BC “Rigas Zelli” (Riga, Latvia) – BC “Prometey” – 65:91 (20:24, 18:17, 13:29, 14:21). January 13. Latvian-Estonian basketball league Pafbet, Riga (Latvia). Daugavas sporta nams. 550 spectators.
BC “Rigas Zelli”: Osborne (12), Skuja (8), Raimo (4 + 4 assists), Lacis (5 + 7 rebounds), Viksne (6) – starting five; Vitols (9), Sondors (11), Mamajs (5), Pinete, captain (5), Strelnieks (0), Galdins (0).
BC “Prometey”: March (24 + 9 rebounds), Tkachenko (2 + 3 steals), Lypovyy (12), Odiase (8), Sydorov, captain (7) – starting five; Clavell (12 + 4 assists), Lukashov (3), Bobrov (2), Kennedy (11), Sanon (10 + 5 assists).
To its 18th match within the Latvian-Estonian basketball league, “Prometey” approached with a disappointing mini-streak of two defeats in two tournaments. The team urgently needed to succeed in a confrontation with “Rigas Zelli”. Moreover, it was necessary not to let the LEBL leader “Kalev/Cramo”, who gained the second win within two days today, ahead.
The rival of the “titans” was not an easy one. Without much risk of making a mistake, it is already possible to predict that "Rigas Zelli", based on the results of the regular season, will make it to the playoffs. The team proved its strength today as well. In the first half of the game, they relied on a large number of long-range shots and achieved a good converting results yielding, at the same time, a little in this component to "Prometey". On the other hand, “Rigas Zelli's” 2-point shooting percentage was 60.
Moreover, the hosts of the floor has demonstrated they are able “to hold a blow”. In the starting quarter, they managed to reduce significantly their lag of 9 points and in the next one – of 11 points.
Before the second half of the game, there was just one possession between the rivals (41:38 in favour of “Prometey”). However, in the quarter N3, “Prometey” finally proved its much higher class securing a handicap of almost two dozen points – 70:51.
In the final ten-minute segment, the visiting team calmly drove the match to a winning end (the resulting score – 91:65 in their favour). Already tomorrow, they are going to start preparation for the extremely important confrontation of the BKT EuroCup against “Wolves Vilnius” Lithuania, which will be played on January 17.
