VEF defeated Parma at home, 91-80 (22-15, 22-17, 28-17, 19-31).
Top Scorers
VEF: Kristopher Richard (18+7 ast), Mareks Mejeris (14), Ilya Gromovs (13+6 reb)
Parma: Domagoj Samac (18+7 reb), Ivan Nelyubov (15), Sergei Chernov (13+5 reb+5 ast)
Turning Point
Excellent ball movement (15 assists by halftime), Mareks Mejeris on the fast break and 14-17 (82%) shooting inside the arc gave Riga a 12-point lead at halftime. Kristopher Richard and Abdul Gaddy got going in the 3rd quarter and VEF also heated up from outside, making it a 23-point game with 10 minutes remaining. Parma reduced the deficit to 11 in the final quarter, but it was too little too late.
VEF has virtually guaranteed a spot in the postseason, while moving a game up on Enisey in the battle for 6th place.
Stat
75 – VEF’s two-point field-goal percentage. That’s a League-best this season.
Quotes
VEF head coach Janis Gailitis:
– We played well for 33 minutes. But we weren’t focused during the final seven minutes. Overall, we had excellent ball movement and controlled the pace of the game. I want to apologize to the fans once again for the final seven minutes. We shouldn’t play like that.
Parma head coach Viacheslav Shushakov:
– We prepared to play well against VEF. They are a playoff-level team in the League. Maybe we were too fired up. We weren’t able to calm down and play consistent basketball throughout the game. We made mistakes, which resulted in a defeat. We settled down in the 4th quarter and were much more confident, but it was tough to catch our opponent by then.
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Up Next
VEF: April 3 vs. UNICS
Parma: April 2 at Tsmoki-Minsk
