BC "Prometey" - BC "VEF Riga" (Latvia) - 76:66 (19:17, 22:18, 20:14, 15:17). April 10. Latvian-Estonian basketball league Pafbet. 1/2 final. 1st match. Riga (Latvia). Olympic Centre Rimi. 543 spectators.
BC "Prometey": March (11 + 5 rebounds), Tkachenko (4), Lukashov (2), Kennedy (4 + 8 rebounds), Odiase (15) - starting five; Clavell (4 + 6 assists), Sanon (2), Sydorov, captain (15), Balvin (7 + 7 rebounds + 4 assists), Bobrov (12).
BC "VEF Riga" (Latvia): Bumeisters (1), Pipes (23 + 8 assists), Whittington (12 + 8 rebounds + 4 assists + 4 steals), Blums (10), Toro Barea (6 + 10 rebounds) - starting five; Gulbis (14 + 9 rebounds), Pinnis (0), Putans (0).
In the second semi-final confrontation of the Latvian-Estonian Pafbet League, the second and third teams of the regular season clashed - our "Prometey" and "VEF Riga". This pair seemed more competitive than "Kalev/Cramo" - "Ventspils". The first match between the winner of the LEBL regular championship and the Latvian club, where the latter lost to the club from Tallinn in all respects, also spoke about that.
As for the confrontation between the "titans" and the real pride of Latvian basketball, from the first seconds, there was a fierce struggle on the floor of the Olympic Centre Rimi in Riga. At the same time, the teams did not please their fans with high-quality basketball in the debut of the confrontation (percentage of accuracy from the field was 33 for both teams), but there was as much intrigue in the match as fans need at this stage of the playoffs.
The "titans" were the first in the match to create a small handicap (15:8), but the opponent levelled it with two consecutive shots from the perimeter (Gulbis and Blums). Before the buzzer for the break, the teams exchanged successful long-range offensives, and the last of them - performed by Illia Sydorov - recorded the win of "Prometey" in the first quarter - 19:17.
In the beginning of the quarter N2, Ronen Ginzburg's squad raced ahead with a significant 11:0 run setting their handicap at double-digit point for the first time in the match. At the certain point of the quarter, our team had an advantage of 15 points, but "VEF Riga" managed a two-minute stretch before the long break. The opponent managed to reduce its deficit to only two possessions (35:41), and which is more important – a considerable intrigue appeared in the match again.
The Janis Gailitis team did not stop there and tied the score at the equator of the third quarter (45:45). However, during the next four minutes, the "titans" kept their basket intact, which allowed them to return their advantage to the "10+" mark. The captain of our team, Illia Sydorov, had a very good shooter match - 5 successful three-point attempts out of 7 within 30 minutes.
In the debut of the final ten-minute segment, "VEF Riga" approached a little closer to the nominal hosts of the floor, but the "red-and-white" did not lose control over the game. At the right moments, our team’s players made their opponents make mistakes, and immediately punished them. In such decisive moments, the high class of "Prometey" played its role, although to the credit of Janis Hailitis team, they fought almost until the final buzzer.
As a result, our team won with a score of 76:66 and took the lead in the semi-final series. The second match of this stage will take place on Sunday, April 14. The match starts at 19:00.
