VEF won for the first time this season, defeating Enisey at home, 94-67 (22-13, 16-28, 21-10, 35-16).
Top Scorers
VEF: Alex Perez (15 + 16 ast), Ilya Gromovs (15 + 9 reb), Arnolds Helmanis (14 + 6 reb)
Enisey: Suleiman Braimoh (15 + 6 reb), Anthony Hilliard (15)
Story
VEF cruised to a 22-13 lead in the 1st quarter, shooting 4-7 from beyond the arc, compared to 1-11 from Enisey. Krasnoyarsk bounced back in the 2nd, limiting Riga to a single 3-pointer, while dominating on the glass (+12 in the first half). Matic Rebec also hit some big triples in the period, giving the visitors a 41-39 edge at the half.
Turning Point
VEF big man Ilya Gromovs took over in the 3rd quarter, pushing VEF on a 13-2 run. Leading by eight points to enter the 4th, Riga quickly put the game away. Mareks Mejeris scored seven points to open the period, giving the home team a 70-56 edge. VEF went on to win comfortably, securing its first victory of the season.
Stat
60 – Riga’s 3-point field-goal percentage.
Star
Alex Perez. The Mexican guard posted a double-double: 15 points and 16 assists (9th all-time in the League) without a single turnover.
Quotes
VEF head coach Janis Gailitis:
– We deserved a win today. Congratulations to the team. Except the 2nd quarter, when we missed easy layups, we played extremely well today, both on defense and offense. We were very confident and stuck to the game plan.
Enisey head coach Oleg Okulov:
– Some things worked for us in the first half, but after halftime the team stopped doing what we’d agreed on prior to the game. We started slow today. Maybe the fact that we’re also playing in the Champions League had an effect and we didn’t have time to recover. During the 3rd and 4th quarters, we completely lost control of the game.
Up Next
VEF: November 12 away vs. Lokomotiv-Kuban
Enisey: November 18 away vs. Astana
Snapshot
