but Perm is a League newcomer and it was tough to predict what to expect. Overall, I think that it’s very positive for the VTB League and its development to have a team like this. I’m confident that there are wins in Parma’s future. Even though the team doesn’t have players like CSKA, plenty of clubs would envy the competitive spirit and team chemistry. We’ve played a few games in the Estonian league, but didn’t play well, and we were concerned about today’s game. The fact that we play in the VTB League is very important for Estonian basketball. It’s truly prestigious to play against teams like CSKA, UNICS, and against players like Andjusic.
Parma head coach Viacheslav Shushakov:
– We can be congratulated on our debut. As the saying goes, the first pancake is always a little messy. The team was consistent for the first one and a half quarters. We played the way we had planned to. Then the players decided for some reason that they’d had enough and the game turned ugly, which is what Kalev needed. We made mistakes and they scored easy baskets. We needed Danilo Andjusic. He was worn out, as his shooting percentage showed. On offense, some things stopped working, allowing the Estonians to find their rhythm. We need to find our stride and get a feel for this new level. We’ve realized just what real men’s basketball is like. A big thank-you to our fans for coming. There were moments when they were the reason we were able to get back in the game.
Up Next
Parma: October 17 at UNICS
Kalev: October 18 at Zenit
Snapshot
