VEF Latvia defeated Kalev Estonia at home, 87-83 (14-22, 28-22, 25-17, 20-22).
Top Scorers
VEF: Ken Brown (23 + 7 ast), Artis Ate (16), Alex Perez (12), Kaspars Berzins (12)
Kalev: Bojan Subotic (25 + 5 reb), Isaiah Briscoe (23), Kristjan Kangur (12 + 9 reb)
Story
Riga overcame a sluggish start to move to 4-1 in its last five games and take over 9th place.
The Latvians were led by Ken Brown’s 23 points and seven assists, while Artis Ate added 16 on 4-6 shooting from beyond the arc.
VEF trailed 22-14 at the end of the 1st quarter, but back-to-back triples from Brown and a Kristaps Janicenoks three-point play cut the deficit to one, 24-23, with 7:30 remaining in the first half.
Entering halftime, Kalev clung to a two-point lead, 44-42, courtesy of nine 2nd-quarter points from Bojan Subotic. The Serbian-Montenegrin forward finished with a game-high 25 on 8-14 shooting.
VEF picked up its first lead since midway through the 1st quarter on a pair of Kaspars Berzins free throws, 56-54, with 4:40 remaining in the 3rd quarter. The home team never trailed again in the contest, though Kalev threatened multiple times in the 4th quarter.
Trailing by nine early in the final frame, the visitors responded with a 7-0 run, capped by Isaiah Briscoe’s 3-pointer.
After VEF extended the lead once again, Kalev came storming back, this time led by Kristjan Kangur. The Estonian forward scored seven straight in the final minutes, knotting the score at 83-83 with 39 seconds on the clock.
Berzins responded with a dunk for VEF. At the other end, Sten Sokk had a chance to win it for Kalev, but his triple was off the mark and the visitors were ultimately forced to foul, allowing Artis Ate to seal the win at the free-throw line.
The home team improves to 5-11 with the win. Kalev drops to 4-13, two games back of the final playoff spot.
Stat
-15 – VEF was outrebounded by 15 (47-32). The Latvians, however, were more efficient on offense, converting 58% of their two-point attempts.
Quotes
VEF head coach Janis Gailitis:
– Kalev is good, strong team this season. We didn’t play our best today. For example, we weren’t competitive enough on the glass. But despite injuries, we battled to the end and deserved to win. We’ve got a rivalry of sorts with Kalev in the VTB League, plus these games have a direct impact on the postseason. I’m very happy about today’s win.
Kalev head coach Donaldas Kairys:
– Congratulations to VEF. The more balanced team deserved to win today. We were poor on offense and committed 15 turnovers. You can’t have success in the VTB United League with those numbers. But we battled, which you can see in our offensive rebounds. At the same time, numerous players were not at their best today, which took away our chances of winning.
Up Next
VEF: March 12 home vs. CSKA
Kalev: March 15 home vs. Enisey
Images of the Game
