Zenit defeated Kalev on the road, 98-95 (19-25, 27-25, 28-25, 24-20).
Top Scorers
Kalev: Branko Mirkovic (21+7 reb+ 9 ast), Mark Tollefsen (21), Cedric Simmons (18), Vitali Liutych (17+7 reb)
Zenit: Ryan Toolson (37), Aaron White (17+7 reb), Evgeny Valiev (12+5 reb), Anton Pushkov (11+5 reb)
Turning Point
With nothing to play for in the standings, Zenit and Kalev played wide-open, exciting basketball, combining for 193 points in 40 minutes.
Zenit trailed much of the game, only catching the home team in the 4th quarter. Kalev tied the score at 93-apiece on Mark Tollefsen’s 3-pointer, before Zenit took control on the following possession.
Ryan Toolson, who scored a career-high 37 points, missed a 3-pointer, but Artem Vikhrov was there for the rebound and got the ball back to Toolson, who capitalized the second time around. Evgeny Valiev was also fouled on the play, earning two free throws. He made one, putting Zenit on top, 96-93.
The two teams then traded free throws, leaving Tallinn with a last chance to force overtime, but the home team couldn’t get the ball inbounds, giving the ball back to the visitors. Zenit ran out the clock, securing its 15th-straight win to end the season.
Stat
37 – Ryan Toolson set a new career high for points in the League.
Video
Kalev vs Zenit one minute highlights 📹 pic.twitter.com/j7B34pIpfd
— VTB United League (@VTBUL) April 23, 2017
Quotes
Kalev head coach Alar Varrak:
– Once again, we got unlucky in the final seconds. We weren’t able to inbound the ball in five seconds… We battled again, but lost because of the details. This game symbolized our entire season: We can compete with the VTB League’s top teams, but we still lose in the end. Our level of play isn’t too bad. We need to be more confident and consistent.
Zenit head coach Vasily Karasev:
– We were playing without three leaders today–Timma and Karasev are injured, while Markovic didn’t feel well. We’d already guaranteed second place, so we let other players show what they can do. We weren’t afraid of a potential oss, but I’m glad that the team was able to extend its winning streak. Now we need to focus on the playoffs. Our goal is to reach the EuroLeague.
