Basketball: Ogre Beat Tallinn's Kalev 92-88 at Home

Ogre's basketball team beat Estonia's most titled club, Tallinn's Kalev, 92-88 (26-20, 23-14, 23-23, 20-31) on its home court on Saturday. The game was played in the joint Latvian-Estonian basketball league, and the finish was very tense.

Both teams had played at home the previous Saturday: Kalev lost 87-93 to Riga's "Rīgas Zeļļi", while Ogre won 101-77 against the weakest team from Keila. Earlier this week, Kalev travelled to France and unexpectedly beat Élan Chalon 74-68 in the FIBA Europe Cup.

How the game unfolded

Ogre opened with an 8-2 run and held the lead for almost the entire regulation time. In the second quarter, a three-point play by Gunts Sīpoliņš (a basket plus a foul) began a ten-point run, and the hosts went up 43-27. In the first half Ogre made 13 of 16 two-point shots and led 49-34 at the break.

In the third quarter Kalev closed to 46-53, but Ogre again pulled 20 points clear. With four and a half minutes left, the hosts led 83-68. Then two three-pointers from Kalev captain Hugo Toom and the pressure of forward Owen McCormack near the basket let the visitors get much closer. Jacob Falco hit two threes in a row and, with free throws 46 seconds from the end, gave Kalev its first lead at 85-84. In the remaining time Drake Dobbs and Sīpoliņš took responsibility and secured the win.

Top performers

For Ogre, Dobbs scored 17 points, Owen Lobsinger had 15 points and 13 rebounds, Juris Vītols added 14, and Hlebovickis and Sīpoliņš each scored 12. For Kalev, Toom scored 20, Falco 17, and Damian Forest 15 points with 11 rebounds.

Ogre will host Keila's strongest team next Friday, while Kalev, after a road game in Turkey, will face the University of Latvia on Saturday.